Snake Island Wall is a steep boat dive off Snake Island in Departure Bay, in the Nanaimo area . It is one of the region's signature wall dives and a common second dive after the HMCS Saskatchewan or HMCS Cape Breton wrecks. The wall runs along the island from the shoreline into deep water, continuing well past recreational limits.

Finding the wall:

Tie up to the buoy near the site. Descend the line to a large concrete block on the bottom. From the block, follow the guide rope outward toward the wall. A sloping sand chute leads to the drop-off where the bottom falls away into the wall face.

Without the ropes, swim southwest from the buoy toward Nanaimo. The wall runs a long way along that bearing, so it is usually straightforward to locate.

Depth & structure:

The sand chute takes you off the lip of the shelf onto the vertical face. A common recreational zone is 80-110 ft. A large overhang on the left side of the wall sits around 120 ft; technical profiles continue 150 ft and deeper along the face. Plumose anemones drape the wall, with dense anemone cover along the route.

Snake Island is a bird sanctuary and a harbor seal haul-out. As many as 250 seals use the island and surrounding waters. They are usually in the area rather than interacting with divers; occasionally one may check you out during a safety stop.

Access: Boat only. Charters depart from Brechin Boat Launch in Nanaimo.

Marine life: Plumose anemones, lingcod, rockfish, Puget Sound king crab, and giant Pacific octopus in wall cracks. Harbor seals are often in the area.

Conditions: Visibility is often very good, especially in fall and winter. Nitrox is commonly used on charter profiles.

Hazards: The wall is steep, with few obvious shallower stop points once you commit to depth. Buoyancy control, gas planning, and depth discipline are essential.