Richmond Beach

Directions

Richmond Beach Park is located in the town of Shoreline, North of Seattle. You will find the entrance to the park on the corner of 20th Ave. NW and NW 190th St. There is a large parking lot at the end of the park road (this is the furthest lot down). From here you will have to walk with your gear on down a path, across a bridge, and onto the beach. It is quite a jaunt there and even more difficult on the way back uphill.

Description

This dive is for more than just "getting wet", unlike the view of many other people. There is an abundance of life if you look. Though you will probably not see octopus, there are many other critters here to please the naturalist in everyone. There are several types of seaweeds, sea anemones, and sea stars. There are also sea pens hanging out on the drop off and chitons hidden on the rocks. Watch the sand closely and you will find tiny crabs walking along.

If you submerge from the get go, you will find the intertidal zone to be cobble which is then followed by sand with patches of eel grass. After this is a long strip of rock covered in seaweed, which may have been the beginnings of an artificial reef. You are now in about 15 ft. of water. Then the bottom drops off to about 40 ft. You can use these landmarks to get a sense of where you are in the water and is useful for the return trip. This dive is simple enough for the beginner and interesting enough for any level.

Richmond beach is a long sandy beach with logs scattered about that are useful for donning gear or taking a rest. There are restrooms at the parking lot and also down on the beach but no showers. Dive safe and check the Edmonds Current Table but know that it does run parallel to shore. Bull Kelp may also cause a hazard in the summer after it has grown.