Question Ohio Diving Options. Am I missing any?

[Scubaguy22]

Newer Ohio diver here.

I live in Southeastern Ohio. I am currently limited to diving within the state due to time and money, but I would like to dive more often and closer to home. As a disclaimer, all of my logged dives have been at Gilboa, so I have no first hand experience with the places I’m about to list. After lots of online research, here are my diving options:

Gilboa Quarry: I got both my Advanced and Open water certifications here, but it’s a 2+ hour drive from me

White star quarry: further than Gilboa

Lake Erie diving: 2+ hour drive, but definitely interested if anyone has more information

Lakeview RV park: really close to home but shallow

North Point Quarry: In Newark but shallow and low vis

Circleville Twin Quarries: now closed

Natural Springs Resort: Might as well be in Indiana, but definitely on the list

Silver Cup Lake/ Sportsman lake: this is the one I am most excited about. I’m going to go make a separate post about it, but I can’t find literally any info online, other than the fact that a new family has bought it and that it used to be a scuba attraction

I am aware there are 27 or so lakes across the state where scuba is legal. I think there is an old post about it floating around on Scubaboard somewhere. I plan on doing all 27 someday just to say I did, but it’s Ohio so that means shallow, muddy and low vis.


Is there anything I’m missing? Diving options in Ohio are obviously limited but I’m wondering if I’m missing something.

 

[MrVegas]

Side track question,
Have family in Ohio, so I was reading this. What caught my eye was the Lakeview RV park. Could you (or someone) throw me a little info on this? It could be real close to some family, but I am probably thinking of a different place.

I dive Lakeview usually a few times year. It's near Lancaster, Ohio. It's a good dive and gets a fair number of people (especially now that Circleville closed.) Like many quarries, when the temps get warmer in July-August, the visibility declines, and it can get pretty weedy. Still, it's a lot of fun to dive and only $15 and the people are friendly. Things to see on the bottom are somewhat spread out, but there is a really cool two-engine plane about an 18-20 minute swim from the entry point. (Stay to the right after entry about 20 feet deep or so and you'll probably run into it eventually.) Depending on the time of year, you might have to get out a little ways to avoid the weeds. There are lots of lines on the bottom -- so many, in fact, it can be pretty confusing. Most sights are in the 15-30 foot range, and I would say most of the quarry bottoms out about 40 feet, but there is one deeper spot where you can get to maybe 55. Also, in the summer, when the thermocline forms, it gets very, very dark around 30-35 feet. (Their website says they fill tanks, but I would not plan on that.)

Don't know much about the camping there, though, if that was your question. I've dove Gilboa, White Star, Lakeview RV, Sugar Grove, Newark, and Circleville (when it was open).

 

[broncobowsher]

I dive Lakeview usually a few times year. It's near Lancaster, Ohio. It's a good dive and gets a fair number of people (especially now that Circleville closed.) Like many quarries, when the temps get warmer in July-August, the visibility declines, and it can get pretty weedy. Still, it's a lot of fun to dive and only $15 and the people are friendly. Things to see on the bottom are somewhat spread out, but there is a really cool two-engine plane about an 18-20 minute swim from the entry point. (Stay to the right after entry about 20 feet deep or so and you'll probably run into it eventually.) Depending on the time of year, you might have to get out a little ways to avoid the weeds. There are lots of lines on the bottom -- so many, in fact, it can be pretty confusing. Most sights are in the 15-30 foot range, and I would say most of the quarry bottoms out about 40 feet, but there is one deeper spot where you can get to maybe 55. Also, in the summer, when the thermocline forms, it gets very, very dark around 30-35 feet. (Their website says they fill tanks, but I would not plan on that.)

Don't know much about the camping there, though, if that was your question. I've dove Gilboa, White Star, Lakeview RV, Sugar Grove, Newark, and Circleville (when it was open).

Thanks. The Lakeview I know of is on the other side of Columbus. Got to learn about another one that has diving potential. If I ever make it that way with my gear...

 

[Seahuntjerry]

Newer Ohio diver here.

I live in Southeastern Ohio. I am currently limited to diving within the state due to time and money, but I would like to dive more often and closer to home. As a disclaimer, all of my logged dives have been at Gilboa, so I have no first hand experience with the places I’m about to list. After lots of online research, here are my diving options:

Gilboa Quarry: I got both my Advanced and Open water certifications here, but it’s a 2+ hour drive from me

White star quarry: further than Gilboa

Lake Erie diving: 2+ hour drive, but definitely interested if anyone has more information

Lakeview RV park: really close to home but shallow

North Point Quarry: In Newark but shallow and low vis

Circleville Twin Quarries: now closed

Natural Springs Resort: Might as well be in Indiana, but definitely on the list

Silver Cup Lake/ Sportsman lake: this is the one I am most excited about. I’m going to go make a separate post about it, but I can’t find literally any info online, other than the fact that a new family has bought it and that it used to be a scuba attraction

I am aware there are 27 or so lakes across the state where scuba is legal. I think there is an old post about it floating around on Scubaboard somewhere. I plan on doing all 27 someday just to say I did, but it’s Ohio so that means shallow, muddy and low vis.


Is there anything I’m missing? Diving options in Ohio are obviously limited but I’m wondering if I’m missing something.

Hi You should attend the Heritage days diving coming up Aug 22-23rd.

 

[MrVegas]

. . . Silver Cup Lake/ Sportsman lake: this is the one I am most excited about. I’m going to go make a separate post about it, but I can’t find literally any info online, other than the fact that a new family has bought it and that it used to be a scuba attraction . . .

I dove there last week. I think I was one of their first paying customers. It was a lot of fun. People were very friendly. It is still a work in progress to some extent. The only facilities were one porta-potty, but they did have benches out to assist with set up. There is parking on pavement, and a gravel walk-in into the water. Opening times are somewhat limited, but their online booking registration, waiver, and payment system worked well.

The visibility was somewhat typical for Ohio quarries in August, which is not great. Still, if you get to the rock wall, you can follow it around for a good and fairly interesting dive. (And if you're an Ohio diver, you're used to the summer-time visibility anyway.) There was a thermocline at about 16 feet. Above the thermocline, the visibility was somewhat better and temperatures were in the mid-70s. Below the thermocline, it was definitely colder and lower visibility, and my computer showed mid-50s as a low temperature around 25 feet. There were lots of blue gill and small bass and a crappie or two. There was an absolutely massive school of blue gills following me at one point. They said the maximum depth in the quarry was about 35 feet. The deepest my computer read on my dive (78 minutes) was 25 feet.

Definitely worth it for me, and I'll go back. Nice to have another spot to dive not too far away.

 

[pickens_46929]

Scuba Diving Destinations in the United States | Dive Training Magazine maybe?

 

[mrtechbench]

Scuba Diving Destinations in the United States | Dive Training Magazine maybe?

I used to love checking dtmag for dive sites. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be updated very often. I guess I'm as much to blame for that as others, because I used it as research, only to find out places are closed.

I usually go to gilboa or white star. I haven't been to these but others I've heard about it you're building a list:
Nelson ledges
Friendship park lake
Long lake quarry
Indian lake state Park