Scuba Diving USA
DIVE DESTINATION GUIDE
With vast coastlines to the east and the west, much of the south, plus the Great Lakes, and the various islands and territories of the United States, there are plenty of options for great scuba diving. And all across the country are lakes and rivers where people scuba dive just to see what under the surface.
As with most things, the US tries to be the greatest at everything, and it just may have the most diversity of underwater environments, from the icy northern Pacific and Arctic oceans to the tropical Pacific, plus the Atlantic and Caribbean to the east and south.
Frankly, it doesn't matter much. Most scuba divers just want the good stuff, and since you're diving, and it's a wildlife experience, any dive site and any dive often has the potential for being an awesome dive trip.
This page aims to collect basic information and the include the best links found around the web for scuba diving destination info for the United States. The following popular US dive destinations each have their own page in these guides -
FLORIDA - Florida Scuba Diving Destination Guide
CALIFORNIA - California Scuba Diving Destination Guide
ALASKA - Alaska Scuba Diving Destination Guide
HAWAII - Hawaiian Islands Scuba Diving Destination Guide
VIRGIN ISLANDS - US Virgin Islands Scuba Diving Destination Guide
SAIPAN & TINIAN - CNMI Scuba Diving Destination Guide
Other Popular Dive Destinations in the United States
Great Lakes, Midwest
The famously well-preserved shipwrecks near Isle Royal in Lake Superior are what a wreck diver dreams are made of, and Lake Michigan's well known "Death's Door" passage is full of shipwrecks. There are hundreds more wreck diving sites throughout the Great Lakes. Listed below are some information articles and links, dive charters, and various visitor resources.
Destination Door County - Shipwrecks
Nat Park Service - Scuba Diving Isle Royal Shipwrecks
Best of Great Lakes Shipwrecks
Shipwreck Tours & Scuba Diving - Lake Superior
Double Action Dive Charters -- Lake Michigan / Lake Huron
Bonne Terre Mine, Missouri
Submerged drift dives through partly flooded mine shafts sounds like an epic weekend adventure. Open year-round, on Saturdays and Sundays, the Bonne Terre Mine is a national historic site, and the world's largest freshwater scuba diving resort. You can participate in three dives per day, and the water temperature is a cool 60F year round. Lights are placed throughout the two dozen designated dive trails mapped out in the mine.
Bonne Terre Mine - Diving (reservations required)
Columbia Missourian - Bonne Terre Mine
Pacific Northwest, Oregon & Washington
The farther north you go, the colder the water becomes and it doesn't always get too clear. But divers who embrace the conditions will find some excellent diving off the Oregon and Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. Dive frequently enough in the PNW, and you just might experience that mythical day of incredible visibility. Otherwise, it's a little murky, a little scary. If you're lucky you'll see a giant Pacific octopus (GPO), and hope it doesn't want to mess with you. As they say, you'll never win an arm wrestling contest with an octopus. Another popular PNW dive encounter is getting a good luck at the terrifyingly beautiful wolf eel. A former dive buddy liked to say that Oregon was hard-core. It sure can be.
Oregon Coast Aquarium - Newport, OR
Eugene Skin Divers Supply - Eugene, OR
Titan Missile Silo Dive - Royal City, WA (* closed indefinitely??)
Scuba Scribbles - Candice Landau's PNW Diver Blog
Flower Garden Banks - Galveston, Texas
The Flower Garden Banks is a US National Marine Sanctuary located a little over 100 miles offshore from Galveston, Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico. Getting there presents a few challenges, but there are some great liveaboard options for overnight diving trips.
Flower Garden Banks (NOAA site)
Nat. Marine Sanctuary Foundation - Flower Garden Banks
Texas Caribbean - Dive Charters
Texas Bluewater Safari - Diving & Spearfishing
