Dive Sites in Iowa, United States

Big Blue is a flooded clay pit of about 14 acres in Lester Milligan Park on the west side of Mason City, used heavily for open-water training. Attractions include a training platform at about 13 ft, several derelict vehicles along the east side, and a roughly 25 ft sailboat. Maximum depth is about 33-35 ft with visibility around 20 ft.

A 27-acre county lake near Woodbine in western Iowa that has become a regular dive spot for the Greater Omaha SCUBA Club. Visibility averages 10-15 ft and can reach about 25 ft after stretches of calm weather. Maximum depth varies from about 22-25 ft with lake levels, with a median depth around 12-15 ft, and the surrounding 220-acre recreation area offers camping and other facilities.

A flooded limestone pit quarry owned by Schildberg Construction on the north edge of Atlantic, long used by Omaha- and Des Moines-area dive shops, clubs and public-safety teams for training. Average visibility runs 10-15 ft and drops sharply after storms; above roughly 60 ft the water is clear, while deeper water is about 41F, low-oxygen and sulfurous. Access has been intermittent - diving historically required written permission and liability waivers from Schildberg, and trespassing signage has been reported at the gate in some years, so confirm access before traveling.

West Lake Okoboji is a 3,800+ acre glacial lake and the clearest, deepest natural lake in Iowa, with visibility ranging from about 12 ft in summer to 40-70 ft in winter and early spring. Popular dives include three submerged pipelines (Pillsbury Point, the Milford Tower and The Inn), a truck that fell through the ice in the 1940s in Smith's Bay, scattered boat remains, and rocky points with drop-offs. Most aquatic life is seen between 10 and 40 ft, though the lake bottoms out around 136 ft.

A small flooded limestone quarry in the Turkey Ridge Wildlife Area southwest of Janesville, north of Cedar Falls, managed as a public dive site. It has scuba staging platforms on shore, an underwater training platform at about 17 ft, and DNR-sunk fish cribs. Maximum depth is roughly 31-35 ft with average visibility of 16-20 ft.