Showing 529–552 of 1,024
Continued from the United States dive sites guide, which covers regions, seasonality, and planning details.
Oklahoma · —
A small, scenic lake set among the granite boulders of the Wichita Mountains on the Fort Sill boundary near Lawton, with a public recreation area (LETRA) operated by Army MWR. It is a long-standing local dive spot with roughly 15 ft average visibility, abundant sunfish and bass around the rock piles, and easy beach entries. The surrounding terrain sits around 1,300 ft elevation.
Arizona · 4.6–10.7 m
A set-up underwater park near Copper Canyon along the Arizona-California state line on Lake Havasu, one of about 30 named dive sites on the lake. Guide lines connect purpose-sunk attractions including two sailboats, a small tri-hull, a mock submarine and a truck in an average depth around 28 feet; the nearby Miller's Folly party-boat wreck lies in 25 feet beside a large fish habitat. Lake visibility runs 10-50 feet seasonally with water from the mid-50s F in winter to 85 F in summer; the site is reached by boat.
Pennsylvania · 3–30.5 m
Lake Hydra in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is the reopened former Dutch Springs quarry, a 50-acre spring-fed lake with clear water to about 100 ft and classic sunken attractions including aircraft, a Sikorsky helicopter, trucks and training platforms. Saved by local divers working with the new property owners, it reopened in 2024 and now operates as an inland scuba training facility. The west entrance has a heated/air-conditioned bathhouse with showers and changing areas; access is limited to groups diving with certified, insured dive professionals at $60 per day, purchased in advance.
South Carolina · 3–21.3 m
A deep, clear mountain reservoir in the Blue Ridge foothills, created in 1973 and reached through Devils Fork State Park - widely regarded as the Southeast's best freshwater diving. Boat-accessed sites include Big Wall/Small Wall (~35 ft), South Wall (~70 ft), a sunken boat at ~60 ft and the iconic church bell tower in 40-60 ft, with deeper relics (a cemetery, a lodge) far below recreational limits; visibility commonly runs 20-50 ft. The lake exceeds 300 ft deep, and water temperatures range from the 40s in winter to around 80 F in summer.
South Carolina · 3–10.7 m
A one-of-a-kind warm-water drift dive on 18,000-acre Lake Keowee, where the Oconee Nuclear Station's cooling discharge blows warmed water (up to ~80 F) back into the lake near Duke Energy's World of Energy site off Rochester Highway. Upstate divers and the Clemson Scuba Club ride the outflow current like a roller coaster, descending a rope to about 30 ft before letting go; the warm plume meets 50s F lake water at the edges. Visibility is poor and the current strength varies with the plant's cycle.
Georgia · 1.5–7.6 m
The main scuba spot on Lake Lanier near Buford Dam, with two diveable areas known locally as Mask Cove and Divers Cove. The training cove is closed to boat traffic, with a hazard buoy in about 25 ft of water and a pair of large concrete blocks to navigate to. Atlanta-area shops use it constantly for open water checkouts, rescue scenarios and DPV/drysuit training; visibility is low and the water cold below the thermocline.
Pennsylvania · —
Lake Marburg is a 1,275-acre lake in Codorus State Park near Hanover, PA. Because of heavy boat traffic, scuba diving is restricted to Sinsheim Cove on the east side of the park. Divers must register and show certification at the park office before diving and sign out afterward; the buddy system and a dive flag are mandatory. Recreational diving is free, while training and organized events require a special activities agreement.
Nebraska · 3–30.5 m
Nebraska's largest reservoir, a 30,000-acre lake on the North Platte River near Ogallala known for white-sand beaches. The Kingsley Dam area and the south shore offer the best visibility (average ~12 ft, up to 30-40 ft at times) and the dam is the most popular dive; walleye spearfishing is the main local dive activity. Deeper targets include remains of the inundated town of Lemoyne around 50 ft and an old highway bridge near 100 ft when the lake is full.
Montana · 3–30 m
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.
Oklahoma · Up to 18.3 m
Lake Murray, inside Oklahoma's oldest and largest state park near Ardmore, is largely spring-fed and offers rare clarity for the southern Great Plains - up to 30 ft on good days, though commonly 5-15 ft. Marietta Landing campground on the south end is the primary dive access, with bluffs, cracks and overhangs to explore in the 25-60 ft range; the lake gets dark below about 40 ft. The WPA-era Tucker Tower area across from the marina is a deeper boat-dive option.
South Carolina · —
A 50,000-acre reservoir northwest of Columbia where scuba diving is permitted, with the most convenient access through Dreher Island State Park's shoreline and boat ramps. Local divers use it for training and exploration dives around points, old roadbeds and submerged structure (divers report a bridge and a sunken plane in deeper water), though visibility is usually under 10 ft. An active local dive community (Columbia-area shops and the Lake Murray Diving group) dives it regularly.
Minnesota · —
A 140-acre lake formed by flooding three open-pit iron mines inside the city limits of Gilbert on the Iron Range. Since the late 1990s local divers have placed an unusual collection of attractions on its shelves at varying depths, including a WWII-era fighter plane, two military helicopters, a school bus, a twin-engine airplane, a car, a boat and train cars. The rock-filtered water is exceptionally clear, and the lake hosts the annual Scuba Palooza gathering each August with camping at the adjacent Sherwood Forest Campground.
Arkansas · 3–18.3 m
Arkansas's largest lake and one of its cleanest, set in the Ouachita Mountains near Hot Springs, with roughly 30 charted dive spots around its uninhabited islands. Named sites include Crawdad Island, Zebra Rock, 'Tip of Snoopy's Ear' and Disappearing Island, plus submerged rock formations and remnants of pre-impoundment structures. Visibility runs 15-20 ft on the west end and up to 40 ft near Blakely Mountain Dam, which is also the most practical shore-diving area; most other sites are boat dives.
Idaho · 26.2–34.1 m
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.
Arizona · 3–61 m
The Phoenix area's primary dive lake, a 10,000-acre reservoir in Lake Pleasant Regional Park reaching about 260 feet when full. Established dive areas include Vista Point, Sunset Ridge, the protected beginner cove east of the 10-Lane boat ramp (~30 ft), and the submerged Old Waddell Dam; shore dives commonly reach 60-100+ ft and boat dives can exceed 200 ft, making it a regional technical-diving venue. Winter visibility can hit 40-60 feet while summer drops to 5-10 feet.
North Dakota · —
The third-largest reservoir in the US, formed by Garrison Dam on the Missouri River, and the standard open-water training and fun-dive lake for North Dakota's dive community. Water near the dam face is the clearest in the river system (15-20 ft on good days), and shallow bays hold aquatic grass beds sheltering fish, turtles and crayfish, with rock formations and fossils on the lake bed. Lake Sakakawea State Park near Pick City provides ramps and shore access.
Oklahoma · 3–18.3 m
Lake Tenkiller in the Cookson Hills is Oklahoma's best-known dive lake, and its designated scuba park near Strayhorn Landing on the south end has been served by Gene's Aqua Pro dive shop since 1971. Sunken attractions include an airplane fuselage, school bus, Coast Guard helicopter and several boats, with a 'Grand Tour Challenge' linking seven of them. Dives in the area run to about 60 ft with visibility typically 3-10 ft (better, 8-28 ft, in cooler months).
New York · 32–32.6 m
A NYS DEC Submerged Heritage Preserve protecting the Land Tortoise, a 1758 radeau (a seven-sided floating gun battery) in the south basin of Lake George. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998 and described by the Smithsonian as the oldest intact warship in North America. It rests upright and remarkably complete in roughly 105-107 feet of cold water, making this an advanced cold-water dive.
Kentucky · 9.1–24.4 m
Laurel River Lake near Corbin, in the Daniel Boone National Forest, is considered one of the deepest and cleanest lakes in Kentucky. The dam area is the signature dive, with clear water over submerged rock formations and depths typically worked between 30 and 80 ft. The lake is a regular destination for Lexington and Louisville dive clubs.
New Mexico · 0–27.4 m
Lea Lake is the largest and deepest of the eight gypsum sinkhole lakes at Bottomless Lakes State Park near Roswell, and the only one where scuba diving is permitted. It reaches about 90 feet deep with easy shore entry from the swim beach; submerged springs around 35-40 feet, known as 'Mecca', clear the water in summer when visibility can exceed 50 feet. The park hosts an annual divers' gathering (Bottomless Bubbles) over Labor Day weekend.
California · 4.6–15.2 m
Malibu's premier beach dive at the western end of Los Angeles County, with an unusually large kelp forest starting in under 15 ft and substantial reefs, mini-walls and pinnacles extending to about 50 ft. The classic entry is the small cove near lifeguard tower 2, with kelp-covered reef close by on both sides. The reefs are known for an abundance of large octopuses.
Washington · 6.1–36.6 m
A Metro Parks Tacoma fishing pier and marine park on Ruston Way in Commencement Bay with a dedicated diver stairway. A short ~75 ft swim from the stairs reaches a large man-made reef built partly from blocks of the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, lying perpendicular to shore in roughly 40-70 ft, with the bottom continuing past 120 ft for deeper profiles. Mild conditions, easy entry and on-site amenities make it one of Tacoma's most popular training and night-dive sites.
Florida · Up to 26.5 m
Artificial reef built from Liberty Ship, the "Thomas Heyward"
Alabama · Up to 30 m
The Allen is a WWII-era Liberty ship deployed as an artificial reef off Baldwin County, one of the better-known wreck dives within roughly 8-11 nautical miles of Perdido Pass, lying in about 90-100 ft of water. It is a long-established reef that draws grouper, snapper and other reef fish.