Hood Canal Pinnacle

Hood Canal Pinnacle is a seamount in the central Hood Canal, in the water off Brinnon toward the Dabob Bay basin. Sources refer to the same feature as the Pinnacle, the Seamount, and Dabob Seamount, and charters treat all three names as one site. The summit sits 20 to 30 feet below the surface depending on tide, a large flat platform that serves as the staging point for beginning and ending the dive. From there the structure drops away on all sides, extending past 100 feet, with small walls on the southeast corner that are the highlight of the dive.

The Pinnacle is the most-dived boat site in central Hood Canal. Charter descriptions note that a full exploration takes at least three 50-minute dives, and it is regularly run as a night dive as well. A separate feature called Broken Leg, described by local charters as a deeper and larger version of the Pinnacle, sits nearby and is dived out of the same charter rotation. Two Washington Scuba Alliance mooring buoys are set on the summit, and divers descend the mooring line straight onto the top of the structure.

The seamount forms a pinnacles biome, with a summit at 20 to 30 feet and wall structure dropping past 100 feet. Wolf eels live along the southeast wall, and have been documented guarding egg balls in the crevices there. Multiple rockfish species use the summit, gathering in schools around the flat top. Giant Pacific octopus are present as well, in the regional pattern of den sites tucked into rock faces. The dive is scuba only, both because of the depth and because of the boat-only entry.

Access is boat-only. The Seabeck public ramp on the east side of the canal is the primary launch, roughly 6 miles southeast of the site. YSS Dive Charters runs the Pinnacle as a standard destination. Tidal exchange through the Dabob Bay basin moves clean water past the summit, which produces better visibility here than at many shore sites in the fjord. Take is prohibited under 2026 Marine Area 12 rules, which close all bottomfish and forage fish, and wolf eel and giant Pacific octopus are non-take species statewide.