New Mexico

Chaves 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



Bottomless Lake State Park, Roswell, New Mexico

Lea Lake is also known as Bottomless Lake, Roswell.

Roswell

Lea Lake

I am a dive instructor and the Blue Hole is an excellent place for new as well as advanced divers to work on their skills. The visibility makes the trip well worth taking. The access to the water is very easy with stairs and a nice platform for waiting to get into the water. There are two dive platforms at 20 and 25 feet in depth that are awesome to use for training purposes.

http://www.pages-yourfavorite.com/d-kasper/scuba/ow-loc-bluehole.html http://www.santarosanm.org/  Santa Rosa Name/Location:  Blue Hole  City/State:  Santa Rosa, New Mexico Description: Spring fed lake Max. Depth: 85 feet Visibility:  50' - 100'  Water Temperature: ~ 61F (year round)  Access:  Stairs or a concrete platform over the water allowing giant stride entry Facilities: Restrooms and changing rooms on-site. Dive Shop(s): Santa Rosa Dive Center Fee(s): $10 permit required to dive (good for one full year).  Go to Police Station to purchase the permit.  Note: if diving with an instructor, student(s) do not need a permit. Night Diving: Yes Altitude: 4,615' Comments:   Blue Hole is the preferred open water training area for dive shops in Central/Southern Colorado and Albuquerque, NM.  Very popular site for divers from New Mexico and West Texas. There are two platforms at 30' down for students and training.    Due to the cooler water temperatures, Blue Hole is not that popular with swimmers. Directions: Santa Rosa is 116 miles east of Albuquerque on I-40.  For city-to-city directions, check CyberRouter. Weather/Forecast: Santa Rosa, NM (Weather Underground) Contributor(s):  Special thanks to Steven Stewart and Sharon McCarty for their contributions to this site review.

Blue Hole

Blue Hole is a park in the city of Santa Rosa, New Mexico. There is onsite air filling on the weekends, and sometimes during the week. There is some VERY limited rental equipment available. Permits are $10 for 1 week (Wednesday through Tuesday) and $25 for a year (January to December). Blue Hole features a staircase entry or a concrete platform over the water for giant stride entry. There are training platforms at 20 and 25 feet for student divers. As Blue Hole is a bell-shaped sinkhole, the walls are where the attraction lie. Some notables include the toy store, the cow skull, and the diver's tombstone.



Blue Hole is also known as Navarre Nation.

1.5 acre pool over San Solomon Springs, built by Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's.  Visibility is very good, lots of fish, turtles, and it's the only diving for hundreds of miles around.  Desert Divers dive shop in Toyahville.  Motel & camping facilities in park.

Balmorhea State Park is located 4 miles southwest of Balmorhea on Texas Highway 17, in Toyahvale. From I-10 westbound, take Balmorhea exit (exit #206); FM 2903 south to Balmorhea; State Highway 17 west 4 miles to the Park. From I-10 eastbound, take Toyahvale/Ft. Davis exit (exit #192); Ranch Road 3078 east approximately 12 miles to the park.

Balmorhea State Park

Oasis in the middle of nowhere, Texas. This natural spring is 72 degrees year round!   Texas has a wonderful state park system, and Balmorhea State Park in West Texas is no exception. Located a few hours southeast of El Paso, Balmorhea boasts a large natural spring with views of the Davis Mountains. Stay in the cabins or camp on location. This is a great place for year round scuba diving and swimming (if you're really motivated!) where the water is consistently 72 degrees. Divers will see a variety of fish, and a rather feisty turtle. Entry is free for State Park Pass holders, and is otherwise $7. Pool hours are 8am-7:30pm. Check it out! 

Balmorhea Springs

 One of the oldest inland scuba diving destinations in Texas, Possum Kingdom Reservoir attracts multitudes of divers each year as a training ground for new divers in the clear waters of the lake. It’s also a popular treasure-hunting site.  About 75 miles (120 km) west of Fort Worth in the Palo Pinto Mountains of North Central Texas, the reservoir emerged after the construction of the Morris Sheppard Dam in 1941, which was built to help control the flooding of the historic Brazos River and provide hydropower to the region. The narrow lake follows the winding, snakelike path of the river for 65 miles (104 km) with about 17,700 acres (7,080 hectares) of water, but the deep waters closest to the dam, with its clear visibility, is what attracts divers.  “Most of the lake in the upper portion is shallow with low visibility, but the closer you get to the dam, the more exceptional the diving, with visibility ranging up to 100 feet (30 m),” says Todd Burns of Scuba Point Dive Shop, which has operated as a training site and air fill station on the lake since 1959. Among the key features of the lower section of lake for divers are the sheer rock walls with numerous cutouts and caves bordering the former river valley, Burns says.

Possum Kingdom Lake

Visibility is average.  Lake fish are interesting to see.  Once in the water, the lake bed can have a steep drop to deeper depths. 

Just northwest of Lawton, Oklahoma on 281, 7 miles west on 49.

This is a lake, so diving is available directly from the shore.

Lake Elmer Thomas

It's the closest 'open water' site from the East Phoenix area, solely used for dive training and as a picnic area.  The lake is stocked with fish, but don't expect to see them.  It's a man-made rock lake with a sandy beach, and the swimming / dive area has buoys to keep boats and jet skis out.  Water temp is usually 50-60F.

From the Phoenix area to Canyon Lake:  Take Highway 60 (Superstition Freeway) to Apache Junction.  Exit at Idaho Road and turn North to Highway 88 (Apache Trail).  Travel 14 miles Northeast on Apache Trail, on the left between the first and second bridges.  There's a large sign for the picnic area, with a short walk from parking down to the beach.

Acacia picnic site

used every weekend for dive training.  Mostly OW. 

Medina lake

Joe's Place

there are more platforms and wreckage. check at the dive shop at Marina /beach. Jay has rentals if you forgot any thing . He is open noon to 5:30 Friday and all day Saturday and Suynday.
June and July not great  visiblilty  even after 2 thermoclines. 
Much better in May but need wetsuit.
Caution zebra mussels very sharp and get on every thing WEAR GLOVES. 

Lake Murray State Park.  Marietta landing

Lake Murray



Arbuckle Lake is located in south-central Oklahoma, 6 miles southwest of Sulphur. It is one of a handful of crystal clear water lakes in Oklahoma, and a favorite scuba divers destination.

Lea Lake

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Lea Lake