The La Jolla Marine Protected Area, also known as the La Jolla Ecological Reserve and Underwater Park, encompasses 6,000 acres of underwater life. Starting from the Seven Sea Caves to the south, it extends westward past Seal Beach, reaching as far North as the Scripps Pier.
The wildlife diversity in La Jolla Cove is made possible by the support of 4 distinct micro-habitats. Each habitat has unique characteristics that give different animals the resources to thrive and call our underwater park their home.
Getting To Know The 4 Micro-Habitats
The first micro-habitat you encounter from the shore line is called the sandy flats, and it looks exactly like it sounds! This flat and sandy bottom might look quiet and maybe even a little boring at first, but it is shockingly full of life. In the sand flats you’ll spot leopard sharks, rays, and bottom-dwelling critters cruising for food. Depending on the season, you can also see hundreds of purple sand dollars that dig themselves into the sandy ocean floor.
If you continue exploring through La Jolla's sandy flats towards the Sea Caves and the famous La Jolla Cove, you'll encounter the scattered rocky reef micro-habitat. Most visitors find this slightly more exciting, as you can find lots of underwater vegetation and plenty of fish, crustaceans, and marine mammals. Here you can see lobsters, Garibaldi fish, moray eels and even our resident green sea turtles. It's our preferred place to snorkel and explore around the boulders and ledges that give creatures great places to hide.
Even further offshore, you'll experience the La Jolla kelp forest. This magical patch of towering strands of giant kelp create an underwater “forest” where you'll see sea lions, countless fish species, including the famous giant sea bass. Snorkeling and diving in here transports you to another world, but we recommend kayaking out to see it if you aren't a strong swimmer as it can be a long journey.
Lastly, the fourth micro-habitat is known as the submarine canyon drop-off. There is a deep submarine canyon just offshore that brings nutrient-rich water up from the depths, attracting everything from baitfish to migrating whales. This drop-off can be as dramatic as 20–30 feet deep to 100+ feet within just a few hundred yards. Then it continues deeper into the main canyon, which reaches depths of over 600 feet, eventually connecting to offshore ravines.
All of these micro-habitats exist side by side in a surprisingly small area, and the natural shape of the cove and canyon helps shield the coastline from larger surf. That protection creates calmer water where wildlife can rest, feed, and raise their young with fewer threats, and with the canyon constantly pulling nutrient-rich water toward the surface, there’s an endless buffet for marine life. Plus, because this entire area is a designated Marine Protected Area (meaning no fishing or harvesting of any kind), fish populations can grow larger, live longer, and behave more naturally. It’s one of the few places where you can see what a truly healthy, thriving ocean ecosystem looks like on the California coast.
The Perfect Place for an Ocean Adventure
If we haven't already convinced you that La Jolla is an amazing place to explore California's marine life, let us explain why kayaking, paddle boarding and snorkeling are the best ways to truly experience this gorgeous area.
While the marine life here is very acquainted to human interaction, they're still wild animals. So getting to see them truly in their natural habitat is only possible with as little interference as possible. Kayaking and SUPing provides a front row seat to the coastline and wildlife while minimally disturbing the natural environment.
On an Everyday California tour you can paddle over kelp forests, glide over leopard sharks and float on top of massive schools of fish without spooking them or disturbing their natural flow.
We understand the fragility of these environments and consider ourselves incredibly lucky to experience this wild underwater world and share it with you, so we strictly follow MPA guidelines and always remind our guests of best practices on how to experience wildlife in a respectful way.
We hope you'll come join us on the water so we can share these unique experiences with you, and continue to help educate our guests on the importance of why this area is protected so that you can understand the importance of MPA's so that many more can come share in it's beauty.
Fun Fact: Only 2% of the world’s ocean water is protected by State and Federal Law, making La Jolla one of the few places to see protected wildlife in their natural habitat.