Sund Rock
Hoodsport
Two different routes to get there. You can either drive south on I-5 to Olympia and then head north on Hwy 101, or you can take the ferry to Kingston, go across the Hood Canal bridge and then head south on 101. (The latter route is more scenic, but if you live in the south end the former is probably more practical). Once you're on Hwy 101, look for an RV park called the "Rest-A-While" as you near Hoodsport. Across the street from there you will find a dive shop called Hood Sport'N Dive (clever name, eh?). This is your starting point for diving Sund Rock.
Sund Rock is so named because the owners of the waterfront property that accesses this site is the Sund family. To access it from shore, you have to go through the Hood Sport and Dive shop. They act as agents for the property owners. Access to the property is $15 per head. The dive shop controls the # of people accessing the site at the same time, i.e. they will stop letting people in if there gets to be too many. Another alternative is the dive shop will take you out in an inflatable from the shop for the same price, or you can rent a dive kayak from them.
The site itself is home to wolf eels, octo, and other critters. It consists of a wall starting at about 30-40fsw. Typical of Hood Canal dives, there is a definite thermo-cline around 30fsw, and the anemones are HUGE. When the plankton bloom and the vis is poor, it's like diving in beef broth. Bring a good strong light with you. (But if you're used to diving in the Puget Sound, that should be a standard part of your gear anyway). Other critters here are those little squat lobsters, which look like little crawdads with very long claws. Overall, on a scale of 1-10, I give it an 8.
There are plenty of facilities nearby, including the already mentioned RV park, a motel in Hoodsport that caters to divers, campgrounds, plus a real friendly shop owner who also has a mobile home with bunks you can rent for a group of divers. Future plans of the shop are to install a wreck diving training facility consisting of surplus cargo containers.
Reviewed by Greg Goebel April 17, 1999
The only facility on-site is a sani-can. Use the bathroom at the dive shop before going over. Small parking area-carpooling is desireable. The area is heavily used by Portland classes and other divers. It can fill up on weekends. Check with the shop or have an alternative plan.
- Fritz Merkel 12/15/2003