Northwest Dive Club

Dive Site Name: Edmonds Underwater Park

Current Sensitive: Moderately

Directions:
Take I-5 North to Exit 177 (Edmonds Kingston Ferry exit)
Follow signs to ferry and onto Hwy 104 West
Follow Hwy 104 West for 3.4 miles
Exit right towards the Edmonds Kingston Ferry
Continue on Hwy 104 West, bypassing the ferry line, but traveling parallel to it, to the bottom of the hill and to the second stoplight.
Turn left at the Skippers, (Main Street) cross the railroad tracks, and turn right IMMEDIATELY after the railroad tracks, into the parking lot. (Brackett's landing)

Free Parking: Yes but parking is limited to around 20 cars.

Staging Area: Very good. Benches and a short walk make this dive site a breeze to prepare at.

Surface Swim: Long to very long.

Nearby Facilities: On-site restrooms and showers provide an easy way to rinse gear (and divers). Edmonds Underwater Sports on Rail Road Street provides convenient air fills and pertinent information about the site.

Special Considerations: No diving within 100 yards of the ferry landing!

Maximum Depth: 40 - 70fsw

Dive Site Description: Surface marker buoys mark prominent sunken structures that serve as artificial reefs. Marine life ranges from hooded nudibranchs to ling cod and cabezon. Many of the fish here are very large due to the protected nature of the site.

Along the floor of the dive site are cinder blocks with cables running between them, forming a grid that is easy to navigate within. See the map below for specific areas to visit.

It is important to note that this is a protected site and thus there is no hunting or gathering allowed within the boundaries of the underwater park.

Noted objects in the water include an old tug boat, "The Triumph", and other objects being added all the time. This site covers a tremendous area, providing a large variety of sights and animals to see. After over 50 dives here, I've still only visited around 1/3 of the site.

Yeah, there might be a couple of hundred major changes since then....... and a couple of thousand minor changes.
Let's see - major changes
The trails out by the drydock have been re-routed and straightened
The entire park has been pushed out 300+ feet on the West and North sides
The Triumph,
Trails - probably at least twice as many running feet of rope and cinder block trails - Triumph Way, Erratic Way, Bashful Way, Cathedral Way, Glacier Way. Most have also been reworked and reinforced.
Northern lights now runs the full length from North to South
Current Buoy count is 45+
Features?
The Erratics, the Sea Horse, the Frame, On Edge, Cupid, Genius, The Cathedrals, The Maze, Alex, Sebastian's Tower, The Arch, happy House, The Zig Zag, The Horse Fence, Tuning Fork, etc., etc., etc.
Many other changes have also been made..

It would certainly be worth your time to purchase a new map at the Edmonds Underwater Sports store. The money is donated to the Park and helps keep it growing and expanding!!

PS - if you ever want to volunteer at the EUP, show up any Saturday or Sunday at 9 AM...

just an fyi for peeps:

PARK REGULATIONS:

All divers and snorkelers must dive with a buddy.
All divers must be certified or in training.
All divers must wear buoyancy compensators.
No fish or marine organisms may be removed from the park.
No night diving without a permit. (Permits issued at the Parks and Recreation Office.)
No boats allowed inside the park.

that's from the park website by the city of edmonds. unfortunately i couldn't find info about where the nearest parks and recreation office is!

JDR,

How easy is it to obtain a night diving permit? Is it something you just walk in and get, or is it something that takes time (as with most gov't "permit")? Do they charge for it? I think night diving the park would be fun.

Jake

Here's what part of the regulation says but I didn't post everything:

5.32.060 Underwater park regulations.
In addition to the regulations applicable to all parks as set forth in the Edmonds City Code, the following additional regulations shall be applicable to underwater parks and it is unlawful for any person to violate the terms thereof.

A. Boating and Submersible Vehicles. Subject to written permission as provided below, it is unlawful for any person to water ski, operate any type of boat or watercraft of every kind and description, including, but not limited to boats propelled manually, by wind or motor driven, over or within any underwater park or delineated ingress or egress area into or away from said underwater park, or within 200 feet in any direction of said underwater park or area delineated for ingress or egress into or away from said underwater park; provided:

1. Nonsubmersible paddle boards, rubber rafts or inner tubes used as safety flotation devices by scuba divers or free divers shall not be prohibited; and

2. Inflatable rafts or boats propelled manually may be used for instructional purposes only during classes conducted by an instructor certified by agencies set forth in ECC 5.32.070D herein.B. Scuba Diving and/or Free Diving. Subject to the written permission provided below, it is unlawful for any person to scuba dive and/or free dive within 300 feet of any public boat launching or mooring facilities and/or public ferry landings except in city owned or leased underwater parks.

C. Nonswimming areas may be designated as set forth in ECC 5.10.080 through 5.10.082. [Ord. 2531, 1985; Ord. 1991 § 2, 1978; Ord. 1507 § 1, 1970].

It doesn't appear to specifically address DPV's but it does state "submersible vehicles of any kind etc..." which sound to me like they would be included. When Tom Nic, Bassman, Diver C, and I were there in July however, there were two divers coming out of the water with them (legal or not, they were there).

This sounds like a question for Diver C and/or Mrs. Sounder... I'll let you know what she says. Rich?

Nwbrewer wrote:JDR,

How easy is it to obtain a night diving permit? Is it something you just walk in and get, or is it something that takes time (as with most gov't "permit")? Do they charge for it? I think night diving the park would be fun.

Jake

Real Easy. Call them with your name, vehicle description and plate number. No charge.

Nice. Thanks JDR!

So do I understand correctly that I wouldn't need to actually go to the office to get a permit, just call? That makes life much easier as getting to Edmonds during normal gov't business hours can sometimes be challenging.

Jake

So, I've now received conflicting information regarding currents at Edmonds- some sources say to dive it at slack and give corrections to Admiralty Inlet currents, based on the Edmonds monitoring station.

Others give other corrections that appear to _not_ be based on the Edmonds monitoring station (Pacific NW Shore diving for example).

Still others (The Pelagia Scuba Tides and Currents book) state that the currents at Edmonds are completely inverted from Admiralty inlet- slack will be at max current- e.g, take admiralty inlet time of max current on an ebb, correct for Edmonds monitoring station and that is the closest to slack at EUP.

I am now officialy confused, as this info seems to be pretty contradictory.

Anyone have an opinion on this?

Thanks!

It is interesting. What works for me is checking the tide book then using the corrections in Fischnaller's book. I go here too:

http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/1761.html

Wait until you notice the differences between EUP and the Edmonds Oil Dock. That had me scratching my head... ](*,)

All depths allow compensation for the melting of the polar ice caps. Edmonds should be a great dive site in 10 years!
gomi_

I've been down to 170fsw @ Edmonds Underwater Park, and it's really beautiful down there.

I have been talking to a lot of people about DPVs at EUP. Does anyone know for sure if they are allowed? I would love to take my scooters up and actually see the entire park, but I don't want to get a ticket either.

My understanding is that they officially AREN'T, but you should PM JD Rowe, he should have the official word.

http://www.nwdiveclub.com/profile.php?m ... ofile&u=66

You could also try calling the city parks office. They were very helpful the one time I called them.

I'd think the Mukilteo oil dock would be a blast on a scooter if you're just looking for a new place to try your scoot...Have fun.

Jake

The ordinance is unclear. It prohibits "watercraft", on or below the surface. I don't know if a scooter is a "watercraft". A friend has spoken with one of the folks who patrol the park, and basically been told that they're not going to hassle scooter divers until or unless they become nuisances (or cause rescue operations). We have scootered at Edmonds -- It's a blast. There's a lot of stuff out in the far north end of the park that you never get to see because it's just too long a swim.

Re the "watercraft" restriction at EUP. I put on my lawyer hat, read the definition used and decided that a DPV was NOT "similar enough" to the described objects to come within the definition. Someone else could come to a different conclusion.

IF ticketed, I'd use the "Better to ask forgiveness than request permission" defense and also use the argument that a DPV is just not at all like a boat!

Peter Guy wrote:Re the "watercraft" restriction at EUP. I put on my lawyer hat, read the definition used and decided that a DPV was NOT "similar enough" to the described objects to come within the definition. Someone else could come to a different conclusion.

IF ticketed, I'd use the "Better to ask forgiveness than request permission" defense and also use the argument that a DPV is just not at all like a boat!

Personally I see DPVs in use at the EUP a lot and I've never heard of a hassle with one.

I too was wondering about the 70' deep part. Are you joking or serious?

But my main question is: Has anyone seen a octopus or wolf eel in the park? I am diving there today and I was wondering if either of these might be seen. I have dove there many times but have not seen one yet.

Thanks, Sheahan

sheahanmcculla wrote:I too was wondering about the 70' deep part. Are you joking or serious?

But my main question is: Has anyone seen a octopus or wolf eel in the park? I am diving there today and I was wondering if either of these might be seen. I have dove there many times but have not seen one yet.

Thanks, Sheahan

I don't know if Sparky was joking or not but 40 fsw is definitely the max and that is directly under the far boundary markers and not at low tide!

You're not likely to find octopus (too many Lingcod among other reasons) nor have I seen Wolfeels.

Abracadabraham wrote: Q:I am planning to snorkel and do some free-diving with some friends at EUWP in a few days. Is it permissible to use a raft or inner tubes as a flotation to rest upon between free-dives?
A: Yes, inflatable raft or inner tube is OK for this purpose.
Thanks,
Sally

It's obvious her view on this is in direct violation of the information Sounder came up with but that's the response I received.

No it's not. Here's what Sounder posted:

1. Nonsubmersible paddle boards, rubber rafts or inner tubes used as safety flotation devices by scuba divers or free divers shall not be prohibited

They seem to see it as safety equipment, and therefore it is allowed.

Jake

Temp closure due to bacteria.
Http://www.snohd.org/civicalerts.aspx?aid=650

I know this is old, but per Bruce, no DPV in the park.

um...uh, thanks for the reminder.

Redleg0811 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:07 pm I know this is old, but per Bruce, no DPV in the park.

Thanks goodness I had a lovely dive scootering the entire perimeter of the park before I found this out.

Found what out?

Norris wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 1:52 pmFound what out?

Exactly.