Florida

Okaloosa 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

Recently( this February) I did a shore dive at the Destin Jetties in Destin, Florida.  I went there because the boat dives were all canceled due to bad weather. Of course that meant there was bad weather at the jetties too but I was so determined to dive in the ocean that weekend. I spent about 12 mins fighting the currents in 6 foot water and went about 9 yards. It was freezing cold and I had about 5 ft of visibility. It was a terrible dive but the locals I talked to said that on good days it can be incredible. I plan to try it again this summer. You are at the mercy of the tides for peek diving conditions. Obviously when I dove that mercy was not available.

There are jetties on both the east and west side of the pass - the east side is where people do most of their diving. To reach them, you'll want to get to Gulf Shore Drive and follow it past where it makes an "S" turn. At this point, be on watch for a gravel lane for public parking on the right side of the road. There will also be a single showerhead and a few signs that can be easy to miss marking the trail that leads out to the beach and the East Pass Jetties.