Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 7257h ago)
Max Depth
35.1 ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Octopus Hole
Like the close-by Sund Rock area, Octopus Hole is very popular with Scuba divers who enjoy diving the wall to view various underwater creatures, including but not limited to Lingcod, North Pacific Giant Octopus, Wolf Eel, and nudibranch.
The most popular wall to dive in this area is about 200 yards long and starts at roughly 40 fsw, going down to roughly 50-60' fsw, depending upon the tide. Many divers use a large tree that has partially fallen out towards the water to help find the beginning of this wall. Once they have done the surface swim out to this tree, they can then drop down to the wall. Another, smaller wall is accessible, at roughly 90 fsw. This wall is nearly straight out from where most divers climb down from highway 101.
Because Octopus Hole is a conservation area, no hunting or gathering of any kind is permitted. The area also has very limited parking. Essentially, parking areas are nothing more than small turnouts on the highway. There is no formal trail or pathway. Getting gear down and back from the water requires good balance as you walk down on large irregular rocks to the water. Sometimes two trips is better, remove weights or camera gear on one trip. In spite of this, the Octopus Hole is quite popular. Access is always free of charge.
This area is not current sensitive. Source: Wikipedia.org
Octopus Hole is a designated conservation area on Washington's Hood Canal. It is located right off Highway 101 just over three miles from Hoodsport.
Access
shore
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Nearby Shops
Tide Report
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Edward J. Palumbo
Sep 12, 2005, 12:00 AM
scuba
Directions have already been provided to this site so I will not be redundant except to say it is located 18 miles from Kneeland Road in Shelton and it lies on the right (east) side of northbound 101. As you pass the Tides Restaurant (left side of the road), you have less than a quarter-mile to Octopus Hole on the right, but it's easily overlooked. There is parking for 5-6 vehicles to the right, and 5 or so on the left or S/B side of the road, but these spaces fill early so you do well to plan to arrive by 0900. Access to this site, which is privately owned by Mike & Sherry Smith of Mike's Dive Shop, is free of charge but ethics and gratitude dictate that divers who use this site get their air refills and accessory needs at Mike's, which is about 6 miles south of this site on 101. There is another dive shop nearby, Hood Sport & Dive. Access from the road is accomplished on a stair step of rocks. Classes are frequently conducted here. There may be a wind-driven surface current, but the exchange is generally mild. The site offers a variety of marine life, including an occasional glimpse of wolf eel and octopus, pile perch, rockfish, crabs (decorator, kelp, dungeness), plumose anemones, lemon nudibranch and many other critters. There seems no pattern for visibility; it varies from poor (arm's length) to 20+ feet. This weekend, my son and I noted a thermocline at 22 fsw, beneath which the temperature was 50-51 deg F. Viz seemed to improve noticeably beneath that temperature layer. Morning conditions are often smooth and calm, but wind and chop may develop by afternoon. The weather is beyond prediction (this is the Northwest) but, if you wait just a bit, it'll change. Lodging is available nearby, though I'd recommend calling at least 2-3 weeks in advance during the summer. Cell phone transmission may be a problem here; the nearest land line is the Tides Restaurant. There is an ambulance (volunteer fire department) in Shelton. I hadn't visited this area in a great while because the site appeared to be in decline, but I am reassured that the biosystem is recovering well, and I hope that continues to improve.
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