Very beautiful.  A must in South Padre!!  Coral is very great.  Lots of sponges are located here as well as other kinds of coral (hence the name).  Fish too. You need to be careful though.  Is a deep dive for advanced and mixed gas divers only.

You can reach Sponge Gardens seamount from South Padre. By boat only.  Ocean a little rough at times.

Note: GPS required. This one is wrong and set the dive site inland :)

Sponge Gardens

This wreck was a shrimp boat that sank in rough seas.  Now, the wreck lies in 60ft of water off the coast.  Now, schools of fish, eels, turtles, and rays are seen on the wreck.  It's great for nearly every diver looking for adventure in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

11 miles off the coast of South Padre Island. 

Deep 6 Wreck

473 foot shipwreck, sunk in 132 feet of water. Part of her is as shallow as 63 feet.
In 1965 was the first Texas Maritime Training Academy ship. She was part of the Sea Cadets at Texas A&M University in Galveston, Texas.

By boat from South Padre Island

Texas Clipper

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.

Port Aransas and South Padre Jetties

Oil Rig dives are great dives for divers of all skill levels! Great for photography, spearfishing, fish identification, and just good old fashioned fun. Similar to diving a wreck, the rigs are covered in a variety of sea life and all sorts of critters such as barnacle, corals, blennies, gobies, a wide variety of small reef fish, schools of bait fish, and huge pelagic species such as tarpon, cobia, amberjack, and ever whale sharks.

The best way to access the Gulf of Mexico Oil Rig Platforms is by hiring a charter boat. A charter boat is a boat for hire that you can book for a group exclusively or book a single spot and join a group.

Offshore Oil-Rig  Platforms is also known as Rig Diving.

Offshore Oil-Rig  Platforms

This wreck is incredible.  For starters, it's big and the wreck is in a few pieces.  Its cause of sinking was a huge explosion in the ship.  Large schools of fish abound and hammerhead sharks are also seen.  Visibility can vary and there are some stinging corals so consider wearing a wetsuit.

The SS V.A. Fogg went down on February 1, 1972. she is over 572 feet in length.

33 miles Southeast of Freeport

V.A. Fogg



Flower Garden Banks NMS

Stetson Bank is also known as Flower Gardens.

Stetson Bank

Has many wrecks for all levels of divers. Main attraction is the C-130 aircraft.

Mammoth Lake is located right off Dixie Rd. Hydrosports Scuba is the shop located on the lake. Plenty of parking at the shop or at your own covered pavilion, with the dock located right next to where you park.

The park is closed during the winter season.

Mammoth Lake

Large hard coral.  Manta rays are commonly sighted.  Hammerhead and whale sharks in the right season.

Out in the open Gulf of Mexico.  Mooring buoys in place.

West Flower Garden Banks is also known as Flower Garden Banks NNMS, Texas Flower Gardens.

West Flower Garden Banks

Lots of large hard coral.  Manta rays are commonly sighted.

Out in the open Gulf of Mexico.  Mooring buoys in place.

East Flower Garden Banks is also known as Flower Garden Banks NNMS, Texas Flower Gardens.

East Flower Garden Banks

Though it's better known as a training spot for scuba divers, Twin Lakes is the perfect place to cool off without having to fight the traffic, and the crowds, in Galveston. Just 20 minutes south of downtown off the farm roads of 288, this aquifer-fed pool is clear enough for the aforementioned training and features five sunken fishing boats, a school bus and an Airstream trailer. Above ground there are floating docks, picnic tables, overnight campsites and a snack bar. Bass, catfish, turtle and perch live in the water, and if you're not there to dive admission is only $5. Just note that no alcohol or glass containers are allowed on the property. 31 acre lake, bass, catfish, turtles; 50ft deep, 20 ft viz; campsites, picnic tables, air fills; About 20 minutes from Houston, go south on hiway 288 to hiway 6, go east for 1.8 miles to the park.

Sponge Gardens

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Sponge Gardens