From anywhere in the town of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, you can enter the water, swim out about 100 yards and be on a reef. Many people like entering the water at Datura or Hibiscus streets, which are south of Commercial Boulevard.

If you enter at the Datura Portal, you can check out the artificial “Shipwreck Trail.” by swimming out just past the buoys (that mark the swimming areas), then drop down and continue east. There you’ll find a replica of what would be left from a shipwreck in the early 1800’s. All artifacts are within a 100′ x 20′ area. A set of two concrete replica cannons is on the North side and three on the South side of the site. Further east takes you to the “potholes” which have lots of juvenile fish species. Swimming further out to the east takes you to the “second reef” where it’s approximately 12-15 feet deep. Some of the reef features like hard corals can be 3-4 feet tall here.