Open ocean, 40 to 70 miles offshore. Boat only, and a long run.
Santa Barbara Island and San Nicolas
Two reserves, and nothing may be taken in either. Santa Barbara Island's covers its southeast side; a federal marine reserve continues it past the state line with the same rule. Begg Rock's reserve surrounds the lone rock northwest of San Nicolas Island, which is a Navy installation.
The next three mornings
Is it worth getting out of bed?
Reading the forecast for every spot…
What divers actually saw
Loading reports…
Get a ping the evening before Santa Barbara Is. & San Nicolas looks good
Go means wind under 8 kt, under 3 ft of swell reaching the spot and under 1.5 ft of surge at 30 ft, every hour from 7 to 11 am. Rules of thumb, not a safety call: how each spot is judged. Visibility is not in the verdict, because no feed measures it at the spot: the Vis column shows a diver’s report from the last 48 hours when there is one, and otherwise an estimate from satellite water clarity, surge and rain.
2 protected areas, and what each one allows
Every boundary is CDFW’s and every rule is quoted in full on the card, with its section of CCR Title 14 §632(b) and the date it was read.
This label is this chart’s shorthand for two separately written regulations. Each area is governed by its own section of CCR Title 14 §632(b), named when you hover it. The rules differ area by area and change — check CDFW before you take anything.
Somewhere else in mind? Tap the open water to drop your own mark.
Tap the spots you’d actually get on a boat for. No commitment — it tells us which water to plan the first season around.
Outside every protected area — general California regulations apply.
The rule, in CDFW’s words · §632(b)(115)
Begg Rock State Marine Reserve
It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource.
Outside every protected area — general California regulations apply.Nearest is Santa Barbara Island State Marine Reserve, about 1870 m away — nothing may be taken inside it.
Outside every protected area — general California regulations apply.Nearest is Santa Barbara Island State Marine Reserve, about 1070 m away — nothing may be taken inside it.
MPA boundaries: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, ds582. Regulations: CDFW per-MPA pages, retrieved 2026-10-04. Spot positions: USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names, California), public domain.
Federal rules on the water
Beyond the state’s protected areas
Santa Barbara Island: federal reserve too
CDFW: the state and federal marine reserves here share identical regulations. Treat the outer of the two lines as the one that matters.
San Nicolas Island: restricted anchorage at the east end
All waters within a quarter nautical mile of the shore and structures on the easterly end, between 33°14′32″ N, 119°26′41″ W and 33°13′08″ N, 119°27′06″ W. Except in an emergency, no vessel may enter or anchor there without permission from the Commanding Officer, Naval Base Ventura County.
Area by area