Shore snorkeling in the US, spot by spot
Every US spot on this site you can snorkel from the beach, with the source for each claim. A shorter list than most, because a spot only appears once it has been checked.
Most lists of the best snorkeling in the United States are assembled from other lists. That is why the same dozen places circulate with the same adjectives, and why almost none of them tell you where the claim came from. This one is built the other way round. A spot appears here only when a published source says people snorkel it from the beach, and the source is on the spot's own page where you can check it.
That makes it a shorter list than it could be. 22 of the 86 spots on this site currently qualify, out of 34 whose facts have been researched so far. The rest are not excluded on merit. They simply have not been through the same check yet.
What qualifies
The bar is that you can meaningfully snorkel the site from shore. Not that snorkeling is permitted, and not that the water is pretty from the car park. A rule mentioning snorkelers is not evidence, which is why Edmonds Underwater Park is absent: its water sits at 48 to 52 F all year and its features are 30 to 45 feet down, so calling it a snorkel spot would send someone to the wrong place.
| Spot | Where | Depth (ft) | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanauma Bay | Oʻahu, HI | 1 to 10 | not rated |
| Poʻipū Beach | Kauaʻi, HI | 1 to 12 | beginner |
| Bathtub Reef Beach | Stuart, FL | 2 to 6 | beginner |
| Peanut Island | Riviera Beach, FL | 2 to 10 | not rated |
| Venice Beach | Venice, FL | 2 to 20 | not rated |
| La Jolla Shores | San Diego, CA | 3 to 30 | beginner |
| Shark's Cove | North Shore, Oʻahu, HI | 3 to 20 | not rated |
| Tunnels (Mākua) Beach | North Shore, Kauaʻi, HI | 3 to 25 | not rated |
| Bahia Honda State Park | Bahia Honda Key, FL | 4 to 6 | beginner |
| Red Reef Park | Boca Raton, FL | 4 to 6 | beginner |
| Deerfield Beach | Broward County, FL | 5 to 20 | beginner |
| Honolua Bay | West Maui, HI | 5 to 25 | not rated |
| John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park | Key Largo, FL | 5 to 45 | beginner |
| Blue Heron Bridge | Riviera Beach, FL | 6 to 20 | beginner |
| Electric Beach (Kahe Point) | West Oʻahu, HI | 6 to 30 | not rated |
| Two Step (Hōnaunau Bay) | Big Island, HI | 6 to 25 | not rated |
| Lauderdale-by-the-Sea | Broward County, FL | 8 to 20 | beginner |
| Hollywood Beach | Broward County, FL | 10 to 25 | not rated |
| La Jolla Cove | San Diego, CA | 10 to 40 | beginner |
| Dania Beach | Broward County, FL | 12 to 20 | not rated |
| Casino Point Dive Park | Avalon, Catalina Island, CA | not documented | beginner |
| Kealakekua Bay | Big Island, HI | not documented | not rated |
What is deliberately missing
Sombrero Reef, Looe Key Reef, Molasses Reef, Key Largo, Pompano Beach, Crystal River (Kings Bay) and Molokini Crater are on this site and do not appear above, because the water people snorkel there is reached by boat. Molokini is the clearest case. It is a submerged crater several miles off Maui, and no amount of enthusiasm turns it into a beach entry.
Two entries on the list deserve an asterisk you should read before driving anywhere. At John Pennekamp the wade-in snorkeling at Cannon Beach is genuine, with a Spanish wreck about a hundred feet off the sand, while the reefs the park is famous for sit three to eight miles offshore and cannot be swum to. At Kealakekua Bay the shore snorkeling is on the Napoʻopoʻo side; the famous water by the Captain Cook monument needs a permitted vessel or a long hike, and even permitted vessels may not land at Kaʻawaloa flat.
How to use this
A spot being snorkelable says nothing about whether today is worth it. Wind direction and runoff decide that, and they change hourly. Each row above links to that spot's live conditions, including the water visibility estimate and its reasoning. The useful sequence is to pick a spot from this list on merit, then check the day before you commit to the drive.
The list grows as more of the 86 spots are researched. If somewhere obvious is missing, that is a gap in the checking rather than a judgement about the water.