Name: Aquarena Springs
Rating: 3.0

Texas

Hays County

Divers will travel far and wide to find the best diving. But those who live in the United States have plenty of great diving on their doorstep as well, with plentiful access to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. From warm-water reefs to temperate seas, here are some of the top places to scuba dive in the United States.

United States

You have to get certified as a Scientific Diver through Aquarena springs prior to diving the lake, there are five endangered species living in this lake along with artifacts dating all the way back to mans first arrival in this area. 

Dive Training site, Dive site for Scientific Divers, 72 degrees spring fed year round 25'- 30' vis. 

San Marcos

Aquarena Springs

To dive in Spring Lake at Aquarena Springs you have to take a special certification class as a scientific diver.  The lake is the habitat of 5 endangered species as well as home to archeological digs uncovering history from 10,000+ years ago.  Visibility is as good as the Caribbean.  Once you are certified you get to come back and do work dives for free.  There are no purely recreational dives as it is an endangered habitat. Here's the website http://www.aquarena.txstate.edu/Divingscience.html

From Austin, go south on I-35 to San Marcos, take Exit 206, Aquarena Springs Drive, turn right and go through 2 stop lights; immediately after rail road tracks see entrance and sign to Aquarena Center on right side of the road, take a right into golf course, follow the road to the left to the park entrance.  From San Antonio, take I-35 North to San Marcos, take exit 206, Aquarena Springs Drive, go left under I-35 and through 3 stop lights; immediately after railroad tracks on right side of the road, see entrance and sign to Aquarena Center, turn right into golf course follow the road to the left to the park entrance.  The San Marcos River can be accessed from the town without having to go to Aquarena Center

Aquarena Center At Spring Lake

North Park



Canyon lake. Can be rocky if water level is down.

Skyline

Known as the "longest shortest river in the world" by locals (only 2.5 miles in length), the Comal River is a haven for tubing. As for diving, the current can be swift at times.  But if you're into clean up projects, it's a great site.  Just watch out for the tube shoots!

New Braunfels. NE of San Antonia, TX.

Comal River

North Park on Canyon Lake is a public park with primitive camping available.  There is a protected buoyed area for an easy shore entry.  A short swim from shore will take you to a low bluff wall with cars, boats and the like at the bottom below the bluff.  Continuing into the lake will take you to across a short flat area and then down another steep slope to standing timber.  Visibility is typical of Texas lakes and can run from near none to rarely more than 10 - 12 feet above the thermocline.  The deeper colder water may offer better visibility.

Canyon Lake is about 30 miles north of Austin.  Take Hwy 306 from New Braunfels, Tx to Caynon Lake.  North Park is the first access to the lake and is the most popular dive site

Canyon Lake



State Park has Platforms for Training and a few sunken boats, 

Mansfield Dam

Windy Point Park is one of the top diving "hot spots" in the Central Texas area. It has been recognized by various divers and instructors from all over the state. 

Divers with advanced training and experience, can enjoy the deep underwater canyon wall, plunging to depths well over 100 feet. Dress warmly however- the temperatures at that depth can differ 30 degrees from the surface 


NW of Austin, TX.

Windy Point Park

Lake Travis is an exciting destination for amateur and technical divers alike.  Destination dives include the Shaker Plant, which was used to process the construction materials used to build the lake’s dam, with some features at recreational depths and others extending beyond 100 feet deep.  In addition, there are walls and grottoes to explore, along with forests of sunken pecan trees.  Along the aptly named Wreck Alley, you’ll find a permanent line that leads to a series of wrecks ranging from houseboats to sailboats. As you make your way from one site to the next, you’ll find yourself in the company of yellow spotted and channel catfish, perch and bass, tilapia, and crappies.  Visibility averages 8-10 feet, and charters are available. Located just 14 miles northwest of downtown Austin, this is a great place to spend a day or make several dives over the course of an extended period of time.

Lake Travis, Austin

used every weekend for dive training.  Mostly OW. 

Medina lake

Joe's Place

These two sites are especially interesting since in the summer time there are various tropicals such as damsels and butterflyfish, as well as game fish such as snook and sheepshead.  There is a lot of algae, barnacles, and crabs on and in the rocks, and at South Padre, I have personally seen 10 sea turtles (most of them Kemp's Ridleys, but a couple of greens too) in just and hour and a half while snorkeling there one July.

The south jetty at Port Aransas, TX (channel side) is a good shore dive/snorkeling spot for late spring to early fall with visibility in the 5-25ft. range with an incoming high tide.  Depths are about 7-14ft. along the large granite boulders.    Also the north jetty at the southern tip of South Padre Island is a good shore diving/snorkeling spot (Gulf side, but may be good channel side too) with similar visibility and depths along the rocks.

Aquarena Springs

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Aquarena Springs