St. Andrews State Park Jetties

This is a real nice Beach dive with only a small amount of walking. There are Pavilions available for gear setup and cookouts to make this a very enjoyable group outing, but space is limited as there are only 3 pavilions and during weekends they fill up fast. After the gear up there is a short walk on sidewalks to a bridge over the dune and down to the beach. The walk in the sand is less than 25 yards to the waters edge which makes this a very easy entry. Once in the water you will find yourself in a small lagoon called the "Kiddie Pool" which is a real nice place to snorkel and dive in relatively easy conditions of usually less than 10-15 feet. There are exits out of the "Kiddie Pool" into the Channel at the center and to the North. If going through the center pass into the channel you will find huge rocks making up the jetties which house a huge vatiety of fish and creatures of all kinds. This area drops to the sand at about 40 feet and to the North gets gradually shallower to a depth of around 25 feet. If you go South toward the gulf the depths gradually increase to about 70 feet in some places. There is a lot of exploration to be done amongst the rocks at these Jetties and is a favorite among photographers.

WARNING!!!!!
CHECK THE TIDE SCHEDULE BEFORE YOU DIVE!

This dive is very tide dependant and visibility can be drastically affected by the tidal change. Best Diving is just before High Tide as the clean water is still coming in from the Gulf. After the tide changes to outgoing visability can drop significantly! Also be aware that fisherman sometimes fish on the rocks, so beware of line entanglement or being hooked. Carry a cutting tool to be safe!

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Facilities: Picnic pavilions, bath-house, restrooms, beach chair rentals (in season), Park store with limited lunch food items for sale plus drinks, snacks and souvenirs. Beach on tidal pool with no waves and beach on main beach area where waves are located. Boat shuttle (fee charged) available to Shell Island (sand island) across channel from park. No facilities on Shell Island