Dive Sites in South Dakota, United States

A nearly 400-acre US Forest Service reservoir on Spring Creek in the Black Hills, about 15 miles southwest of Rapid City. The 1870s gold-mining town of Sheridan was inundated when the lake filled in 1942, and divers explore the submerged townsite remnants in roughly 20 ft of water; maximum lake depth is about 40 ft. It is a quieter alternative to nearby Pactola, with marina, beaches and campgrounds on shore.

The largest and deepest reservoir in the Black Hills (about 800 acres, up to 150 ft deep), 15 miles west of Rapid City, flooded over the 1950s gold-rush-era town of Pactola. Divers explore remnants of the old town site, a dynamite bunker, railroad bed and CCC-camp structure, with roughly ten recognized dive spots from 15 to 90 ft; common entries are the swim beach at Pactola Point, the dam and the trail below the visitor center. Water is clear for the region (20-25 ft visibility) with a sharp thermocline around 40 ft, and this is a high-altitude dive at roughly 4,600 ft elevation.