United States Dive Sites

1,024 mapped sites

Best dive sites in United States

Showing 589–600 of 1,024

Lake Ore-be-gone

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.

IntermediateShore entry

Sabine Nearshore

Texas · Up to 11.6 m

A dive site in United States. The site reaches a maximum depth of about 12 m. The site is reached by boat.

Boat entry

Champlain II

New York · 4.6–10.7 m

The Champlain II was a 244-ft sidewheel steamer launched in Burlington in 1868 as the Oakes Ames and converted to a passenger vessel in 1874. She ran hard aground near Barn Rock north of Westport, NY on the night of July 16, 1875, and today about 160 ft of her lower hull and machinery debris rest on a sloping bottom in 15-35 ft of water close to the New York shore. The site is a designated underwater historic preserve marked by a yellow mooring buoy with underwater interpretive signage, and free annual diver registration is required.

Boat entry

Oceanside 2 Center

California · Up to 21.9 m

Artificial reef built from Quarry Rock

IntermediateBoat entry

Dixie Arrow

North Carolina · 18–27 m

The Dixie Arrow was a 468-ft American tanker torpedoed by U-71 on 26 March 1942 about 15 miles south of Hatteras Inlet, lost with 11 of her 33 crew. She rests upright on her keel in about 90 ft of water, with portions of the bow rising 30 ft off the sand and the boilers and triple-expansion steam engine standing at the stern. The wreck is a NOAA-documented WWII battlefield site and hosts abundant marine life, including resident sand tiger sharks.

IntermediateBoat entry

Bullhead Point Historical and Archeological District Wreck

Wisconsin · 0–3 m

Bullhead Point in Sturgeon Bay holds the abandoned hulls of three limestone-trade vessels — the steamers Empire State and Ida Corning and the schooner-barge Oak Leaf — burned and abandoned by the Sturgeon Bay Stone Company in the 1930s. The wrecks lie in 0-10 ft of water just off the city park and are partly visible above the surface. One of Wisconsin's easiest shipwreck shore dives and a popular snorkel and kayak stop.

Shore entry

Cape May - Redbird Reef V

New Jersey · 12.8–18 m

Artificial reef built from Subway Car (Redbird V) NJDEP deployment record: Subway car, material: Subway Car (Redbird V), deployed 2003.

Boat entry

Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail - Barge Site

California · 3–12.2 m

The Historic Barge Site is the anchor of the Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail, California's first underwater maritime heritage trail, opened by California State Parks in October 2018 within the Emerald Bay State Park underwater area (designated 1994). Two massive Ponderosa-pine lumber barges — once towed by steamers to haul cordwood and ferry cars — rest in about 10-40 ft of water off the bay's southeastern shore, the more intact southern barge measuring over 100 ft long, alongside a historic resort-era dump site. The collection is part of the largest, most diverse group of sunken small watercraft in their original location known in the nation; all artifacts are protected by state law. Access is advised by boat due to the remote location, and the over-6,000 ft altitude plus year-round frigid water demand proper planning.

Shore + boat

Cape May - Point Swift

New Jersey · 12.8–17.1 m

Artificial reef built from 83' Coast Guard Cutter - "Point Swift" NJDEP deployment record: Ship, material: 83' Coast Guard Cutter - "Point Swift", deployed 2000.

Boat entry

Brownstone Quarry (Brownstone Exploration & Discovery Park)

Connecticut · 0–25.9 m

A flooded 27-acre historic brownstone quarry in Portland operated as an adventure park, with 80-100 foot cliffs surrounding clear fresh water. Scuba diving is permitted in the north quarry for certified divers who buy an adventure pass, with depths to about 85 feet and submerged quarry features and attractions to explore.

IntermediateShore entry

Dean Richmond

New York · 19.8–29 m

The wreck of the propeller freighter Dean Richmond, a 238-foot vessel lost with all 23 crew in the great storm of 14 October 1893 off Dunkirk, New York, near the New York/Pennsylvania line in Lake Erie. The wreck lies inverted in about 95 feet of water with the upside-down hull standing roughly 30 feet off the bottom. A favorite advanced Lake Erie wreck dive, often paired with the nearby Indiana.

AdvancedBoat entry

Diving Area

California · 4.6–24.4 m

The designated diving area of Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, comprising Whalers Cove and Bluefish Cove south of Carmel — widely regarded as the best diving in the Monterey area. The reserve has been fully protected for decades, so fish are large and unafraid, kelp forests are pristine, and access is capped at ten buddy teams per day via a State Parks reservation system. Entry is an easy concrete boat ramp into sheltered Whalers Cove (15-80 ft), with more dramatic walls and pinnacles in Bluefish Cove reachable by long swim, kayak, or small boat.

IntermediateShore entry