Dive Site: Blue Heron Bridge MAP IT!

City: Riviera Beach, Florida

Type of Dive: Snorkeling and Scuba Diving

Depth: 10-23 Feet

Parking: FREE Parking Lot!

Local Beach Cam: Palm Beach Inlet

Last Updated: 11/15/2016

Directions to the Blue Heron Bridge:

From I-95, take Blue Heron Blvd. (exit 76) east and drive over the Blue Heron Bridge. Turn left into Phil Foster Park. Park close to the beach.

Blue Heron Bridge Overview:

The Blue Heron Bridge is the premier beach dive site in the country! And the best part about it, it’s in our backyard! It’s so popular that there’s even a Blue Heron Bridge Dive Club Facebook Page that we recommend all divers to join.

The Blue Heron Bridge is a FREE beach dive and is accessible from Phil Foster Park in Riviera Beach, Florida.

EVEN THE PARKING IS FREE AT THE BLUE HERON BRIDGE!

Diving the Blue Heron Bridge is permitted 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset.

With the Blue Heron Bridge being a tide-dependent dive, enter the water no earlier than one hour before high tide, and be out no later than one hour after high tide. Doing a dive which is a half hour before and after high tide is recommended for people not familiar with diving here. View our Blue Heron Bridge Tide Chart to find out when to dive.

The bridge is home to countless creatures, small and large, so take your time, don’t rush! Be on the constant lookout, especially for those smaller creatures which may be hiding. On busy days, well over 100 divers will scuba and snorkel the Blue Heron Bridge. Be observant of your surroundings so you don’t get tangled up with someone else’s flag or the bridge itself.

When navigating around the Blue Heron Bridge, remember not to scuba dive in the swim area. Scuba in this area is not permitted. But don’t worry, the lifeguards are cool with divers surface swimming.

Like most dive sites in South Florida, a dive flag is a must at the Blue Heron Bridge. You run the risk of getting a ticket if you enter the water without a flag. TRUE STORY.

Diving The Blue Heron Bridge:

There are 3 primary dive areas of the Blue Heron Bridge:

• The Blue Heron Bridge East Span

• The Blue Heron Bridge Snorkel Trail (South of the bridge)

• The Blue Heron Bridge West Span







Blue Heron Bridge East Span:

The East Span of the Blue Heron Bridge is a little over 22ft deep. There is minimal light here, so many divers bring a light with them. Under the bridge you will find pilings and small sunken boats that many creatures at the Blue Heron Bridge call home.

For the geographically challenged, the East Span of the Blue Heron Bridge is on your left as you’re walking to the water.

Blue Heron Bridge Snorkel Trail:

The area straight out from the beach sits in 6-10 feet of water and is the shallowest area of the Blue Heron Bridge. 600 tons of limestone boulders and prefabricated reef modules were used to build the 800-foot-long Snorkel Trail. The various shaped piles are separated with a trail of smaller boulders. After the Blue Heron Bridge Snorkel Trail was completed in August 2012, sea life quickly made these newly placed reefs their home.

To dive the Blue Heron Bridge Snorkel Trail, enter the water from the beach and swim south (straight out). Once you reach a reef module, continue on by exploring east and west Be careful not to enter the boat channel near the West Span when you’re diving the western portion of the Blue Heron Bridge Snorkel Trail.





Blue Heron Bridge West Span:

The first rule of the West Span is to NEVER enter the boat channel! To dive the West Span of the Blue Heron Bridge, enter the water on the right side of the beach. This side of the bridge is where many divers see seahorses! If you stay close to the bridge footings, you will see where the boat channel begins. Fortunately for us divers, it’s pretty easy to recognize, as the last set of bridge footings looks much different than the rest and there’s a wall in the middle. Once you reach the wall, do not explore any further west. The other side of the wall is the boat channel.

With the West Span of the Blue Heron Bridge having many smaller organisms, take your time. You can explore the pilings by zig-zagging back and forth. Make sure to scope out the growth below and between the pilings as well as the bottles/cans/trash that cover the West Span. From our experience, there are always fire worms and scorpion fish here. Both will cause a ton of pain! The max depth here is about 20ft.

What You May See At The Blue Heron Bridge:

EVERYTHING! From manatees to manta rays!

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Scuba Diving & Snorkeling The Blue Heron Bridge