Revision 8/21/2009 2:29 PM
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Mesa Lane
 Santa Barbara, CA |
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Mesa Lane is a well-kept secret with the locals of Santa Barbara. You won’t find any facilities here, just a nice stretch of beach with good access.
In Santa Barbara off Highway 101, take Las Positas Road exit (Highway 225) to the South for 1.7 miles. Turn left (East) on Cliff Drive; in 1/2 mile turn right onto Mesa Lane and go to the end.
I’ve been diving this site now for the past 2 years, and I must say that for local shore diving it’s pretty good. But like most dives around here it appears to be over fished. During the winter/spring months it is blown out and vis is bad. But come June thru early November the vis can get pretty good at about 20-25ft. As far as depth goes, most of the life is in 20-30ft so it’s pretty shallow.
This site has potential. Even on busy days you can find parking on one of the side streets. I went in the middle of summer season when there was no parking (both lots full) at Arroyo Burrow, but I still found plenty of parking here. There are 250 steps down to the beach, not the easiest hike back up. There was a rare wind swell that caused large surf (especially for summer) and visibility was around 1 foot near the bottom. It was diving by Braille, but I could see lots of plant life and reef rocks, I am sure this is a great dive when the visibility is better. I saw dolphins when I was swimming back in, but other than that the visibility ruined the dive. I suggest from the bottom of the steps going to the left about 100 yards (near the point). Watch out for large rocks in the surf. The surface swim is short to the kelp beds.
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_West/CalM/Mesa_Lane/index.htm