Scuba Diving in Wisconsin, United States

45 mapped sites

Best dive sites in Wisconsin, United States

Showing 37–45 of 45

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

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

Home Wreck

Wisconsin · Up to 50 m

The two-masted schooner Home (built 1843) sank after colliding with the schooner Fiske on October 17, 1858, and lies upright and mostly intact in about 165 ft of water off Centerville, between Manitowoc and Sheboygan. Found by divers in 1981, it is the second-oldest shipwreck located in Wisconsin waters; the recovered foremast is displayed at Rogers Street Fishing Village in Two Rivers. A cold, deep technical dive within the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast NMS.

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

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

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

Frank O'Connor Wreck

Wisconsin · 13–19.8 m

The 301-ft wooden bulk carrier Frank O'Connor caught fire and sank on October 3, 1919, while carrying 3,000 tons of coal, settling in 65 ft of water about 2.6 miles north-northeast of Cana Island. Its museum-quality triple-expansion steam engine and boilers rise more than 20 ft off the bottom, making it one of Door County's signature wreck dives. Two WHS seasonal mooring buoys mark the bow and engine.

IntermediateBoat entry

Hetty Taylor shipwreck

Wisconsin · Up to 32 m

The schooner Hetty Taylor (1874) capsized in a squall and sits on a sandy bottom in 105 ft of water five miles east of Sheboygan, within the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Summer water temperatures run 40-60°F with visibility from 10 to 50 ft. The Wisconsin Historical Society installs a seasonal mooring buoy; the dive is recommended for advanced divers.

AdvancedBoat entry

Louisiana Wreck

Wisconsin · 0.5–5.5 m

The wooden freight steamer Louisiana (1887) burned during the Great Storm of November 1913 in Washington Harbor; all crew survived a storm that sank 20 Great Lakes ships. The wreck lies near Schoolhouse Beach off Washington Island with its stern in 18 ft of water and bow nearly reaching the surface. Shallow depth, clear protected water, abundant structure and resident smallmouth bass make it a favorite of beginning divers and snorkelers.

Shore + boat