Tiffany’s 5-star review:
Every Southern California scuba diver's home base! I got OW, AOW, and Rescue Diver certified here and have done countless dives with friends and instructors at this marine reserve/dive park.
From the Catalina Express, walk around the island about 1 mile (through the cute town of Avalon) until you see the big white structure with flags all around it. This is the old casino and marks the dive park. You can also opt for a $14.25 taxi to take you, your gear, and your buddies over to the dive park from the Catalina Express harbor. There's also services that will get your gear over to the park or back (and you walk) for $10.
Then, grab any space of wall that you can, closer to the stairs into the water the better. Get here early (6am Catalina Express) to get prime location. In the summer, it gets packed here since it's the easiest spot in So.Cal to get your basic certification classes or a pretty good dive in. In the winter, you'll probably have your pick of spots. Catalina Divers has a small trailer there where they will rent and fill tanks and rent weights and as much gear as you need. A tank rental is $13 and each airfill is $7. There is no shade in the entire shore part of the dive park, save in the few concrete benches lining the building, so bring a hat and sunglasses. Also, bring a tarp, towel, or straw mat (or other) to stand on and put on/take off your gear; the ground is asphalt and can hurt bare feet. Bring snacks and water/gatorade too, since the closest shop is not always open, and the walk to town will just take time away from your dives. If you get too cold in the winter, there are $3 showers for 5 minutes of hot showers on the walk back to town.
The actual dive park is entered/exited on stairs leading into the water. Wait your turn, check your air and mask, and walk in. Watch for the surge and time your entry/exit accordingly. In the winter, there's amazing California kelp that comes back around the park, bringing in a whole new ecosystem and set of animals. Around the dive park there's the Sujak wreck at about 90 ft down, the Jacques Costeau plaque, plenty of buoys with guiding lines that students can use to orient, and most recently, a temporary MOCA art installation that students can dive through.
Visibility ranges from 10 ft to 80 ft on great days. I dive my 7mm wetsuit year round and am cold in the winter (57 degrees at 55 ft down) but survive. When the sun's out it's stunning seeing it break through the kelp and schools of fish. There's often sea lions that play with divers and swim around. There's always a wonderful show by nature here, with schools of fish, octopi, sea lions, and even some rare ones like giant black sea bass. Tons of life -- just look!
There are some port-a-potties on site, but no other bathrooms right at the dive park.
Pro Tip: After your dive and getting your stuff back to the port, pay to store it with the luggage store ($6 for a big dive bag, $4 for a backpack) and go get a well-deserved beer at one of the local bars!
Pro Tip: Look at the flags on the casino to see how strong the winds are, which likely will indicate how strong the current/waves are for your dives.