Conditions clear — no active alerts
Finding the pulse of the reef...
This week
snorkel & freedive readBest day this week: Saturday, 7 AM–4 PM. Still an early read.
Next 12 hours
Partly cloudy now, clear moving in around 3 AM.
Conditions
Visibility, water, current, and wind. The in-water read.
Visibility
Decent
Calm wind · Recent / incoming rain
Water
73°
2–3 mm
Current
0.2 kt
slack
Surge
8.7s
low surge
Wind
5 mph
cross W
Visibility is an estimate — wind, rain, tide & water alerts.
The spot
The things that stay true when the weather changes.
Yes. Shaw's Cove, CA is snorkelable directly from shore.
Shaw's Cove, CA runs roughly 5 to 20 feet deep in the area people use.
Shaw's Cove, CA suits beginners in ordinary conditions.
The cove is sheltered from most swell, so it is calmest with no south swell running. Local guides favour early morning for the clearest water.
Street parking only on Fairview Street and Cliff Drive, limited and partly metered, and it fills early on a busy day.
Checked 2026-07-20. Sources: California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Pacific Wilderness, Diveline.
Tides & Sky
When the water moves, and how bright the night.
Calmest water was
4:11 PM – 6:11 PM
Low slack · Low evening sun · Least current
That window has passed — the water settles again at the next slack tide.
High
10:38 AM
5.726ft
Low
5:11 PM
0.01ft
Waxing Crescent
8%
Daylight: 11h 28m · UV 5 Moderate
Life
The reef keeps its own calendar.
Western Grebe · Long-billed Curlew · Short-billed Dowitcher · Snowy Egret · Great Blue Heron +6 more
Regulations
Take only what the season allows.
We've only loaded detailed seasons & limits for South Florida so far. For California, check the official source before you fish:
California saltwater regulationsOfficial source: CDFW· opens the agency site
Not perfect, but the reef is calling.
Snorkel: decent viz, cool 73 F water, 5-5 ft waves, 5 mph cross wind.
Best window was: 4:11 PM–6:11 PM · Low slack · Low evening sun · Least current