Hey welcome (in advance) to the US!

So I grew up on the West Coast of the US as an open water swimmer, FWIW.

Overall from a white shark perspective yes it's basically 100% safe (or 99.9999% safe). All the stats about shark attack risk compared to other hazards.

Facebook is pretty active and you could hook up with a local tri group for a group open water swim.

I'll be racing Escape from Alcatraz this June and have no concerns about white sharks... that said, sharks are actually one of the things I'm afraid of (like an understandable irrational fear), so I will not be doing any open water swimming.

There technically are attacks all along the CA coast. It's rare but like a bear attack in Yellowstone still something to be mindful of.

Cheers.

I do not live in CA (Australian), but as correctly suggested above your odds of interacting with big fish are always very very low. But you can always further reduce your odds by (these are rules i follow) thinking of some of the following. Some of these require some local knowledge, so again reaching out to locals is a good idea.
1. never swim between dusk and dawn. I consider this rule an absolute non-negotiable.
2. avoid swimming at or near large estuaries like the plague. see josh amberger's video of swimming out of the Brunswick River for an example of the kind of open water swimming you would NEVER see me do. local knowledge helpful here.
3. avoid swimming anywhere near where you have large seal populations (eg in our context many places along the South Australian coast). Local knowledge very helpful here.
4. avoid swimming if you notice (before you get in) large schools of baitfish around. If you see fisherman around where you are swimming consider talking with them. if you notice lots of baitfish while swimming, consider calling an end to your session and get out of the water. Eg consider fishermen's accounts of the fish conditions at Little Bay in Sydney in 2022 when Simon Nellist was very tragically killed by a ~5m great white, just off the rocks at Malabar inSydney's eastern suburbs. very specific local knowledge helpful here.
5. if fisherman are baiting / chumming large fish anywhere remotely near you NEVER get in the water. I consider this rule an absolute non-negotiable.
6. ask for any misc local knowledge about shark population. for example this article talks about a small area of sydney harbour (which in general has lots of bull sharks) which has particularly large numbers of bull sharks, apparently because of a few deep spots there that they like. this area corresponds to two of the most recent bull shark attacks in sydney (garden island 2009 and elizabeth bay 2024). i dont know how you would know that without researching or asking someone. so again - ask locals!!
Good luck! remember your odds of getting into trouble are always tiny, though you can reduce them even further if you avoid the above risk factors!

I normally swim with others, making sure I'm next to someone fatter than myself. If solo I'll swim where it's shallow or reef. Risk is low (in Australia), but you want to swim relaxed and not stressing about losing your legs. Some people where those ankle anti-shark device. I'm skeptical, but if it helps someone relax then go for it. You do get the odd person swimming quite far out, always puzzles me when you know 1 week ago there was a tracked 5m Great White in the exact spot they're swimming in....but as I said low risk. Sharks will eat you, but they don't hunt us. They know where to find their food, they'll hang around seal colonies, if they really wanted to eat us, they know exactly where to find us!

25year resident of the SF Bay Area.

You can swim at Aquatic Park (just can't go out into the bay due to boat traffic, other than events). Depending on your timing you might be able to attend one of the many Alcatraz swims (typically from just off the island into Aquatic Park).

Lots of folks OWS at the Santa Cruz beach, most typically from the beach to the right of the pier (that's where IM Santa Cruz and many other local tris exit..there's a small break there the surfers use). There are bathrooms and showers at the beach.


There are sharks (true of pretty much any ocean on the planet), but you won't see them and they have no interest in you...you're not a seal. Thousands of people do Alcatraz swims every year and there have been exactly zero shark attacks. Plus with all that accumulated lactic acid from the race, you would taste horrible.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Depends on the year whether you see one or not. Couple years back we had quite a few sightings swimming, I saw one on father's day... swimming alone... was a bit freaky. But the near shore ones are juveniles (they're still big at 6 ish feet) and feed on rays etc. Generally seeing them more pretty much because of new tech (drones) that allow us to see them more

In Santa Barbara, good swimming along East Beach (site of the SB tri). Water is always suprisingly cold tho. Santa Cruz, you can just swim off the beach. Can't do the whole 70.3 course I don't think, as that goes all the way round the pier.

Marginally more likely to see a shark staying more north as you are, and not making it down to southern calif/ malibu/ south bay

Your road trip is way more dangerous than swimming tho, by an order of magnitude

Going to correct you there. Sharks do not actively hunt humans. When they attack humans it could be argued that it's mistaken identity, they bite you, realise they don't like the taste and swim off. But there are plenty of occasions where they've eaten humans. We've had a few recently in Australia where the victims were eaten. Some bodies were recovered, but the sharks were lingering around wanting to finish them off. I don't think it's sensible to tell people sharks have no interest in us. They can be dangerous animals and if they are too sick or weak to hunt their normal prey they will eat us.

Think we're on the same page here. There are very few shark attacks, and most of those are mistaken identity. Globally, 10 people died of shark attacks last year. Nothing is zero risk, but this is darn close.

As a pp mentioned, driving to the beach is far riskier than the risk of a shark once you are there.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

There's a regular OWS group that swims around the Santa Cruz pier every Sat 8AM, year-round.

Don't want to be repetitive with everyone here, but generally yes those locations have great open water swimming options.

Water is COLD especially if you're not used to it (being from the UK...you probably are). There are plenty that go in swim suits only, but despite starting triathlon/open water swimming in the Bay, you won't catch me out there without a wetsuit.

Aquatic Park in San Francisco, Cowell Beach (towards the pier) in Santa Cruz, and a handful of beaches in Tahoe - all awesome OWS spots. Be mindful in other areas of the northern California ocean coast, as not only is there wildlife, that coastline is also fairly rugged, lots of rocks and riptides. Recommend swimming at established spots, not just a nice looking beach :)

And, at risk of sending this into the Lavender Room, be mindful of where / how you're parking your rental. Smash and grab thefts are an unfortunate reality in CA.

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KJ
Swim and Triathlon Coach
AllTerrainEndurance.com
KJ@allterrainendurance.com

If you don’t have a wetsuit, you can rent one from Sports Basement. They have an SF location on the Presidio and their Sunnyvale store is about 1/2 way to Santa Cruz.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Four of those deaths were in Australia, my home....

Isn’t there kind of an ongoing friendly-ish war of words among the wetsuit v non wetsuit crowd out there?

I think there's some gentle ribbing if you're a member of the Dolphin Club or South End Rowing Club :)

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KJ
Swim and Triathlon Coach
AllTerrainEndurance.com
KJ@allterrainendurance.com

Stop by Avila Beach and swim with the Avila Dolphins crew. Admittidly, a woman was killed by a shark in this bay, but that was 30 years ago. You're more likely to have a crab bite you (which did happen once to swimmer Tom). Or maybe a whale encounter (which also did happen to swimmer Dave).

In Santa Barbara, I like to swim out of Leadbetter Beach. If you go the right time of year, the Nitemoves happens on Wednesday evenings.

In Santa Cruz, I swim on the right side of the pier. I just do. No reason why.

Water is COLD along this stretch. Typically 50-56f (10-13c). Santa Barbara can warm up to the low 60s (17c).

Don't worry about sharks. Just swim. It is far safer than riding a bike. I'd trust a shark over a driver any day of the week.

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Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/

Remember there may be other things in the water in California, worse than sharks:

While that is a river and conditions mostly caused by the unhoused population , does raise the issue for the OP that we should wait 72 hours or so after a decent rain before swimming in the ocean, especially in locations near drainage channels.

Good advice from most people here.
You mentioned Lake Tahoe.
It is a multi hour drive from all of those coastal locations.
Even in August the water will be quite cold, probably barely 15 C.
Also, the lake is high elevation, about 1900 meters.
When I traveled there to race the Trans Tahoe a teammate told that when you jump in it will be so cold you forget you can't breathe because of the elevation. After a bit you become numb to the cold and realize you can't breathe.
Enjoy your trip.

I'm from the UK too. No offence to our fish-loving cousins across the pond, but this thread has not made me want to dip a toe in your waters.

Take this:

Wait... which is it? 100% safe, or less than 100% safe with the ever-present risk of getting mutiliated and devoured? Can’t be both, can it?

Or this:

er… right. How about we just go to the pool to swim?

Or this:
straight after...

I read this as "sharks will eat you like a seal."

Or:

How is that going to make me not worry. Sharks eat people in Santa Mandible, so lets go for a swim there?

Sorry guys I'm out & will be on Zwift if you need me. Take care out there.