Open Water Swimming Report from La Jolla Cove

Southern California is an open water swimming hotbed and can offer a good open water swim in any month of the year. La Jolla Cove just north of San Diego is reputedly one of SoCal’s best places for open water swimming. OpenWaterLog had the chance to swim at the Cove last Summer, test some open water swimming gear, and enjoy the beautiful water.
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The trip to San Diego was primarily for other reasons, not solely a swim adventure. The lack of space for a full length wetsuit in my luggage made this a good test of minimal ocean swim gear packing. Open water swim gear in the suitcase included an open water swim buoy, the Orca Safety Buoy with Pocket (chosen for its larger capacity to be completely self-contained with all ocean swim gear in the water), neoprene swim shorts Roka SIM II, for a faster swim and a little extra warmth in case OpenWaterLog.com reports chilly open water swimming conditions on the day of the swim, a small backpack with goggles/jammer/neoprene cap and other usual swim gear.
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Public transit to open water swim was the best way to travel in a self-contained way. Starting in downtown San Diego taking the San Diego trolley blue line (direction UTC) delivers you to the Nobel Drive trolley station. This is a short rideshare trip over to The Cove.

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Upon arrival, it’s well advised to take a moment to enjoy the stunning expanse of water, sky and shoreline.

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Nearby, you’ll see the La Jolla Cove Pavilion, a shower and changing station for swimmers, scuba divers and everybody else enjoying the beauty of the cove.

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La Jolla cove and the surrounding area attracts a lot of visitors besides Open Water Swimmers: scuba divers, marine life enthusiasts, and visitors to nearby shops, restaurants, hotels, and museums, and families enjoying a picnic in the park. You’ll walk past a lot of them getting to the water, though most of them won’t join you in the water. It’s a small beach, sometimes crowded with so many visitors, and isn’t the place to pitch an umbrella over a beach blanket (La Jolla Shores, one of the options for a mid-point of an out and back swim, is a nearby sandy beach where most people go if they want wide open spaces of sand to go with their ocean.).

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The lifeguard station draws your attention to the beach and swim entry with its potent public address system, offering helpful advice like deterring marine life enthusiasts from getting too close to the sea lions. It also posts helpful information about the cove, guidance about marine life, and water conditions for swimmers and divers. This indicated 64F (and 18C) and “flat”.

This was a good match with OpenWaterLog.com showing La Jolla Cove open water swimming temperature 65F (18.3C), open water swimming wave height 2 ft (0.6m), with a very long 12-second wave period that renders those waves “flat” as the lifeguard’s report.

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Changing from dry land clothes chosen for a cool morning, everything not worn in the water here fits in the Orca open water swim buoy: Men’s running shoes (11.5US/44EU), windbreaker, trousers, t-shirt, towel, waterproof phone case for swimming, and the backpack. Into the water with everything carried onto the train.

The beach is bounded by rocky cliffs on all sides, descend past them from the park area down a steep staircase to the beach. The sea lions and sea birds to this area that are marvelous to look at, the braying of the sea lions is ever present. Also hard to overlook that the rocks where they pass the time on sunny days can be messy. Watch your step.

Rocks also could present some danger to swimmers that aren’t mindful. But there’s plenty of room in nearly all conditions to enter and exit the beach.

The conditions in the water on my visit were excellent: not only idyllic temperature and surface conditions, but crystal clear water (10-15 feet of visibility per the lifeguards) that reveals colorful fish (Garibaldi, California State Fish, among others) and plant life near the beach. This water clarity and the calm conditions are not unusual as reported by local swimmers. The cove is protected enough to be generally warmer and calmer than the surrounding offshore conditions.

The swim route recommended is the cove crossing to La Jolla Shores Beach. It’s marked with buoys (1/4 mi and 1/2 mi) along the route to La Jolla shores. The buoys are popular options for turnaround spots (and for relaxing on your open water swim buoy, taking pictures, etc) as is the full swim across to the beach at La Jolla Shores, which might be as much as a mile (1.6k), or less depending on where you come to land. This presents an option to make the return trip along the same swim route, or running if you prefer, and packed your open water swim buoy dry bag for a swim-to-run workout.

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Along the route, encroaching boats are shamed into re-routing away from the designated open water swim area by warnings from the loud public address system from The Cove lifeguard station. If you make the full crossing in the summer, you can look for the harmless leopard sharks that gather at La Jolla Shores (also attracted to the warmer water).
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On weekends and or when conditions are good, you’ll encounter other swimmers, sometimes a significant crowd. The area is big enough for a lot of swimmers, just be sure to sight frequently, wear a bright color swim cap on the busy days, and always bring your open water swim buoy.
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Meet up with other swimmers, learn more about local swims and conditions at the La Jolla Cove Swim Club a very active open water swim group. They organize the “Pier to Cove” Swim (1.5 miles one way) in late June, among other swims, and publish very helpful detailed local knowledge and excellent swim safety advise for the Cove.

As with all swim sites, there are potential hazards: waves, tides, and possibly cold open water swim temperatures. La Jolla Cove adds to that rocky shoreline, unusual marine life, and a density of other swimmers. But it compensates for this with a vibrant swim community, active monitoring and shared information from the lifeguards. Make use of these resources for a same swim.
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Safely out of the water, across the beach, and up the stairwell to the pavilion, with showers and private changing areas, I retrieved my dry land gear from the open water swim buoy, and was ready for the rest of my day in San Diego. My open water swim gear dried in the sun briefly and returned to the backpack. Very easy.

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The train back downtown goes past Mission Bay, another SD area swim spot much more sheltered from the open ocean, and with reportedly calmer, but murkier, conditions. Maybe a good place for a future open water swimming site report.