Three Tree Point

Three Tree Point pushes out into central Puget Sound just north of Seahurst in Burien. The dive site sits at the end of SW 170th Street, reached from Highway 518 by way of Ambaum Boulevard, SW 152nd, and Maplewild Avenue SW. A gated dirt path drops from the neighborhood turnaround to a concrete platform above the beach. Artificial reef structures lie to the right of the public access at 40 to 80 feet, with the broader dive plan working the 60-to-95-foot band. The dropped material includes tire piles, corrugated pipe, appliance debris, several small boats (1 still resting on its trailer), and a large satellite dish.

The point is among the 8 octopus preserves designated statewide by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife under WAC 220-330-180. The rule targets recreational octopus harvest specifically, and the preserve envelope brackets the reef complex off SW 170th. Emerald Diving's night-dive records at the site put red octopus on more than half of dives, with counts of 1 or 2 typical and single dives occasionally reaching 8.

The tire piles, pipe, and debris fields make this a rocky reef biome, with a seagrass biome running through the eelgrass on the seaward side of the preserve envelope. Scuba divers work the artificial structures for sculpins including the sailfin, skates below 80 feet, and octopus at high density, with sixgill sharks documented seasonally from June through October and stubby and opalescent squid through the winter months. A mild current sweeps the site to the southwest regardless of tidal direction, easing at depth; salmon fishermen trolling the shoreline and monofilament snagged on the structures are the standing hazards.

The neighborhood turnaround at the end of SW 170th holds only 4 or 5 cars, and summer salmon season regularly fills the space. Recreational octopus take is prohibited within the Three Tree Point Octopus Preserve and is enforced by WDFW; for other species, Marine Area 10 rules apply, meaning rockfish retention is closed, yelloweye rockfish are no-take statewide, and lingcod may only be speared from May 21 to June 15 at a 36-inch maximum. Giant Pacific octopus and wolf eel are no-take under Washington state rules.