United States Dive Sites — Page 21

Continued from the United States dive sites guide, which covers regions, seasonality, and planning details.

Hurricane Bay

California · 3–33.5 m

Hurricane Bay, on Tahoe's west shore about 1.4 miles south of Sunnyside, is a local favorite for deep and night diving: free year-round parking sits just 50 ft from the water and the bottom drops away immediately, so there is virtually no surface swim. The silt-and-sand slope holds large sunken trees from 40-100 ft, the famous 'Alley Cat' sunken sailboat at about 60 ft, and an old truck-chassis boat trailer near 110 ft, with visibility around 70 ft. It is a high-boat-traffic area in summer, so divers should enter and exit close to the beach.

IntermediateShore entry

Ichetucknee Spring

Florida · 6.1–12.2 m

Blue Hole (Jug) Spring is the only divable site in Ichetucknee Springs State Park and the largest spring on the Ichetucknee River. A short swim across the shallow basin leads to a cave entrance about 40 ft down, with nearly 600 ft of mapped passage beyond. The park permits cavern- and cave-certified divers only — no open water diving — with mandatory registration at the North Ranger Station and a half-mile trail carry to the water.

AdvancedShore entry

Indra (wreck)

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.

Boat entry

Ingraham Street Bridge

California · 15–21 m

When San Diego's old Ingraham Street Bridge across Mission Bay was demolished in 1992, its concrete slabs and rebar were sunk in about 60 feet of water in Wreck Alley by the California Department of Fish and Game's Artificial Reef Program. The criss-crossed slabs cover roughly a quarter mile of seafloor, creating dense cover that holds more fish than the nearby ship wrecks, plus abundant lobsters, eels and gorgonians. Its shallower depth makes it the rare Wreck Alley stop accessible to entry-level open-water divers and a favorite night dive.

Boat entry

Iris Wreck

Wisconsin · 0–1.2 m

The scow-schooner Iris (1866) was deliberately run hard aground in Jackson Harbor, Washington Island, by its captain in March 1913. The hull lies upright and embedded in less than 4 ft of water between the Rock Island ferry dock and the Ellefson fishing piers, with stern structure protruding above the surface; the lower hull is partly buried under dredge spoil. A historic snorkeling and viewing site rather than a scuba dive — mind the adjacent ferry traffic.

Shore entry

Island City Wreck

Wisconsin · 41–43 m

Sunken American schooner

IntermediateBoat entry

Isle of Wight Reef ("IOW")

Maryland · Up to 18.9 m

A dive site in United States. The site reaches a maximum depth of about 19 m. The site is reached by boat. Rated intermediate based on available data.

IntermediateBoat entry

Isles of Shoals

New Hampshire · —

A cluster of rocky islands about six miles off the NH/ME coast, straddling the state line, that is the premier boat-diving destination for New Hampshire charters. Sites around Star, White, Lunging and Smuttynose Islands offer kelp-covered ledges, boulder fields and walls with abundant lobster, fish life and frequent harbor seal encounters, in some of the clearest water in the region.

IntermediateBoat entry

J Reef (JY Reef)

Georgia · 16.8–23.7 m

An offshore reef area 17.5 nautical miles east of St. Catherines Island combining natural live-bottom ledges with added structure including the upright Coast Guard ship Sagebrush, subway cars, M-60 tanks and a Liberty ship. Bottom depths run 55-75 ft, and the coral-encrusted Sagebrush wreck is the signature dive, reached by roughly 1.5-hour charter runs from marinas such as Fort McAllister in Richmond Hill. Currents, thermoclines and changeable visibility (30-50 ft) make this comparable to Panhandle wreck diving.

AdvancedBoat entry

Jackson Blue Spring

Florida · 5–27.4 m

Jackson Blue Spring is a first-magnitude spring at the head of Merritt's Mill Pond near Marianna and one of the most popular full-cave dives in the United States. The entrance at the main vent leads into miles of mostly large, clear, white-limestone passage with notable flow, commonly dived with stages and DPVs. Access is by permit through Cave Adventurers with a gate code for year-round entry; the basin doubles as a county swim park in summer.

AdvancedShore entry

Jackspot Reef

Maryland · Up to 25 m

Artificial reef built from Materials of Opportunity

IntermediateBoat entry

Jane’s Island

Maryland · Up to 4.9 m

Artificial reef built from Tire units

Boat entry

Jay Scutti

Florida · Up to 20.4 m

Artificial reef built from 95' Tug, the "Jay Scutti "and 95' Schooner, the "Harbour Towne"

IntermediateBoat entry

Jekyll Island Pier West Arm

Georgia · Up to 4.9 m

Jekyll Island Pier West Arm is a dive site in United States. Maximum depth is around 5 m. The site is reached by boat.

Boat entry

Jenny Lake

Wyoming · 6–30.5 m

A glacial lake in Grand Teton National Park at about 6,783 feet elevation, one of only two lakes in the park where scuba diving is permitted (the other is Jackson Lake). Divers can descend into an underwater forest of trees deposited by shoreline landslides, reaching down to about 100 feet, with the dramatic Teton range as a backdrop. Boat access from the West Shore Boat Dock area is used to reach the dive zone, and water temperatures around 40F require a drysuit.

AdvancedBoat entry

Jim Caudle Reef

South Carolina · 8–11 m

The Jim Caudle Reef (SC DNR site PA-02) is a large artificial reef about 2.5 miles off Little River Inlet near North Myrtle Beach, built from concrete cones, rubble, sunken barges, tanks and other retired military vehicles in roughly 30 ft of water. It is the largest and most visited artificial reef in South Carolina waters, popular with both anglers and divers. Marine life includes flounder, sheepshead, black sea bass and seasonal pelagics. Although filed under North Carolina, the reef sits just south of the state line in South Carolina waters.

Boat entry

Jimmy Leland Reef

South Carolina · Up to 14 m

Artificial reef built from 45' Tugboat (Duane Merritt)

Boat entry

Joe Patti Memorial Reef

Florida · Up to 15.2 m

Artificial reef built from 195' X 40' X 10' Metal Barge with 120 Stainless Steel Sculptures on Deck

Boat entry

Joe's Tug

Florida · Up to 19.8 m

Artificial reef built from 90' Long Tugboat

IntermediateBoat entry

John D MacArthur Beach State Park

Florida · 0.6–3 m

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park on Singer Island protects a rare stretch of natural barrier-island habitat with a 125,000-year-old Anastasia limestone rock reef lying just off the sand. The shallow, hole-pitted reef — built up by colonies of sabellariid reef-building tube worms — is easily reached from shore and visible from the surface, making it one of Palm Beach County's best beach snorkels. Depths are only a few feet, so timing around high tide and calm surf matters, and a dive flag is mandatory because boats work close to the reef.

Shore entry

John Michael Baker Memorial Reef (Phase II)

Florida · Up to 21.3 m

Artificial reef built from 58 tons of concrete construction material (culverts and junction boxes)

IntermediateBoat entry

JOSEPHINE MARIE (90 ft long steel fishing trawler) Wreck

Massachusetts · Up to 32 m

The Josephine Marie, an 80-ft steel-hulled stern trawler built in 1969, sank on 1 February 1992 while fishing Massachusetts Bay. The red-and-black-hulled wreck lies upside down in 105 feet of water on the southern end of Stellwagen Bank with its bow facing roughly southeast; the exposed propellers are a favorite photo spot. An official NOAA sanctuary dive site, it carries swift currents and draped fishing gear, so dives are timed to slack water.

AdvancedBoat entry

Jove Creek

Georgia · Up to 0.9 m

Jove Creek is a dive site in United States. Maximum depth is around 1 m. The site is reached by boat.

Boat entry

Joys Wreck

Wisconsin · Up to 3 m

steamboat that sank in Lake Michigan

IntermediateBoat entry