Point Dume

Point Dume in Malibu, Los Angeles County, California, is one of Southern California's most scenic and accessible coastal dive sites—a rocky headland that creates the habitat complexity and marine life diversity that flat sandy beaches cannot support, set within the dramatic landscape of the Santa Monica Mountains meeting the Pacific Ocean in one of California's most celebrated coastal environments. Point Dume State Beach and State Preserve protects both the terrestrial and marine character of this remarkable headland, where Malibu's famous beach culture gives way to the wilder ecological character of a rocky point exposed to the open Pacific. The headland's rocky substrate creates the kelp forest and reef ecosystem that defines Southern California's best diving. Giant kelp—Macrocystis pyrifera, the world's largest algae species—anchors its holdfasts in the rocky bottom and grows in vertical forests that rise from the reef to the surface in columns of golden-brown stipes. Diving through a Point Dume kelp forest creates the characteristic Southern California experience of moving through three-dimensional underwater vegetation in filtered surface light, the kelp canopy above and the rocky reef below framing a diving environment with a quality unlike any coral or temperate rock reef environment. Fish life at Point Dume reflects the productive California coastal ecosystem where the cool California Current meets the nearshore rocky habitat. California sheephead—the large, sexually dimorphic wrasse that changes from juvenile to female to male during its life—inhabit the reef in numbers that reflect Point Dume's protected status. Kelp bass hover near the kelp forest margins in the characteristic ambush position of a species that has perfected the art of appearing stationary while remaining alert to prey. Garibaldi—the brilliant orange state marine fish, protected since 1995—are reliable companions throughout the kelp forest, their vivid color the most photogenic feature of any Southern California kelp dive. Seals and sea lions are constant companions at Point Dume. California sea lions, athletically curious and willing to interact with divers in playful, high-speed passes through the kelp canopy, create the marine mammal encounters that have made Point Dume famous among Southern California divers. Harbor seals, more reserved than their boisterous sea lion cousins, observe approaching divers with the calm assessment of animals that have learned to evaluate intentions before deciding whether to engage or retreat. For beginning Los Angeles-area divers seeking their first California kelp forest experience, Point Dume provides accessible, sheltered entry points in a marine environment that showcases everything distinctive about Southern California diving. The Malibu setting—accessible from the Pacific Coast Highway, visible from one of California's most famous public beaches—makes a Point Dume dive day easily integrated into the broader Los Angeles outdoor experience.