Cabrillo Beach

Location: Off Stephen White Drive in San Pedro. Follow Pacific Ave. south in San Pedro and follow signs.

This site is most famous for the Chocolate Lobster dive held in late September http://www.chocolatelobsterdive.com/ (310) 548-7562 ext. 9039 and the Cabrillo Aquarium The aquarium is open Tuesday through Friday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends 10 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free but there is a charge for parking.

Access and Entry: Short walk across sand beach to sand beach entry. Mostly protected except in heavy south swell.

Skill Level: All.

Depths: To 25 feet, deeper toward Point Fermin.

Visibility: Poor. Averages 10 feet.

Snorkeling: Poor. Visibility limits.

Photography: Poor. Limited viz and surge.

Hunting: Lobster, halibut but poor visibility near rocks limits hunting. Point Fermin Marine Life Refuge restricts taking of many other species.

Hazards: Poor viz. Wind surfers.

Facilities: Restrooms and showers at "bathhouse" on beach. If possible, park on circle drive near bathhouse for shortest walk to beach. Parking also toward breakwater for diving on southeast end of beach near jetty. Park where directed for Chocolate Lobster Dive.

Entry: Sand Beach to Rocky depending on entry site selected. It is a long walk from the parking lot over a paved level path for much of the way to the dive site.  You may elect to walk over the rocks after you reach the end of the paved path.

The dive:  The diving improves and becomes more interesting the further north west you go towards the point.  Patch rock reefs and  small feather boa kelp forest dominate this site and get better closer to the point with steep rock pinnacles off the point.. A large part of the site is part of the Point Fermin Marine Life Refuge, but taking of lobster and halibut is acceptable.   Out over the sand flats you'll find an occasional rock pile and sanddollar beds.

Beach aerial photographs used with permission of Kenneth Adelman Copyright (C) 2002-2005, California Costal Records Project, http://www.californiacoastline.org/

 Webpage updated by Melvin Pasley of Pasley Realty http://www.pasleyrealty.com/ June 2, 2005