Florida

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

The reef at this area consists of several smaller reefs that are parallel to shore.  The description of these reefs is similar to Vero Beach but the topography of the outer most reef at Ft. Pierce is more dramatic.  The reef can actually be seen from satellite imagery on the Google maps link below.  Http://www.google.com/maps?q=Vero+Beach,+FL,+USA&ie=UTF8&ll=27.482823,-80.299201&spn=0.013877,0.022659&t=h&z=16&om=1  Patches of sand exist between the reefs and can be used as navigation aids.   The first reef is a couple hundred yards from shore but the outer most reef that faces the ocean has the most fish life and structural variation. Another difference in diving Ft. Pierce as compared to Vero Beach is that parking is plentiful and the facilities are extremely clean and diver friendly including drying racks by the showers-- this is what your fees help pay for.  Something to keep in mind diving this area is that it is near an inlet that leads to the intracoastal water way.  As such, pay attention to weather and currents for visibility conditions and use a good diver down flag.  Furthermore, this is a popular site for surfing for stay cautious during the ascent and surface swim.

Ft. Pierce Inlet State Recreation area is located on A1A just before it heads west towards the mainland.  A road from the gate house, this is a fee area, leads to several access points on the beach.  The reef off the beach is a part of the larger reef that parallels the FL Treasure Coast all the way to just north of Miami - the name Treasure Coast derives from the numerous Spanish galleons that wrecked just offshore on this large reef system spilling their contents on and off the local beaches.

Fort Pierce Inlet State Recreation Area