Revision 8/23/2009 9:23 AM
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Barview County Park
 Garibaldi, OR |
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Barview County Park offers camping, beach combing, sunning, and, of course, diving! You’ll be sure to find enough crab and clams for dinner, so come prepared. As you’ll be able to tell from the photos, conditions here can change radically very quickly. Check with a local dive shop about the tides, harvesting limits, visibility, etc. If you have not dived in this area before, you might seriously consider a guide on your first couple of sites.
Directions: From Portland, take Highway 26 West to Highway 6 West into Tillamook on the coast. Drive North 9.9 miles into the Heart of Garibaldi. Drive 1.7 miles farther North and turn left onto Cedar Street.
We took a little walk to the end of the North Jetty, walked our tanks, then our BC’s/other gear, and made one final walk with our suits on. This was a very very good dive, the waves were rolling in green and clear. We had 20 ft viz and shot a 20lb lingcod. There were many more lings to be had but after catching one that size why do you need anything else. We got in the water right at the end, under the protection of that small hook. We ended up staying out there for the entire dive and swimming half way back before getting out and walking the rest of the way. Entry wasn’t too bad but getting out was very difficult due to 5 ft swells coming into the Jetty. This would be a better dive during low tide with less waves.
I dive Barview with 2 friends on a regular basis throughout the year. Usually a 2 tank dive at the Tower at high slack. The current can be pretty bad if you don’t hit the slack, and vis really drops then too. Vis is usually ~10 feet but can get as good as 25. Entry and Exit can be very hard, and I got a nasty gash on the back of my head from a swell tossing me back against the rocks once. If the ocean is calm, and the exchange small, enter at the tower and head west. If the bottom comes up to 35’, head back, you’re getting out too far, but we almost always see nice Lingcod out there, and usually limit out in 1 dive. Usually a good spear fishing dive. Mainly for experienced and athletic divers who don’t mind climbing over big rocks quickly after a dive to get out of sometimes heavy swells. Hard, but rewarding..
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_West/Oregon/Barview/index.htm