288 lake, formerly the reef?

[donnad]

looking for somewhere to dive when it warms up. tell me about it please, and how does this place compare to twin lakes and to mammoth lake? It's alot closer to me than mammoth lake, so i'm considering it. went to mammoth lake last summer, and it is nice. thanks in advance.

 

[willgr1]

not a bad place to get in the water if you haven't been in a while. not many things to see, some aquatic plants and some fish are about it. Used pretty heavily for training of open water students from the local dive shops around houston.

I much prefer mammoth if I want to see things (or attempt to see things), or blue lagoon for most other local diving.

 

[1TexasDiver]

I like it, no air fills. easy to get there
I hear Twin Lakes is a mud hole since the county accidently drained it
BL is easy access for me also
Mammoth is last on my list, too far and no vis

 

[donnad]

thanks! so.........your post implies that the vis at 288 lake is better than mammoth? i did go to mammoth last summer, and it is a nice place, but i wasn't impressed w/the vis.

 

[vam302]

I went to Twin Lakes last summer. As stated, the county accidentally drained it, and it was only ~30' then. I haven't gotten a chance to do Mammoth yet. I know that vis was very poor when they opened last summer. Anyone know if Ike did anything to it? Never been to 288 lake, but bc its so close to me I should at least check it out.

 

[divezonescuba]

I think the visibility in Mammoth and Lake 288 were about the same last year.

There is an enormous number of objects in Mammoth worth diving. They have a bubbling system installed to help clear up the water. It is really convenient having the dive shop on the premisis.

Hopefully Lake 288 will install a compressor this year. I would also like to see them put in platforms like Blue Lagoon rather than the plastic netting.

It is a good thing that Twin Lakes was accidentally drained. I got sick immediately after diving there. When I started asking questions, I found out that the EPA had been out there.

 

[ReefHound]

I think the visibility in Mammoth and Lake 288 were about the same last year.

Maybe by late summer or fall but last spring 288 Lake had incredibly good viz, at least 25 feet. From the surface I could look down on the platform and see students clearly enough to see who was who and what they were doing. By midsummer it had dropped to 10' and by late summer to 5', although you could usually find 10' along the north ridge.

Mammoth never saw much more than 5' from my experience and the reports of divers (at least those not affiliated with the park). But there sure are a lot of things in there to feel... er, I mean... see.

 

[1TexasDiver]

Reefhound is correct about 288 having better vis early in the year.I did find a few days later where vis was 10-15 but those were midweek dives. "hint" stay away from o/w classes where ever you may go

 

[vam302]

Anyone been out there yet this year? I was thinking of going out there this next weekend, just wondering if the water is warm enough for a 3mm.

 

[ReefHound]

I have a friend who has been teaching classes there, lately he has reported 10-15 viz and low 60´s temps. He is diving dry.