About Who's Been Here Photos Dive Log Revisions McAbee Beach Monterey, CA More Info Max Depth: 41-50ft/12-15m Entry Type: Shore Bottom Composition: Sand Aquatic Life: Might See Something Rating: 3.77 by 22 divers Winter: 50-55°F/10-13°C View All 22 Members sacreole: Avg Viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water Temp: 61-65°F/16-18°C. 6/12/2016 feedthesnake: Avg Viz: 16-20ft/5-6m. Water Temp: 50-55°F/10-13°C. 5/24/2015 feedthesnake: Avg Viz: 36-40ft/11-12m. Water Temp: 56-60°F/13-16°C. 2/15/2015 Skidmark: Avg Viz: 26-30ft/8-9m. Water Temp: 50-55°F/10-13°C. 3/22/2014 Tim_C.: Avg Viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water Temp: 50-55°F/10-13°C. 7/29/2007 8/21/2009 2:20 PM

McAbee Beach is a shore accessible salt water dive site, located in Monterey, CA. This dive site has an average rating of 3.77 out of 5 from 22 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 41-50ft/12-15m.

McAbee Beach can be used by beginners and experts, alike. The easy entry leads to a large kelp bed just a minute off shore. Several old pipelines create an artificial reef, making this a complete site for marine viewers!
In Monterey, heading West on Del Monte, bear right onto Lighthouse Ave, then bear right onto Foam St. Make a right onto Hoffman Ave. At the intersection of Cannery Row, you’ll see the trail head.
After having a lousy experience at The Breakwater, I wasn’t expecting much here. Boy, was I wrong! Conditions were great: shallow but plenty to see, good vis, no surge. Seals and otters have been known to gently harass divers here. You will want to bring a light, especially if cloudy or foggy, and good compass skills are essential. Go out on bearing 30 and return on bearing 210. The Mexican restaurant right next to this site lets you use their parking lot all day for $10.00. (This is actually a good deal compared to the other lots in the area, and most parking meters are limited to 4 hours.) A uniformed employee patrols the lot starting around 09:00 AM with a clipboard and will collect your money. You can park before he shows up and give him your money on a break between drives. I’ve heard from others that on some days no attendant is present and you can park for free. Public restrooms (no showers) are available one block SW, in front of parking structure on Wave St. & Hoffman Ave. NOTE: signs say NO scuba gear in restrooms, NO changing, dry wetsuits OK. So you can’t ’go’ between dives.


http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_West/CalN/McAbee_Beach/index.htm

Comments

DiverSeanMc2 - 5/21/2018 6:54 PM Rating Added: 5 Were just newbies and have only been to Breakwater before. This was a HUGE improvement. There is an abundance of sea life, many kinds of fish and plan life. We got to experience swimming with a harbor seal for the first time — very friendly and playful. Swim out about 75 yards until you get to the kelp forrest, then descend. You’ll find lots to see and explore! Just make sure you keep an eye on your compass as it’s easy to get turned around (030 out from the beach and return on a 210 heading). The beach entry was really easy with a gentle slope with a sudden drop-of of about 2 feet about 20 feet from the waterline at low tide. The morning was great vis and no real surge. The afternoon dive was at high tide. The vis had dropped significantly and it got a little surgy. All-in-all, a really nice dive!

DiverSeanMc2 - 5/21/2018 6:48 PM We’re fairly new divers and went to MacAbee for the first time this last Saturday. Great dive!! Lots of sea life and the harbor seals are friendly and playful. The morning dive (around 11AM) was great ... low tide ... easy entry from the beach ... vis about 20-25 feet... water temp about 60 F. Second dive around 1:00 PM was not quite as nice, vis had dropped to about 10-15 feet, but still lots to see. After our second dive, we were chatting with a couple other divers who told us about a shipwreck (circa 1901) in about 40" of water on a heading of 060 degrees. Does anyone know anything about this? According to the folks we chatted with, there isn’t much left of the hull but there are some pretty recognizable chains near the wreckage. Any information would be appreciated. We’re going to look for it on our next dive at MacAbee.

CAAdventureGurl - 12/29/2016 11:32 PM Rating Added: 5 This is an excellent divesite where you can park on the street or in a pay lot across the street. There’s lots of room on the beach and the reef is very close, so you don’t have to swim far or deep. There’s a tremendous amount of life under the kelp. I’ve seen my one and only sea hare here along with wolf eels, and the usual, perch, rockfish, cabezon, stars and gobis.

sacreole - 6/14/2016 6:03 PM I went scuba diving here on 6/12/2016. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 61-65°F/16-18°C. This was my first ocean dive since being certified in July 2015. The weather was overcast and in the low to mid 60s. Visibility wasn’t the greatest. Didn’t see much marine life amongst the kelp. Shallow depths.

MC - 6/15/2014 6:58 PM Rating Added: 3 Interesting place. Shallow reef to the north with interesting things to see. Vis was pretty low

Canthon - 4/08/2013 5:52 PM I went scuba diving here on 9/16/2012. Average viz: 21-25ft/6-8m. Water temp: 56-60°F/13-16°C. Day two open water. AS usual a great success! Plenty to see nothing new to the area and not many people in town.

Canthon - 4/08/2013 5:50 PM I went scuba diving here on 9/14/2012. Average viz: 21-25ft/6-8m. Water temp: 56-60°F/13-16°C. Great conditions. The seas were calm and all went well. Open water classes can be a lot of fun to teach.

Canthon - 4/01/2013 7:40 PM Rating Added: 4 A far better experience than breakwater for beginners. The kelp beds offer an abundance to see. Crabs, starfish, halibut, rockfish, lingcod, shrimp, octopus, harbor seals... I can go on. If you really look, you can even see the tiny and eluding kelp fish. I’m not exactly sure what it is really called, but, pictures say a thousand words and they are really kind of cool when you do find one.