Whalers Cove

Whalers Cove is a protected shallow cove on the north side of Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, and it is the only permitted point of entry to any water inside the entire reserve. Divers, snorkelers, and small-boat and kayak users all launch here off a concrete ramp between Cannery Point and Coal Chute Point. Every dive that happens inside the reserve, from Middle Reef in the cove itself to Bluefish Cove around the corner, starts at this ramp.

The name records a Portuguese whaling operation that worked out of the cove from 1862, and Chinese fishing families had already lived on its west shore since about 1850. Near the parking lot, the Point Lobos Foundation has preserved the Whalers Cabin from the Chinese camp as a museum. Point Lobos was set aside as an ecological reserve in 1973, and the 2007 Marine Life Protection Act reorganized it into the current no-take State Marine Reserve.

Middle Reef sits in the center of the cove at roughly 30 to 60 feet, with a rock and sand bottom threaded with boulders and valleys, and it is the standard training-dive layout for central California scuba instructors. That granite reef, distinct from the kelp-covered ground overhead, is a rocky reef biome underneath the canopy. Giant kelp roots on the same rock and grows up through the water column to the surface, making the cove a kelp forest biome above the reef. Coal Chute Cove on the west side, known locally as The Pit, holds three submerged caverns, the largest of which opens at roughly 12 by 24 feet into a chamber about 50 feet long.

The cove itself runs about 20 to 70 feet deep and is calm enough for beginning divers and snorkelers, while divers heading toward the outer reserve reach 100 feet. Sea otters and harbor seals swim through the cove freely, and federal law prohibits any harassment of them.

Access is by reservation only. The reserve caps diving at 10 teams per day, with a team defined as 2 divers; solo diving is prohibited and a 3-diver group requires 2 reservations. Fees are $20 per diver on weekdays and $30 on weekends and holidays, plus a processing fee. Vehicle parking is $10 per car; a kayak or SUP launch is $10 per vessel; a hand-launchable boat runs $25. Only 4 vessel launches per day are permitted. Reservations run through reservecalifornia.com up to the current month plus one month ahead, and divers must present a valid certification card at the ramp.

Inside Point Lobos State Marine Reserve, no take of any living, geological, or cultural marine resource is permitted, and no fishing equipment or collecting tools may be carried into the reserve at any point.