Stump Beach Cove
Salt Point · Sonoma County · California
Visibility Breakdown
Visibility by position
Solid = diver report · outlined = today's forecast
Post Break: The range past where any waves are forming, where the water starts to have a significant increase in visibility. There might be some sediment here, but swell energy is diffused and the water is calmer.
Open Water: This zone is far out enough from the shore that the water is at its clearest. It’s deep enough that sediment is not disturbed by the wave energy at the surface. Haze can sit near the surface, so the water is usually clearer the deeper you go.
Through the day
Today's visibility readings at this spot, shown at the hour each one was taken.
Every bar is a reading for the Post Break zone.
This chart shows measured diver reports only.
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Today's forecast
Updated 4:38 PM PT today · October 13, 2026Dawn is the clearest window — onshore wind picks up by late morning and surface chop stirs the bottom through the afternoon.
7-Day Forecast
Map · getting there
38.580° N · 123.334° W
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Open in Apple MapsAbout Stump Beach Cove
Stump Beach Cove is one of the few sandy pocket beaches on the rocky north Sonoma coast, a deep cove embraced by overhanging bluffs in the middle of Salt Point State Park. Miller Creek reaches the sea at the south end in wet months, a small sea cave opens at low tide on the north side, and the stumps and driftwood along the sand give the cove its name.
West swell rolls straight into the sandy head, which makes the head of the cove a surf zone biome. The kelp forest biome sits offshore, where bull kelp anchors on the rocky bottom and grows to the surface in season, thinned since the 2013 die-off but still present. Bare rock at the base of the surrounding bluffs rounds out a rocky reef biome.
Beach walking and picnicking are the primary uses, snorkelers work the cove edges on calm days, and shore fishing for finfish by hook and line is allowed. A signed dirt lot on Highway 1 at mile marker 41.22 serves the beach, with picnic tables and a primitive toilet, and a short 0.25-mile trail scrambles down to the sand. The Salt Point State Park day-use fee is $8 per vehicle. Inside Salt Point State Marine Conservation Area, take of all living marine resources is prohibited except recreational take of finfish and abalone, and the abalone fishery has been closed statewide since 2018.
Surf Zone
The surf zone biome consists of sandy beaches and breaking waves. The action of surf disturbing the sand and kicking it up exposes marine invertebrates, buried in their shallow dens. This natural exposure of invertebrates attracts all kinds of fish, looking for an easy meal. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Kelp Forest
The kelp forest biome is giant kelp anchored to rocky bottom and growing up through the water column. The canopy and stipes form a three-dimensional habitat that shelters fish, invertebrates, and the predators that hunt them. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome Glossary
Rocky Reef
The rocky reef biome is bare rock, boulder, and cobble structure without a kelp canopy above it. The hard relief and its crevices shelter invertebrates and reef fish, and the structure concentrates life that the surrounding sand cannot hold. Learn more about this biome and the species found in it by clicking the link below.
Learn more in the Biome GlossaryTarget Fish Species
The fish found at Stump Beach Cove are being researched for the Ichthyopedia. This section fills in as species are mapped to this beach.
Browse the Ichthyopedia →Spot strategies
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