Quote:
Originally Posted by hipster duck
Wow, you have to be pretty hardy to swim in the waters off Newfoundland now! Out here, I only want to wade into the water beyond my knees in mid-late August, and only after a week of consistent 30 degree temps.
Then again, the Pacific ocean can be surprisingly frigid as far south as California.
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Which is one of the reasons why lake swimming tends to be far more popular on the west coast (especially if swimming itself is the focal point of going to the beach).
Nothing beats swimming in the Okanagan for me.
With that being said, there are some decently warm ocean swimming spots in the Gulf Islands. The sunshine and heat from the sand when the tides come in help warm up the water in several bay areas.
As for the mainland, the water around White Rock is actually decently warm in July and August. Noticebly so compared to around downtown Van (where I think water temps usually max out somewhere in the high teens).