Alki Pipeline

Alki Pipeline sits along the south shore of Alki Point in West Seattle, around the corner from Alki Beach Park proper. Entry is at the ramp of the Charles Richey Sr. Viewpoint, at the corner of Beach Drive SW and 63rd Avenue SW. The dive follows an old 6-foot-diameter outfall pipe from shore into about 35 feet of water, ending at a large plumose anemone display at the open pipe mouth. Shallow water along the pipe runs 10 to 15 feet, mid-range along the pipe run drops to 20 to 30, the pipe mouth sits at 35, and the bottom continues to about 38 feet beyond. The pipe is visible from shore and marked with a small buoy at the seaward end.

Alki Pipeline sits southeast of the Alki Beach Junkyard octopus preserve boundary, on the far side of Alki Point from the Junkyard, and is not inside the preserve. Its boundary polygon lies to the north of the point. For divers, the identity of the site is the pipe itself, an old outfall pipe whose plumose anemone concentration at the mouth is the headline feature by consensus of every dive guide that lists it.

The pipe and the sand-and-rock bottom that surrounds it together form a rocky reef biome, and the eelgrass along the shallow margins gives the site a secondary seagrass biome as the swim starts and ends. Nudibranchs, ratfish, and painted greenling are documented along the pipe run, with a dense garden of plumose anemones covering the pipe mouth. Scuba is the dominant activity here. Wind is a bigger problem than current at these depths, and boat wake from Beach Drive traffic reaches the shallows. Slack before ebb is the recommended window.

A short stretch of curb parking runs where Beach Drive SW meets 63rd Avenue SW at the small pullout, with no dedicated dive lot and no restrooms at the viewpoint itself. Marine Area 10 rules govern the water here: rockfish retention and possession are closed, lingcod may be speared only from May 21 through June 15 at a maximum 36 inches and a daily limit of 1, and cabezon is open May 1 through November 30 at a minimum 18 inches and a daily limit of 1. Giant Pacific octopus is a statewide non-take species, and the Pipeline sits outside the Alki octopus preserves so no additional preserve-level restriction applies.