Destination guide
North Carolina, United States has 17 public dive sites on PickADive. Use the list below to compare mapped sites by depth, access, difficulty, ratings, and reviews before opening a site page.
Seasonal patterns
Typical conditions by month across dive sites in North Carolina, United States— historical patterns, not a forecast.
From 17 sites’ typical conditions · historical typicals, not a forecast
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Featured dive guides
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Showing 1–17 of 17
North Carolina · 25–27.4 m
U-85 is a WWII German U-boat wreck off Cape Hatteras in about 90 ft / 27 m of water. It is a boat dive for experienced wreck divers, with low-visibility/current risk and historical-war-loss sensitivity. Keep the dive external unless trained/equipped for wreck penetration and leave artifacts undisturbed.
North Carolina · 3–9 m
Historic USS Huron lies just off Nags Head in shallow Atlantic water and is managed as an NC Heritage Dive Site. The wreck is close enough for shore access in calm summer conditions, with buoys commonly marking bow and stern, and is useful for both snorkelers and shallow scuba divers. Treat it as a protected archaeological site: look, photograph, and do not disturb or collect artifacts.
North Carolina · 25.9–33.5 m
The Aeolus is a 409-ft former US Navy attack cargo and cable-repair ship intentionally sunk in 1988 as part of North Carolina artificial reef AR-305, south of Beaufort Inlet. Hurricane Fran broke the wreck into three large sections, creating a multi-level dive from about 85 ft down to 110 ft with abundant swim-throughs. It is a dependable site for schooling baitfish, amberjack, and resident sand tiger sharks.
North Carolina · 29–32 m
HMT Bedfordshire was a British armed anti-submarine trawler lent to the US Navy and torpedoed by U-558 on 11 May 1942 with the loss of all 37 hands; four of her crew are buried in the British Cemetery on Ocracoke. The broken, low-lying wreck rests in about 105 ft of water off Cape Lookout in three sections. It is a formally protected British war grave: divers may visit respectfully but must leave the site and all artifacts undisturbed.
North Carolina · 21–27 m
The Caribsea was a 251-ft American freighter torpedoed by U-158 on 11 March 1942, now resting in about 90 ft of water on the east side of Cape Lookout Shoals. The site is mostly a low-lying debris field with a prominent stern section and propeller. It is one of North Carolina's most famous sand tiger shark dives, with aggregations that on good days can number in the dozens, and the sharks here tend to be larger than at deeper sites. Visibility ranges 20-100 ft, most commonly 30-60 ft.
North Carolina · 18–27 m
The Dixie Arrow was a 468-ft American tanker torpedoed by U-71 on 26 March 1942 about 15 miles south of Hatteras Inlet, lost with 11 of her 33 crew. She rests upright on her keel in about 90 ft of water, with portions of the bow rising 30 ft off the sand and the boilers and triple-expansion steam engine standing at the stern. The wreck is a NOAA-documented WWII battlefield site and hosts abundant marine life, including resident sand tiger sharks.
North Carolina · 9.1–18.3 m
The Indra is a 330-ft former US Navy landing craft repair ship sunk in 1992 as artificial reef AR-330, about 10 miles off Atlantic Beach. Resting upright in only 60 ft of water with decks at 40-45 ft and cut-outs for easy access, it is North Carolina's classic first wreck dive and a popular training site. The largely intact hull is packed with baitfish, sea bass, flounder, octopus, and the occasional passing shark.
North Carolina · 25.9–36.6 m
Known to divers as the Papoose, this wreck is actually the 435-ft tanker W.E. Hutton, torpedoed by U-124 in March 1942 and misidentified for decades. It lies upside down in about 120 ft of clear Gulf Stream water roughly 36 nautical miles from Beaufort Inlet. The site is one of North Carolina's most reliable sand tiger shark aggregation dives, with 20-50 sharks seen on many dives.
North Carolina · 27–39 m
The Proteus was a 390-ft luxury passenger liner that ran between New York and New Orleans, lost on 19 August 1918 in a collision with the SS Cushing about 20-25 miles south of Hatteras Inlet. She lies in 120-130 ft of water as a broad wreck site with engine, boilers and stern machinery providing relief. Bathed in Gulf Stream water, the site is a reliable aggregation point for sand tiger sharks plus big pelagics like amberjack, African pompano and barracuda.
North Carolina · 40–49 m
The Lancing was a Norwegian whale factory ship, converted to carry petroleum, torpedoed by U-552 on 7 April 1942 about 14 miles off Cape Hatteras with the loss of one of her 50 crew. The wreck rests in roughly 160 ft of water, beyond recreational limits, making it a technical dive visited by experienced deep wreck divers. It is documented by NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary as part of the Battle of the Atlantic battlefield.
North Carolina · 27.4–35.1 m
U-352, a Type VIIC U-boat sunk by US Coast Guard cutter Icarus on 9 May 1942, is the signature wreck of North Carolina's Graveyard of the Atlantic. The intact hull lists about 45 degrees to starboard in 110-115 ft of water 26 miles south of Morehead City, with the conning tower rising to about 90 ft. Gulf Stream water often delivers tropical visibility, and the site is dived several times a week in season. It is a war grave for 15 German sailors and must not be penetrated or disturbed.
North Carolina · Up to 219.8 m
U-576, a Type VIIC U-boat, was lost with all 45 hands on 15 July 1942 in a battle with convoy KS-520, minutes after sinking the freighter Bluefields, which lies only ~220 m away. The pair was located by NOAA in 2014 about 30 miles off Cape Hatteras at a depth of 721 ft (220 m) and surveyed by crewed submersible in 2016. The site is a protected German war grave at submersible-only depth and is not a scuba diving site.
North Carolina · 30.5–36.6 m
U-701, the Type VIIC U-boat that mined the Chesapeake approaches and sank the tanker William Rockefeller, was bombed by an Army A-29 Hudson on 7 July 1942 off Diamond Shoals. The wreck sits partially buried in sand in 110-120 ft of water about 20 nautical miles east of Cape Hatteras, where colliding currents make conditions notoriously changeable. Rediscovered by diver Uwe Lovas in 1989, it is an advanced, rarely dived German war grave - not the deep technical dive it is sometimes assumed to be.
North Carolina · 27.4–33.5 m
U-85, a Type VIIB U-boat sunk by USS Roper on 14 April 1942, was the first German submarine lost off the US East Coast in WWII. The largely intact hull lies on its starboard side in about 90-110 ft of water 14 miles east of Oregon Inlet on the Outer Banks, with the four forward torpedo tubes exposed. It is a German war grave for the 46 crew lost and one of the most historic recreational wreck dives on the East Coast.
North Carolina · 52–61 m
Lightship LV-71 marked the deadly Diamond Shoals for over 20 years before being shelled and sunk by U-140 on 6 August 1918 — the only U.S. lightship ever lost to enemy action; her entire crew survived. The 122-ft vessel now rests in 180-200 ft of water just off the shoals and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. The depth, current and remoteness make this strictly a technical (trimix) dive visited only occasionally by expedition-level divers.
North Carolina · 30–34 m
USS Schurz began life as the German light cruiser SMS Geier, was seized at Honolulu when the US entered WWI, and sank on 21 June 1918 after a collision with the SS Florida about 30 nautical miles south of Beaufort Inlet. The 295-ft warship lies in roughly 110 ft of water with boilers rising to about 100 ft, an intact upward-pointing stern, I-beams and deck structure. Sea fans, dense baitfish schools, big rays and occasional sharks make it one of North Carolina's signature advanced wreck dives.
North Carolina · 35–43 m
The ex-USS Tarpon (SS-175) was a WWII fleet submarine that earned seven battle stars in the Pacific and was the first US submarine of the war to sink a German raider. Sold for scrap, she foundered under tow off Cape Hatteras on 26 August 1957. The hull sits upright with a slight port list in 140 ft of water with the decks at about 110-115 ft, usually patrolled by several sand tiger sharks, and is considered an advanced dive with good visibility but frequent current.
North Carolina has 17 public dive sites in the PickADive catalog. Start with the map when coastline, nearby alternatives, and travel distance matter.
Explore sites on the mapCurrent public data shows 10 advanced and 3 expert dive sites. Listed depths range from about 3m to 220m where available. Boat is the most common listed access type. Use those signals as a starting point, then confirm the plan against training, equipment, and current local guidance.
PickADive can help with research and comparison, but it does not certify that a dive is safe today. Weather, current, visibility, entry, boat traffic, and local rules can change quickly.
How condition context worksUse the ranked list on this page to compare 17 public dive sites in North Carolina. PickADive highlights ratings, reviews, depth, access type, difficulty, and mapped location so you can move from destination research to a specific site page. 1 dive site is recorded with shore access and 16 with boat access, and 2 are verified listings.
Yes. PickADive currently marks 13 dive sites in North Carolina as advanced or expert level. That includes 3 marked expert. Listed depths in the catalog reach about 220m at the deepest sites, and 16 dive sites are recorded as boat access. These dives deserve extra attention to depth, access, current, visibility, and local guidance.
Listed PickADive depth data for North Carolina ranges from about 3m to 220m. Both shallow shore entries and deeper boat sites appear in the catalog: 1 dive site is recorded with shore access and 16 with boat access. Use that as a research starting point, then verify current conditions and site-specific guidance.
Yes. Use the map link on this page to compare North Carolina dive sites by location, coastline, nearby alternatives, and individual site details.