Shore Diving Near Seattle

Before you visit the Seattle Metropolitan area, this book gives detailed information about the dive sites. Extremely detailed about, parking, what the beach access is like, what you will (or won't) find underwater, bathrooms,local restaurants, fresh water showers (or not) and so many colorful pictures illustrating the site above and below water. The dives begin to the north at Mukilteo and take you south to Titlow Marine Park. If you are not sure if you want to dive a site, this book solidly assists you in creating a solid itinerary and also an alternate itinerary. It literally erases any doubts you may have. It is also an excellent companion to Betty Pratt-Johnson's book about the best dives in the Pacific Northwest. The authors did an excellent job researching and illustrating this book. It is well priced for the 260 glossy pages. I look forward to the release of their next book which they alluded to compliling at the time this one was published. I wouldn't think of loaning mine to a friend, I would buy them a copy!

This book really surprised me. Apparently a family moved to the area recently, took up diving, and wrote this book only two years later. It has a lot of Seattle-specific information I don't see in other books. Seasonable details, extrapolation from tide tables to local currents, vizibility factors. And more heavily-annotated photos than Arlo Guthrie's case-file: exactly how they store their gear, how they manage it in the car, where they park and gear up, aerial views, maps, and pix of site-specific bottom features and wildlife. LOTS of pix for each site. It is easily the best dive-site book I've seen, for the few (11) sites it covers: Alki Pipeline, Bruce Higgins, Edmonds Marina Beach, Alki Junkyard, Les Davis, Mukilteo, Redondo, Saltwater, Seacrest, Three-Tree, and Titlow. Plus a profile of the Marine Technology Center at Seahurst. Gotta have it.