Point Loma

Point Loma is the offshore kelp forest west of the Point Loma peninsula in San Diego. The kelp chain runs roughly 6 miles north to south, parallel to the cliff coast, beginning about 600 yards offshore and covering a band of rocky reef substrate that stretches from Sunset Cliffs Natural Park in the north down toward the Cabrillo lighthouse at the southern tip. Access is by boat only. Charters depart from Quivira Basin in Mission Bay, where Waterhorse Charters bases the Humboldt and the Orion, and from Shelter Island on the San Diego Bay side. Cabrillo State Marine Reserve covers only the southernmost water near the lighthouse, so the central and northern kelp where most charters anchor sits outside any marine protected area.

The chain breaks into named sub-sites along its length. New Hope Rock, the shallowest of them, is a single boulder rising near the surface in 20 to 35 feet of water, and Goal Posts covers scattered rocky structure at 45 to 50 feet. Green Tank, named for a green water tank visible on the hillside above, sits at 15 to 55 feet, while Sewage Pipe, south of it and closer to the lighthouse, runs 15 to 50 feet over complex ledges and boulder piles. Deeper still, the Sea Cliffs, Three-Fingers Reef, and 7 Fathoms cover the 65 to 100 foot range below the kelp canopy.

At the heart of the chain, kelp anchors to the rocky bottom and grows up through the water column to the surface, forming a kelp forest biome. Bare rock structure sitting between the kelp patches and along the deeper edges of the chain, without a canopy above it, gives the site a rocky reef biome distinct from the kelp. The pelagic biome takes over above and outside the canopy, where the open water column carries migratory species north and south along the coast.

Spearfishing, scuba, and freediving account for most of the activity, and Point Loma is the main boat-access dive site of San Diego County. Hook-and-line fishing from charter and private boats is common alongside the diving. Snorkeling from a boat in the canopy happens on calm days but is uncommon as a primary activity, and surfing is absent because the site sits well offshore. Visibility averages around 30 feet and tracks plankton blooms driven by coldwater upwelling; the right current direction can flush bay water outward and clean the water within hours. Currents pick up around the southern tip near the lighthouse, especially at 7 Fathoms and through the Sewage Pipe area, while the northern sites stay calmer.

Working depths run from about 20 feet at New Hope Rock to 100 feet at the deeper Sea Cliffs structures. The shallow kelp sites are approachable for newer divers, and the deeper Sea Cliffs sites and the southern current zones lean toward intermediate experience. Swell sensitivity is moderate because the kelp dampens the surface, though offshore exposure renders the site undivable during major winter northwest swells. Fishing and spearfishing are legal here under standard California regulations.