Shore entry from La Jolla Shores and the Cove. No boat needed.
La Jolla
Four protected areas cover the one stretch of coast everybody dives. Two are reserves. The other two permit some fish by hook-and-line only, which for a breath-hold diver is the same answer: you cannot spear anything in any of the four.
The next three mornings
Is it worth getting out of bed?
Reading the forecast for every spot…
What divers actually saw
Loading reports…
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.
4 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 four 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.
The rule, in CDFW’s words · §632(b)(142)
Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve
It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource.
The rule, in CDFW’s words · §632(b)(142)
Matlahuayl 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 Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve, about 650 m away — nothing may be taken inside it.
Outside every protected area — general California regulations apply.Nearest is Matlahuayl State Marine Reserve, about 1440 m away — nothing may be taken inside it.
The rule, in CDFW’s words · §632(b)(143)
South La Jolla State Marine Reserve
It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource.
The rule, in CDFW’s words · §632(b)(143)
South La Jolla State Marine Reserve
It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource.
The rule, in CDFW’s words · §632(b)(143)
South La Jolla State Marine Reserve
It is unlawful to injure, damage, take, or possess any living, geological, or cultural marine resource.
MPA boundaries: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, ds582. Regulations: CDFW per-MPA pages, retrieved 2026-09-01. Spot positions: USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names, California), public domain.
Area by area