Dive Sites in Idaho, United States

The most-dived lake in northern Idaho, home to several purpose-sunk and natural wrecks plus shore-accessible dives. Independence Point, a beach next to a downtown resort, provides shore access to multiple wrecks, while charters reach deeper sites such as the excursion cruiser Seeweewana, sunk at 96 feet as a dive attraction in 1988, and the steamboats Spokane and Harrison. Early-1900s silver and copper mining left heavy metals that make the water exceptionally dark, and thousands of kokanee salmon spawn at nearby Higgins Point in late fall.

A spring-fed cove on the Snake River in the Hagerman Valley's Thousand Springs area, famous for vivid turquoise water created by geothermally warmed groundwater welling up through volcanic rock. The site is reachable only by water (kayak, canoe or paddleboard) on a roughly 1.5-mile downstream paddle from Banbury Hot Springs. The pool is shallow and exceptionally clear, popular for snorkeling and easy diving, with spring water holding around 58F year round.

A small spring-fed lake of about 5 acres adjacent to Shoshone Falls Park near Twin Falls, widely used by southern Idaho dive shops for open-water training. The lake has an average depth around 21 to 25 feet with submerged platforms and obstacles set up for instruction. Visibility typically runs 5 to 15 feet, and the easy shore access makes it one of the most dive-friendly spots in the state.

Lake Pend Oreille is one of the deepest lakes in North America (about 1,150 feet) and holds more than 60 wrecks, mostly historic wooden boats. The signature dive is a set of sunken railroad gravel cars near Trestle Creek at the lake's north end, lost in 1904 when a trestle gave way. The first boxcar appears around 86 feet and the wreckage continues to about 110 to 112 feet, where divers can see the couplers between cars and swim into one boxcar. This is a deep, cold-water altitude dive accessed from the Trestle Creek boat launch near Hope.

A high-altitude glacial lake in the Sawtooth Valley near Stanley, sitting at roughly 6,547 feet of elevation, with summer visibility of 40 to 80 feet. A beach-entry training site lies at Point Campground near the lodge, where local dive centers use a navigation course and buoyancy markers. Notable features include Schoolhouse Rock (a ~14-foot boulder rising from about 20 feet), a sunken 20-foot cabin boat at 60 feet, and 'The Wall' at the south end with ledges descending to about 100 feet.