San Carlos Beach - From Cannery to Kelp Forest

A stop on Monterey Cannery Row and Waterfront, a free self-guided tour.

This sheltered strip of sand and lawn takes its name from the San Carlos Canning Company, a sardine cannery that opened here in 1927. Like many of its neighbors it struggled after the sardines disappeared, and on Thanksgiving Day 1956 a fire burned it and the cannery next door to the ground. Neither was rebuilt, and you can still spot old concrete footings on the beach.

Today this is one of the most popular dive sites in California. Protected by the breakwater, the water just offshore hides a kelp forest, sandy flats and colorful sea anemones, and on weekends you will see clusters of divers in wetsuits training for their certifications.

Near the beach, look for a bronze memorial to the cannery divers, the workers who swam down to install and repair the underwater pipes that carried fish from floating hoppers to the canneries. It was dedicated in 2008.

Getting here: Continue along the trail past the Coast Guard Pier; the grassy park and beach open up on your right.

Did you know?: Divers often call this spot Breakwater Cove, and on a busy weekend day a few hundred of them may enter the water here.

Photo op: From the lawn, frame the beach and kayaks with the breakwater and harbor in the background.

More on Wikipedia: Cannery Row · Kelp forest

San Carlos Beach - From Cannery to Kelp Forest

Stops on this tour