On this page: Local Training Sites | Critters We See | Photo Credits

Local Training Sites

The following images depict some of the training sites that we use in Monterey and Carmel:

San Carlos Beach (The Breakwater)
The Breakwater is an ideal training site located along Cannery Row in Monterey. Dive shops, restrooms, and restaurants are within walking distance. The breakwater is home to octopus, juvenile rock fish, surf perch, rainbow nudibranch, and much more.

McAbee Beach
McAbee Beach is often less crowded and encounters with friendly harbor seals are highly likely. Remnant cannery pipes are covered with anemones and provide shelter for numerous critters.

Lovers Cove
Lover's Cove has a nice sand channel that offers easy navigation along a rocky reef system. In the cracks and crevices you're sure to find purple urchins, abalone, sea cucumbers, and lots of invertebrate life.

South Monastery Beach
(Carmel River State Beach)
Located in Carmel Bay, South Monastery beach offers excellent shore diving with typically better visibility than dive sites in Monterey Bay. Both North and South Monastery beaches are exposed to the open sea and may not be diveable on a day to day basis.

North Monastery Beach
(Carmel River State Beach)
North Monastery beach is one of the premiere shore dives in all of California. A short swim offshore and divers will encounter a deep underwater canyon that extends beyond 2000 feet. The nearshore shallow kelp bed is home to an incredible variety of invertebrates and fishes. This beach can have a dangerous shore break and learning to evaluate conditions is extremely important.

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Critters We See

This image shows a sunflower star, bat star, and an orange puffball sponge sharing space in a rocky reef system with strawberry anemones and orange cup corals.

Giant kelp forests coat the rocky reef system along the Monterey Peninsula. The fast-growing algae provides a nutrient rich habitat for decorator crabs, rock fish, sea cucumbers, anemones, abalone, urchins, otters, harbor seals, sea stars and more.

There are a variety of species of nudibranch living amongst the rocky shore habits along the Monterey peninsula. Vibrant in color, these animals are found on almost all of our training dives.

Sea lions and harbor seals are curious creatures that often join us on our dives.

Rock fish are the true masters of neutral buoyancy. They often seem as though they are sleeping as they sway back in forth with the swell.

Photo Credits

Images on this site are courtesy of Roy Dumlao. Roy actively shoots underwater photos in Monterey and Carmel Bays.

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Additional images of marine life in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary can be found in the photo library of the Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN) website.