Old Garden beach is a great easy dive. It also happens to be one of the best places for a nice and easy mid week dive. The parking is great as long as it’s not a weekend or holiday. Even in those situations it’s very manageable. The entries and exits are very easy do to the sandy beach that stretches well into the water. The bottom leads down to a sand bowl giving 3 very different dives depending on the heading you take.
OPTIMAL TIDE: Any but low tide is a shorter swim
DIFFICULTY: Very Easy
EXPOSURE: Most northern
DRIVING DIRECTIONS: G-MAPS from Boston
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DIVE DESCRIPTION (Left side wall): Old garden has many different ways to dive it. If you go straight you end up at the sand bowl surrounded by rocks. If you go to the right you will approach the wall. There are the biggest rocks on this side. The dive can take you a long way from the entry. If you dive to the left you will approach the channel that leads out from Rockport harbor from bearskin neck. It is a federal channel so be sure not to swim into it. There is a huge diveable area here that would take dozens of dives to see the whole thing.
PARKING: Parking is easy off season or outside holidays and weekends. Even on holidays and weekends parking is close. There are roads in the neighborhood that you can park on and there is an area around the corner you can fit 7 to 10 cars at. If outside busy times they let you park right in front of the dive site.
