Where are good free diving locations in orange county, California

[CSRam]

Hi all,

I just became open water certified in scuba and started to look into free diving recently. I was wondering if anyone knew of any good beginner free diving locations I orange county? I would greatly appreciate any information, thank you!


-CS

 

[blue steal]

I always spend my summers freediving/snorkeling in Laguna Beach either at Divers cove, Fishermans, and Shaws cove. The water temp this year has been quite cool, so my 3/2 has not been able to keep me in much more than 25-30 minutes at a time.

 

[beachcitiesdiver]

I'm a huge fan of Salt Creek. You can park the boats on the outer side of the kelp beds and reach depths of 70 feet easily. We usually take the Riviera out there once a month for a spearfishing/freediving trip.

D.J. Mansfield

 

[CSRam]

thanks a lot for the help!
also i was wondering if i could just use my board shorts or would i have to wear my 3mm wet suit around this time of the year?

 

[beachcitiesdiver]

How tough are you is the real question? Some folks can handle 64 degree water like its nothing. I don't like it, I like my 3mm on the surface

 

[CSRam]

haha, well then ill bring it just in case, ill probably check out salk creek over by laguna, thanks for the spot advice beachcitiesdiver!

 

[diver_doug]

Lots of good spots in Laguna. Personally I think Heisler Park is the best...lots of stuff to see in shallow water which makes it ideal for snorkeling/freediving. Divers cove, Shaws Cove, and Crescent Bay are good as well. All of these spots only span about a mile or so, so you should check em all out. However, if you want to do some deep freediving, then you'd wanna head out to Deadman's Reef in Crescent Bay...you can get down to around 60ft wheras all the other spots are going to be 10-30ft.

As far as boardshorts vs. wetsuit is concerned, it's really going to come down to your cold threshold and how much you enjoy the freedom of not wearing a wetsuit. I love the feel of the water, so (in boardshorts) I can tolerate down to about 60° as long as the air temp is warm (I've done colder, and I always wonder if people hear me yelling/cussing through my snorkel when I get fully in the water). If it's a cool/cold day with cold water I'd definitely use the wetsuit.