Dive Sites in Montana, United States

A high-altitude reservoir of about 3,000 acres between Anaconda and Philipsburg, popular for fishing and watersports and used by local divers. Maximum depth is around 85 feet with limited visibility (roughly 5 to 10 feet). The shallow, weed-lined basin supports abundant trout and is a convenient regional freshwater dive at altitude.

The largest lake in Glacier National Park, about 472 feet deep, with submerged trees and historic debris on the bottom. A popular and easy dive entry is at Apgar Village, home of the 'Pitchfork Forest' - a field of rakes, axes and pitchforks discarded onto winter ice in the park's early days that sank when the ice melted and were later stood upright by divers. The clear, very cold alpine water and submerged forest near Sprague Creek make it a unique high-altitude freshwater dive.

Montana's third-largest body of water, a Missouri River reservoir downstream of the Three Forks confluence, completed in 1954. Three marina concessions (Goose Bay, Kim's, and Yacht Basin) provide services, and local divers use the reservoir for fun dives, though clarity is limited and not ideal for new-diver open-water training. The rocky and silty bottom holds abundant warm-water and cold-water fish.

A glacial lake in the Clearwater chain northeast of Missoula, with a maximum depth around 125 feet, used by local divers and known as a spearfishing-friendly area. Surrounded by forest and a popular recreation town, it offers convenient freshwater diving with submerged structure and abundant fish, at moderate altitude.

The largest natural freshwater lake in the western U.S., Flathead Lake offers clear water with visibility often exceeding 100 feet and depths over 300 feet, drawing divers to its rock formations and underwater cliffs. Goose Island, a glacial rock outcropping ringed by boulders and fish, is a highlight, and several boats have been deliberately sunk to create fish habitat and dive attractions. Somers Bay on the north end holds the upside-down hull of the Kee-O-Mee, a 54-foot pleasure boat that sank in 1937, along with the remains of the old Somers Mill.