The Bellingham Area Scuba Diving Guide
Interested in Bellingham scuba diving? This guide covers Bellingham Bay and nearby boat and shore diving, from local training sites to clearer water further out. Use this hub for visibility, current planning, dive shops, regional photos, and detailed site briefings before you head out.
Getting started
- 🆕 New to diving? See our getting started guide.
- 🥶 New to cold water? See what to expect.
- 🗺️ Map of dive sites in the Bellingham Area
- 🏪 Dive shops near Bellingham and Ferndale
Bellingham Area Dive Sites
Diving near Bellingham and Ferndale.
Nearby dive shops
Current/Tide Stations
Many dive sites in the Bellingham Area are current-sensitive and best dived around slack water — the brief windows when currents drop near zero between tide changes. The charts below combine the major tide and current stations in the region. Watch our currents, tides, wind, and waves guide for help reading these charts. See individual dive site pages for site-specific timing.
Charters
No charters are currently known to be running in the area. If you hear of any, let us know!
Dive Clubs
Dive clubs are a great way to get to know the area. Many dive shops offer group outings or charter trips (see our shop listings). There are also various diving meetups you can join. Some focus on specialties like underwater photography or tech diving; others on site maintenance and conservation. If you're new to local diving, many club members are happy to meet up for a casual shore dive or help you get oriented at a site—just reach out and ask. Here are some of the known dive clubs in the area:Restaurants
To find diver-recommended eateries near a dive site, use the 🍔 Nearby food link on that site's page.
Additional region overview
Boat diving allows access to the clearer waters near Lummi Island or the protected pockets of Chuckanut Bay.
Local divers frequent Bellingham Marine Park for easy access to eelgrass beds and crab hunting.
Pacific Northwest scuba diving regions
🗺️ see on mapMetro areas
- SeattleCentral Puget Sound
- BellevueEastside · Central Puget Sound
- TacomaSouth Puget Sound
- OlympiaSouth Puget Sound
- EverettNorth Puget Sound
- AnacortesNorth Puget Sound
- BellinghamBellingham Area
- Port AngelesStrait of Juan de Fuca
- VancouverHowe Sound
- VictoriaVictoria Area
- SidneyVictoria Area
- NanaimoNanaimo Area
- Courtenay / ComoxNanaimo Area
- Campbell RiverDiscovery Passage
- PortlandOregon region
- SalemOregon region
- EugeneOregon region
- HillsboroOregon region
- BendOregon region
- Coos BayOregon region
Help your fellow diver!
- ✏️ to share visibility, conditions, or diving tips.
- 🍔 after your next dive.
- 👥 This page is maintained by divers. Contact us to suggest a dive shop, charter, top site, dive club, or other useful resource.