Wisconsin, United States Dive Sites — Page 2

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

Niagara Wreck

Wisconsin · Up to 16.8 m

The 245-ft sidewheel palace steamer Niagara caught fire and sank on September 24, 1856, off Belgium, Wisconsin, killing more than 60 people in one of Wisconsin's deadliest transportation disasters. The wreck lies in 55 ft of water one mile offshore, almost directly off Harrington Beach State Park, and is an underwater museum of mid-19th-century technology: the huge walking-beam engine, cylinders, boilers and hull. A WHS seasonal mooring buoy marks the site.

IntermediateBoat entry

Noquebay Wreck

Wisconsin · 3–5 m

The Noquebay was a 205-foot schooner-barge that burned and sank in Julian Bay off Stockton Island in 1905. The wreckage field lies in only 10-15 feet of water, trending north/south for about 230 feet, with large intact sections of bow, sides and machinery variably exposed or buried in sand. Marked by a Wisconsin Historical Society mooring buoy, it is one of the Apostle Islands' most popular beginner wreck dives and an excellent snorkel and kayak site.

Boat entry

Northerner Wreck

Wisconsin · 20–43 m

The two-masted schooner Northerner capsized and sank off Port Washington in 1868 while under tow and now sits upright and remarkably intact in about 140 feet of water. Her main mast still stands some 75 feet above the deck, the bowsprit and a rare carved figurehead survive, and her cargo of cordwood remains stacked in the hold. Frequently 80-plus-foot visibility makes it one of the most photogenic wrecks on Wisconsin's Shipwreck Coast, but the depth makes this a serious advanced dive.

AdvancedBoat entry

Ocean Wave Wreck

Wisconsin · 30–34 m

The Ocean Wave was an 1860-built scow schooner with a rare eagle figurehead that sank in 20 minutes after striking floating timber in 1869, loaded with quarried stone. She sits upright in 110 feet of water two miles off Whitefish Point, Door County, her lower hull embedded in sand that alternately covers and uncovers hull structure, rigging and cargo. Bow and stern ramps and the stern cabin area remain well preserved, making this a rewarding advanced boat dive.

AdvancedBoat entry

Ottawa Wreck

Wisconsin · 4–5 m

The Ottawa, built in 1881 as the Boscobel, was one of the largest and most powerful wrecking tugs on the Great Lakes until she burned at her mooring off Red Cliff in 1909. Most of her hull structure, including a 158-foot run of port side and large starboard sections, rests on sand in just 12-16 feet of water in Buffalo Bay. The shallow, sheltered site is a favorite of beginner divers, snorkelers and kayakers in the Apostle Islands region.

Boat entry

Pretoria Wreck

Wisconsin · 12–16 m

The 338-foot Pretoria, the largest wooden schooner-barge ever built on the Great Lakes, foundered off Outer Island in a 1905 storm with the loss of five crew. Her broken hull — large sections of sides, deck and bottom — lies on sandstone bedrock in a maximum of 54 feet of water amid a debris field that extends for miles. A WHS seasonal mooring buoy marks the main wreckage, making this remote Apostle Islands site a worthwhile intermediate dive when Lake Superior cooperates.

IntermediateBoat entry

R.G. Stewart (shipwreck)

Wisconsin · —

The R.G. Stewart was a 100-foot packet steamer that ran aground on Michigan Island in fog in June 1899 and burned the next morning when her overworked boilers set the woodwork alight; one crewman drowned. Her hull remains and a scatter of superstructure artifacts lie partially buried in sand over a cobble and boulder bottom in shallow water off the island's southeast shore. The site, listed on the National Register in 1991, makes a relaxed shallow dive or snorkel for boaters exploring the outer Apostle Islands.

Boat entry

Robert C. Pringle Wreck

Wisconsin · 85–91 m

Built in 1903 as the excursion steamer Chequamegon and converted to a tug, the Robert C. Pringle sank without loss of life off Sheboygan in 1922 after striking floating debris. Discovered by Steve Radovan in 2008, she sits upright and remarkably intact in about 300 feet of water — pilothouse with glass still in its windows, wheel, bell and searchlight all in place. This is one of Wisconsin's premier extreme-depth technical wreck dives, reserved for experienced trimix/CCR teams.

ExpertBoat entry

Rouse Simmons Wreck

Wisconsin · 44–50 m

The Rouse Simmons, the legendary Christmas Tree Ship, sank in a November 1912 storm with all 16 aboard while carrying thousands of evergreens to Chicago. Rediscovered in 1971, the 1868 schooner lies remarkably intact in 165 feet of water about 12 miles northeast of Two Rivers, trees reportedly still in her hold. Now protected within the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary, she is one of Lake Michigan's most storied deep wreck dives for technical divers.

ExpertBoat entry

SS Appomattox Wreck

Wisconsin · 4–6 m

The 319-foot Appomattox, the largest wooden bulk steamer ever built on the Great Lakes, grounded in fog and smoke off present-day Atwater Beach in 1905 and broke up where she lay. A 250-foot section of her lower bilge and a large run of collapsed port hull rest in just 15-20 feet of water about 150 yards offshore, marked by a seasonal WHS mooring buoy. Easily reached from the beach, it is metro Milwaukee's signature shore-accessible wreck dive and a favorite of snorkelers and kayakers.

Shore + boat

SS Atlanta Wreck

Wisconsin · 4–5 m

The Goodrich Line steamer Atlanta caught fire and was lost off Cedar Grove in March 1906 while running from Sheboygan to Milwaukee; all aboard escaped. Her lower hull lies mostly intact and partially buried in sand in about 17 feet of water, 800 feet from shore north of Amsterdam Park. The shallow, sandy site has served as an underwater archaeology training venue and makes an easy kayak-dive or snorkel inside the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast sanctuary.

Shore + boat

SS Continental Wreck

Wisconsin · 0–5 m

The wooden bulk freighter Continental stranded in a blinding December 1904 snowstorm after missing the course change at Twin Rivers Point; her crew reached shore safely and ice destroyed the hull over the winter. The wreckage now lies scattered in 0-15 feet of water 1.5 miles north of Rawley Point Lighthouse off Point Beach State Forest. It is an easy snorkel or shallow dive on calm days, best reached by a beach walk and swim or by kayak.

Shore + boat

SS J.M. Allmendinger Wreck

Wisconsin · 3–4 m

The steambarge J.M. Allmendinger went ashore near Fox Point in a November 1895 gale and blizzard while running lumber to Milwaukee. Her keel, keelson and floors lie intact with scattered hull fragments, rudder and boiler in just 12 feet of water about 1,035 feet off the Mequon shoreline south of Concordia University. The shallow, NRHP-listed site is an easy kayak-supported dive or snorkel on calm days.

Boat entry

SS Lakeland Wreck

Wisconsin · 60–72 m

The 280-foot iron steamer Lakeland foundered six miles east of Sturgeon Bay in December 1924 while carrying a cargo of new Nash, Kissel and Rollin automobiles. She lies upright and largely intact in roughly 200-235 feet of water, broken nearly in half aft of her cargo elevator, with cars still visible in the hold. Famous since the mixed-gas era opened her to divers, the Lakeland is one of the Great Lakes' classic deep technical wrecks.

ExpertBoat entry

SS Milwaukee Wreck

Wisconsin · 27–38 m

The carferry Milwaukee sailed into a violent October 1929 northeaster and foundered with all 52 aboard — the worst carferry disaster in Great Lakes history. She sits upright in about 125 feet of water off Whitefish Bay, railroad cars still on her deck, with her superstructure collapsed alongside. The depth and slowly deteriorating steel make this a serious advanced dive and a sobering piece of Lake Michigan history.

AdvancedBoat entry

SS R.J. Hackett Wreck

Wisconsin · 3–4 m

The R.J. Hackett (1869) is widely credited as the first purpose-built Great Lakes bulk freighter, the design that defined lake shipping for a century. She burned to the waterline on Whaleback Shoal in November 1905 while carrying coal and now lies broken in 10-14 feet of water 10 miles northeast of Chambers Island in Green Bay. Her steeple engine, boiler, shaft, propeller and remnant coal cargo make a fascinating shallow dive or snorkel for boaters.

Boat entry

SS S.C. Baldwin Wreck

Wisconsin · 14–23 m

The steam barge S.C. Baldwin (1871) sank off Point Beach near Two Rivers in August 1908 and was relocated by sport fishermen in the mid-1970s. She sits upright in about 60-75 feet of water with her stem post rising 30 feet off the bottom, marked by a seasonal mooring buoy. Regularly documented by sanctuary archaeologists, she is one of the area's most popular intermediate-level wreck dives.

IntermediateBoat entry

SS Selah Chamberlain Wreck

Wisconsin · 24–27 m

The wooden bulk freighter Selah Chamberlain sank in a foggy 1886 collision off Sheboygan with the loss of five crew. The wreck lies in 90 feet of water two miles northeast of Sheboygan Point, broken into three sections on sand, with the fantail stern split open to expose her boilers and engine. A WHS mooring buoy and published dive guide make it a staple intermediate-advanced charter dive on the Shipwreck Coast.

IntermediateBoat entry

Success Wreck

Wisconsin · 2–3 m

The scow schooner Success, built at Manitowoc in 1875 for the lumber trade, was driven ashore at Whitefish Bay, Door County, during a November 1896 storm; her entire crew was rescued by local fishermen in a daring small-boat effort. Her remains lie in about 8 feet of water 500 feet south of Whitefish Dunes State Park. The shallow sandy site is an easy beach-entry snorkel or novice dive on calm days.

Shore + boat

Tennie and Laura Wreck

Wisconsin · 95–99 m

The tiny scow schooner Tennie and Laura foundered in a sudden 1903 storm while hauling lumber from Muskegon to Milwaukee; the captain survived but his crewman drowned. Found during the 1998-2000 search for the fish tug Linda E, she sits intact in 325 feet of water nine miles southeast of Port Washington, a rare surviving example of the Great Lakes scow schooner type. Only highly experienced technical teams dive her — for everyone else she remains an archaeological time capsule.

ExpertBoat entry

Wisconsin Wreck

Wisconsin · 27–40 m

The 204-foot iron-hulled Goodrich steamer Wisconsin (1881) foundered off Kenosha in an October 1929 gale after her cargo shifted, taking part of her crew with her. She lies fully upright and intact in about 130 feet of water, her deck rising 30 feet off the bottom with cargo including iron castings and automobile remains below. One of southern Wisconsin's signature advanced wreck dives, she is serviced regularly by Kenosha and Milwaukee charters.

AdvancedBoat entry