The Top Dive Spots on Hood Canal

Just below the surface of the waters of the Hood Canal, a whole new world exists waiting to be explored. It is carpeted with sponges and seaweed, populated by wolf eels and octopuses and visited by the occasional seal and even (rarely) a six-gilled shark. Although the cold water of the Pacific is daunting, the variety of marine life it holds is well worth the chilly SCUBA dive.

With its comparably slower currents (to the rest of Puget Sound), the Hood Canal offers many opportunities for rewarding shore dives and live boat dives of various experience levels. Diving is not just for the summer time, the winter and early spring offer excellent opportunities because the cooler weather means clearer visibility (rain run off notwithstanding).

We have coalesced a list of some of the top dive sites of the Hood Canal as recorded by excellent books such as Betty Pratt-Johnson’s 141 Dives in the Protected Waters of Washington and British Columbia (1977) and Stephen Fischnaller’s Northwest Shore Dives (2000), as well as diver’s blog reviews, such as Scott Boyd at Emerald Sea Scuba and Nicolle Prat at Pacific Northwest Scuba.

1 .THE EAST SIDE OF HOOD CANAL BRIDGE

This is a more intermediate dive. Leaving from the park at Salsbury Point heading toward the Hood Canal Bridge, this shore dive requires you time your swim out to the dive area right before the beginning of slack tide, so that the current pulls you out to the bridge, then you can save your energy for the swim back. On your swim out to the bridge you pass through eelgrass beds, which are teeming with perch, soles, shiners and other sea creatures. When you reach the concrete bridge supports you are greeted by a fantastic display of plumose anemones and many different types of nudibranchs. Be careful of boat traffic and pace yourself for the long swim to and from the bridge.

2. FLAG POLE POINT

Outside of Lilliwaup, just to the South of Mike’s Beach Resort is a dive site more comfortably accessed by boat (but you can free swim to it also). Called “the knuckle” this dive site consists of a series of rock formations, rising like a mini range of mountains from the ocean floor. Because this formation is farther out and more exposed to currents, this site usually has excellent visibility and there are lots to see. Lingcod lay their eggs at this protected site, and there are resident wolf eel and octopus populations.

3. POTLATCH PARK

- While the diving at Potlatch is less dramatic than those sites already described, if you are just getting your flippers wet, this is a great place to start out. This shore diving spot is easy to get to, has showers to wash off gear, and its a great place to get comfortable with equipment and techniques.

4. SCENIC BEACH STATE PARK

This site is accessible from the beach and it is rewarding for all experience levels. There are plenty of marine life to observe on this sandy-cobble beach, which shifts after 15 ft into a large eelgrass bed, likewise teaming with all the sea creatures that are heir to this environment.

5. OCTOPUS HOLE

Although parking on this site is limited, this wall site is easy to access from shore and gratifying for all experience levels, but it is a popular spot! It is recommended you brings a flashlight and bait to feed the friendly octopuses and wolf eels. Remember this is a protected site, so no harvesting or disturbing the site (and no taking of the glass bottles that octopuses like to hide in).

6. SUND ROCK MARINE PRESERVE

Easy beach access to this site is available for a small fee from the family that manages it. This is an iconic dive spot of the area. From the beach you swim out through eelgrass environs filled with perch, crabs and other types of sea life. When you reach the Rock you are greeted by wolf eels, octopuses, sea stars, lingcod and other bottom fish. As it is a marine preserve it is closed to harvesting and fishing — so no spear guns!

7. TWANOH STATE PARK

This full service park, has a gentle current, which gives divers the freedom to dive whenever— independent of slack tides. You will find a large eelgrass bed filled with interesting fish, such as tubesnouts, black eye gobies and sticklebacks. After about 40' depth you can find tube-dwelling anemones. These anemones are entertaining to watch as they feed with their long graceful tentacles. Use a dive flag and submerge when you pass the roped swimming area (and stay submerged and deep to avoid any boat traffic).

Hood Canal is a SCUBA diver's dream known for its gentle currents and peppered with curious rock formations. Travelers the world over come for a chance to dive with giant Pacific octopuses, wolf eels, rockfish, and plumose anemones that dwell in the clear waters of the canal. Recent low-oxygen situations make an interesting laboratory of the canal for those interested in marine ecology and the perfect place for shellfish gathering and underwater photography.

For more information about these dives and more, visit explorehoodcanal.com and click on "scuba."

LOCAL COMPANY OFFER LESSONS, AIR AND EQUIPMENT

YSS Dive 24080 U.S. Highway 101, Hoodsport, WA 360) 877-2318