When you think of scuba diving what usually comes to mind first is an image of clear waters full of tropical fish and brightly colored coral. Well, for those of us that are land locked here in the good ol' U-S-of-A, getting to these picturesque locations isn't always feasible. The good news is that you actually DO NOT have to travel to a far off exotic location to get world class, amazing diving. Believe it or not, we have some pretty awesome dive sites here in America, many you may have never heard of before.
So, grab your map and mark down these amazing dive sites; then decide which are closest to you and plan a quick get away this summer to as many as you can!
Top 8 Dive Sites In America:
Site 1: Panama City Beach, FL
Deemed the 'wreck capital of the south,' Panama City diving offers over 50 artificial reefs, including ships, barges, bridge spans, and even airplanes. The water is warm, the sea life is thriving, and the beaches are beautiful. It's the perfect easy-to-get-to dive vacation destination!
Site 2: Catalina Island, CA
A clear day on a kelp dive rivals any tropical dive, hands down. There is nothing like seeing the rays of the sun shining from above through the kelp. Santa Catalina Island, off the coast of Huntington Beach, California, is littered with pristine kelp diving. In these underwater forests, you'll be sure to see the famous bright orange garibaldi fish, sheepshead, octopi, leopard sharks, angel sharks, and the occasional friendly sea lion. The water may be a bit chilly, but sooooo worth it!
Site 3: Kona, HI
Looking for one of the best night diving experiences in the world?? Look no further than Kona, Hawaii. In these "blackwater dives," as they've been coined, manta rays will swarm around a large flood light placed on the bottom of the sea floor and feed off of the plankton attracted to the light. Having a manta ray swoop over your head just inches away is an experience like no other!
Site 4: Bonne Terre, Missouri
You can become a deep earth explorer at this abandon lead mine. Named one of the top 10 adventures in America by National Geographic Adventure, you can venture down 24 underwater paths to see abandoned picks, shovels, pillars, archways, ore cars and much more. Check out this video of Bonne Terre Mine featured on the Today Show.
Site 5: Morehead, NC
If you love wreck diving and sharks this is the place for you! The USCG Spar was intentionally sunk as an artificial reef and is a perfect site for easy wreck penetration as it is very intact and easy to navigate. Also, locals to the area boast that you are guaranteed to see between 5-20 sand tiger sharks on every dive.
Site 6: San Juan Islands, WA
This Island archipelago is littered with hundreds of islands and reefs just waiting to be explored. The water is quite chilly, but nothing a drysuit can't fix and totally worth it. Here you will find that everything is bigger in cold water from the anenomies to the octopi. Among the huge walls and rocky reefs, you'll find tons of different fish species and the occasional visit from a harbor seal. On a very lucky day, you can hear or even spot the resident orcas living in these waters.
Site 7: Blue Heron Bridge, Riviera Beach, FL
This is a simple but spectacular dive site and the best-kept secret of South Florida. Max depths only reach around 15-20 feet but you will find some amazing macro creatures here from frogfish and eels to sea horses and beautiful rays. This is an easy shore dive under the Blue Heron Bridge (hence the name) but needs to be planned well as it can only be dived during slack tide, otherwise, the tidal current can rip through the area, making it impossible to dive easily.
Site 8: The Florida Keys
Need we say more? From Key Largo down south to Key West, the Florida Keys are a diver's playground with something for every diver. From shallow, colorful reef dives full of sharks, rays, eels, fish and coral, to deep wreck dives; the Keys has something for everyone. It's the most visited dive destination in the USA for a reason so head south for some warm, fun, and beautiful diving!
