Top 10 U.S. Freshwater & Lake Scuba Diving Locations
Living near an ocean is not a prerequisite for diving enthusiasts. Many divers explore freshwater and lake scuba diving to get in their diving fix. When compared to saltwater diving, you’ll see different types of marine life and fauna that thrive in freshwater settings, as well as sunken shipwrecks and other historical artifacts. Here’s our list of the top 10 lake diving locations in the U.S.
Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Lake Tahoe in Nevada is full of beautiful landscapes with a lake shoreline that extends over the California-Nevada border and is one of the most beautiful freshwater locations in America. The lake offers a number of ideal locations for divers, and it features some unique characteristics that are unique to the lake due to its depth. Lake divers often see Mackinaw, rainbow trout, mountain whitefish, mountain yellow-legged frogs, and Kokanee salmon swimming through the water.
Lake Tahoe is huge, over 192 square miles, with a maximum depth of 1,646 feet—a little more than a quarter of a mile, making it the second deepest lake in the U.S., with Crater Lake in Oregon taking the first spot.
Huge sunken boulders are unique to the lake due to its depth and geological history. Faulting of the oceanic and continental plates within the earth's crust resulted in land blocks dropping roughly two million years ago. The Lake Tahoe block rose as the neighboring Sierra Nevada and Carson Range blocks descended, forming the Sierra Nevada and Carson Range. Glaciers, as well as freeze-and-thaw uplifting, have moved and cracked these Tahoe stones, creating balanced rocks with large enough crevices for trees to grow out of stone. Two well-known boulders, Bonsai Rock and Whale Rock, are located 20 miles southwest of Carson City, on the northeast shore of Lake Tahoe.
Lake diving is only accessible in the summer months, and lake weather can be unpredictable during these times. It's important to check lake conditions before going out for a dive because winds coming off the lake can cause high waves. To stay warm while diving, divers should wear drysuits or thick wetsuits.
Homestead Crater, Utah
One of the prettiest freshwater scuba spots in the U.S. is Homestead Crater in Utah. The mineral water is warm and a great choice for crater diving. Utah has a handful of freshwater diving spots, but Homestead Crater is an exceptionally beautiful dive with sunlight pouring in from above.
Homestead Crater, located in Wasatch County, Utah, at Midway Homestead Resort, is a 55-foot dome made of limestone rock that is filled with deep blue, clear thermal spring water. The dome has a wide hole at the top, letting in sunlight and air. The entrance to the crater is through a man-made tunnel.
The crater was formed thousands of years ago when lava blocked the stream and water filled the sink. The fresh mineral spring in Homestead Crater is heated by geothermal energy, which makes it possible to dive the area year round. The spring produces approximately 3000 gallons of 90-degree Fahrenheit mineral water per day, filling the crater about three inches every hour.
Diving in Homestead Crater is a unique experience. While there isn't much aquatic life to see because the water temperature is 96 degrees, the warm water creates a very unique dive experience. The spring has a width of 60 feet and a depth of 65 feet. The visibility in the crater is around 40-50 feet, and mineral deposits have formed unique-looking walls. The silt-rich bottom of the cavern contains a variety of trinkets that have settled at the bottom, but divers are advised to limit their dive depth to no more than 45 feet. There are mounted underwater lights at 20 and 40 feet within the spring, but dive lights are recommended as the crater may still be dark.
Blue Hole, New Mexico
The Blue Hole of Santa Rosa, also known as simply 'Blue Hole,’ is a circular, bell-shaped small pool located along Route 66 just east of Santa Rosa, New Mexico. It's both a tourist attraction and a diving destination. In fact, it's one of the most popular scuba diving and training sites in the United States. This scuba diving location is a hotspot for tourists and scuba divers alike. People travel from all over the country to scuba dive here because of its beauty, easy access, year-round scuba diving opportunities, and the abundance of marine life that lives within it.
With year-round scuba diving due to warm waters, divers can enjoy the sights and marine life whenever they make their way to Santa Rosa. The visibility is consistently at 100 feet, so it's perfect for scuba instruction, giving divers a crystal clear picture of the coral reef that lives within it. Blue Hole has been attracting scuba divers from around the United States since its discovery in 1976.
Santa Rosa has an elevation of around 4,600 feet, making it necessary for divers to use high-altitude dive tables that will calculate the decompression stops in the Blue Hole. Remember to modify your dive plans and tables as you see fit. The Santa Rosa Dive Center offers planning materials for visitors, but it’s the diver’s responsibility to execute a safe dive after careful planning.
To dive in the Blue Hole, you must get a $20 SCUBA Permit that's valid for one week, or you may purchase an annual pass for $50. Passes can be purchased at either the Blue Hole Center or the Blue Hole Dive Shop. Santa Rosa city ordinances also require scuba diving permits, including free diving or snorkeling underwater diving. While they are free of charge, they are limited to 20 passes per day. Skin diving permits are free, though they're limited to twenty per day.
Bonne Terre, Missouri
The Bonne Terre Mine is one of the most popular scuba diving destinations for divers around the world. Named one of the Top 10 Adventures in America by National Geographic, diving at Bonne Terre Mine in Missouri is considered to be among America's best diving freshwater diving spots. Bonne Terre Mine is the world's largest freshwater scuba diving destination and is a cave diver's dream. It has 24 different scuba trails throughout its 17-mile long lake that are all well marked and easily accessible to divers of any skill level, making it perfect for beginners as well as seasoned scuba divers who want to explore new territory.
The enormous Bonne Terre Mine is one of the world's largest man-made caverns, with chambers extending under the town. The dive deck is positioned 150 feet from land, and the city's underwater labyrinth extends for miles in all directions, a vast maze below the city. Shovels, drills, ladders, and ore carts are strewn about. The crystal blue water will surprise you—it's the result of 500,000 watts of high-powered stadium illumination.
A guide and a safety diver are assigned to each group of divers, who dive the trails in a predetermined order. With more swim-throughs and arches to pass through as the trail numbers increase, the dives become increasingly complex.
High Springs, Florida
High Springs is a very small north central Florida town with a population of 3,600 people. It's located about 20 miles northwest of Gainesville and tempts visitors with diving spots that make it an ideal spot for cave and sinkhole diving. High Springs is located on the banks of the Santa Fe River, which attracts canoeists, cave divers, and campers looking for a nearby destination. The town has swimming in natural springs that flow at a steady 72 degrees year-round.
High Springs sits on top of a system of caverns that supports nearly 100 sinkholes within 20 miles south to north along I-75 between Gainesville and Lake City. Ginnie Springs, located in the Santa Fe River's commercial park on the outskirts of High Springs, is one of the U.S.'s most popular sites for both open water and cave diving.
Great Lakes, Upper Midwest/East
Scuba diving in the Great Lakes region of the United States is a shipwreck diver’s exploration dream come true. Shipwreck diving is an exceptional experience for advanced divers, with wrecks making up around 50% of all scuba dives in the Great Lakes region. The cold water through most of the year makes diving here unique and challenging—you'll need a drysuit or thick wetsuit to help keep you warm and capable during your Great Lakes scuba excursions. Each of the Great Lakes are massive in size, so water temperature does vary. During the summer, the water temperatures are more manageable, and the water is clear no matter what the season.
The five Great Lakes throughout the northern part of the United States have played host to commercial shipping for more than 400 years, though countless vessels have met their demise throughout the last four centuries due to choppy waters and severe storms. Divers have an unparalleled scuba experience when they visit any of the sites that are located within the icy cold water. In these green-tinged lakes, you'll find hundreds of well-preserved shipwrecks from steel freighters to barges that have been lost to time.
Beginners can scuba dive in the Great Lakes, but they'll need to choose a site that's shallow and calm. Diving here is different from most places around the world because of its cold temperatures and freshwater content—both elements affect scuba divers differently than saltwater dives do.
Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron is one of the most famous shipwreck sites throughout the Great Lakes region. Also known as "Shipwreck Alley" because of its famously unpredictable weather and various rock formations, this freshwater body houses a large number of vessels dating back to 1844. Because of the cold temperatures that exist at great depths within Lake Huron, the shipwrecks are well-preserved and a premier destination for scuba divers. To dive these Great Lakes shipwrecks, join a local charter boat, or contact a local dive shop that can provide with information regarding guided tours, maps, and more.
Lake Mead, Nevada
Lake Mead in Nevada is one of the most fascinating dive locations in the United States and a stunning national park. The park is vast at over 1.5 million acres and nine wilderness areas. Dams on the Colorado River formed the two lakes in the area. The Hoover Dam formed Lake Mead, which is approximately 110 miles long, while the Davis Dam below the Hoover Dam created Lake Mohave, around 65 miles in length. These two lakes have a surface area of around 200,000 acres.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is one of the most popular places to go freshwater diving in America. Underwater rock formations make for a stunning view at any depth. Diving here gives you an opportunity to explore a submerged B-29 bomber from World War II that has been sitting on the bottom since 1948.
Divers will need to have advanced certification and may want to bring tech gear as this dive site is deep, but it's well worth the time investment. Divers with less than 20 dives should not attempt this lake without an experienced dive buddy or guide. Diving in Lake Mead is only recommended for divers with deep-water dive experience since the lake can exceed depths of 500 feet. Scuba diving here requires advanced certification and good physical shape. Additionally, divers will need to have the proper equipment like an underwater flashlight or dive light.
The most popular location for diving is the Kingman Wash. It's a fantastic shore dive on the Arizona side of Lake Mead. There are a few distinct regions to explore at this location. In certain areas, it has a gradient that goes down anywhere from 50–100 feet in depth.
The dive sites in Lake Mohave offer something different for many divers, and you will find a wider mix of dive sites to explore. The water flowing down the Hoover Dam is drawn from a depth of 500 feet below the lake's surface. At this depth, the water is a constant 55°F, with the Lake Mohave waters having a similar temperature. This river is confined in places, and certain dive locations are known for their rapid currents. It’s best to hire a dive guide from a local shop to ensure you dive in the best, safest areas.
Clear Lake, Oregon
There are so many places to scuba dive in the world, but lake diving is a unique experience for divers of all levels and ages. Clear Lake in Oregon is located just outside of the small town of Chemult, at an elevation of about 1800 feet and a maximum depth of 78 feet. This lake, in particular, is a great spot to experience your first freshwater lake scuba diving adventure. There’s no motorized boat traffic allowed and water visibility is often at 100+ feet. Calm and clear waters make for a great spot to start your diving journey.
When a flow of lava redirected the river 3,000 years ago, volcanic activity formed the lake. Many of the trees that were standing at that time may still be seen in the lake today, immaculately preserved and still erect. Within Clear Lake is a sunken forest containing 80-foot tall trees and dense root systems under the lake floor, ensuring its place as one of the most unique freshwater dives in the U.S. The lake is fed by underground springs that bring in fresh, cold water.
Clear Lake is about 3,000 feet above sea level and has a fairly consistent yet piercing temperature of around 35 to 43°F year-round, necessitating the use of a dry suit to stay warm. The lake is open for diving all year. The water temperature doesn't fluctuate even when there is snow on the ground.
The Scuba Ranch: Texas
Located in Central Texas about an hour from Austin on Highway 290 West, The Scuba Ranch is a diving spot made for adventurers. With over 22 acres of freshwater lake and a variety of aquatic life, this park has something to offer for all kinds of divers. It's famous for housing Sisco, the largest freshwater shark in North America. Diving here will be more than just swimming with fish—it’s like going on an underwater safari. The Scuba Ranch is appropriate for beginner, intermediate and advanced divers.
Divers will find a variety of other aquatic animals at The Scuba Ranch. Visitors will be swimming with turtles, eels, and even alligators in their natural habitats. It's not uncommon to find alligators sunning themselves on the water's edge or swimming throughout the lake during warmer weather. This dive spot will be most enjoyed by those who are interested in all forms of freshwater aquatic life. Divers can get a more in-depth look at these animals during the night dive, which is offered every Saturday night from May through September. The cost of going on a dive here varies depending on what kind of tank you have and how long your trip will be.
The Scuba Ranch is a freshwater lake that is entirely natural with no artificial chemicals added to improve clarity. The visibility will differ based on where you are in the lake, how deep you are, and what season it is. However, the average visibility is around 20 feet. Beginners will appreciate the fairly clear water and minimal currents. This spot is more of a 'beginner' type dive location, and while all experience levels are welcome, advanced divers may be disappointed at the overall depth and length of the lake.
The U.S. is Home to Some of the Best Freshwater and Lake Scuba Diving Locations
The U.S. may be known for its saltwater diving off of its coasts, but it’s also home to some of the best freshwater and lake scuba spots in the world. From New Mexico to the Great Lakes to Florida, there are countless spots where divers go and explore the vast underwater adventures that are located throughout the country. Underwater mines, shipwrecks, and unique aquatic life bring thousands of divers to these locations every year.