New York

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

Jones Beach Jetty is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in New York, USA East which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.

Jones Beach Jetty

Entry is after the pavilion walk to the right down the hill to the fishing dock, jump in and drop down, the hospital was built on a hotel property so there is a ton of bottles and glassware just waiting for people to dig for and discover. Gentle currents may be an issue so watch it, stay close to the wall and you can swim back, or just drift down to the Islander and get out. Lots of diving to be done right in this general area.

81N to 13E to Alexandria Bay light, go left into the heart of A-bay, go straight until road T's, go left and then right into the park parking lot. Carry gear thru the pavilion and use tables on other side.

Abay Hospital Bottle Dive

Atlantic Beach Old Bridge is a 5.0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in New York, USA East which is accessible from shore based on 2 ratings.

Atlantic Beach Old Bridge

Bayville Barge is a 4.5-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in New York, USA East which is accessible from shore based on 2 ratings.

Bayville Barge

Beach 59th Street is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in New York, USA East which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.

Beach 59th Street

A Paradise Not Lost
By Bob Sterner (http://www.sternereditorial.com)
http://www.nedivenews.com

What's old is new is the good news about Almost Paradise. Beach 9th Street, Far Rockaway, Queens, N.Y., is back to being called Beach 8th Street, for the traditional hole in the fence that's given so much pleasure to generations of divers, local fishermen and kids splashing into the cool eddy between the jetties that form the site. Diving here no longer costs $20 a head for everyone in the car to park in the now closed Almost Paradise lot, although I'd still be glad to do so for the showers and facilities to rinse salt out of gear while getting a burger and a soda after a nice dive.

Riding the tide change to the bridge and back is discouraged in post-9/11 days, although serious tautog spear-fishers still return from there with dinner. At least they know what they're bagging. Shore fishers bring home lots of dinner too from this thriving patch of sand just off JFK Airport's runways. When dinner divers miss a shot, they missed it. When shore fishers lose a fish, their bottom tackle stays on the bottom hooking and killing sea creatures for decades.

A fish killed wantonly that Barbara Krooss caught me looking at not long ago tells the story of glittery bottom tackle underwater. It's there to kill generations of fish unless you cut it off and remove it from pilings and other underwater obstructions. It might sound counter-productive, but you can make friends with the shore fishers who hate you for blowing bubbles around their favorite cast sites if you return the bounty of hooks, weights, spinners and other lures that they lost underwater. At the base of the piling where this fish lost its life to a lure we found a horseshoe crab barely alive and hopelessly snarled in a tangle of fishing line. It didn't stick around for a portrait after being freed. 

Otherwise little has changed at the humble beach where thousands of divers have earned their c-cards. Divers still queue up a half-hour before high and low slack tide for optimum visibility. Many still avoid the crowd by diving as the current runs by ducking behind pilings. It's great training for low-vis conditions at a place where you can't get lost so long as you can follow a compass needle north to the shore. At mid-channel, high-tide, it is about 40 feet to the surface, but you don't want to go there because of heavy boat traffic. Lobsters, crabs, flounders, bergals, sponges, mussels and plants galore that drew divers to this humble site decades ago are still there for those willing to venture through the hole in the fence to see what's beneath the waves of Reynolds Channel.

See more photos and stories of diving this and other sites at Sterner Editorial (http://www.sternereditorial.com).

Found in the Rockaways, near JFK Airport in New York City

Beach 8th Street, Queens

One should walk the park to get the idea before entry. After walking out of the pavilion go left toward the bridge, but go past, down the hill until the fence ends, you will see a nice gentle rock entry point, the idea is to swim out to the island from there, drop down and catch the current across the front of the island, after the island there are 2 options: Drift to the Islander or swim across the canal behind the island to the east side of the fishing dock and exit thru the rocks, look close you see what I mean at the very end of the dock is a set of rock "stairs" to get out. Lots of fun!!!

81N to 13E to Alexandria Bay light, go left into the heart of A-bay, go straight until road T's, go left and then right into the park parking lot. Carry gear thru the pavilion and use tables on other side.

Casino Island Drift

Cedar Beach Jetty is a 5.0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in New York, USA East which is accessible from shore based on 1 ratings.

Cedar Beach Jetty

Clark's Beach is a 3.5-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in New York, USA East which is accessible from shore based on 2 ratings.

Clark's Beach

Quite possibly the only place to legally dive Cayuga Lake from the shore. Because of this the Cornell open water SCUBA class will sometimes teach students here. The water remains quite shallow for quite some distance, making it unlikely you can swim to over twenty feet depth.

From downtown Ithaca take the 13 just past Ithaca High School to the 34. Make a left onto the 34, and follow it about a quarter mile. East Shore Park will be on the left.

East Shore Park

Green Point Jetty is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in New York, USA East which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.

Jones Beach Jetty

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Jones Beach Jetty