Any clear lakes to dive in CO?

[jimmn]

I'm not opposed to diving lakes nearby as long as they aren't murky and nasty. From what I've heard of Carter lake, this would be the case.

I'm wondering if anyone knows of anything else that might be funner than those?

Thanks!

 

[Daxter]

Murky and Nasty? What is your def of clear?

Did Carter last year thought it was ok, did not dive at the dive beach we went to the other side. Would I go there again? Not unless it was a weekday after the fishermen were done and no jetskis or speedboats were on the lake. 10-15 ft vis late in the summer.

If Leadville is your idea of close, Turquoise Lake, Twin Lakes, late in the summer. Early in the summer Aroura Res is ok. Jefferson was ok vis but damn cold. I think the best vis around here will be at the most 35-40 feet if you are really lucky, but on average 10 -15 feet.

Keep your eyes open on this forum we get together a few times in the summer.

Dont worry after a while you can convince yourself that the CO lakes are great to dive, lots of fun, and great vis. Dry suits are the best thing ever made why would anyone ever buy a wetsuit. That is about the time to take a trip to Coz or somewhere warm and "clear".

 

[knotical]

Visibility in many of our popular dive areas depends a lot on when you go. For best visibility go early in the morning, or on weekdays. Once a dive class has churned the bottom, the vis is reduced dramatically.

 

[jimmn]

I wouldn't mind learning the dry suit stuff this summer, hopefully I can rent them locally.

Thanks for the info!

 

[georoc01]

I know A1 Scuba Rents Pinnacle dry suits for $50 a weekend. They completely replaced their rental inventory last fall. All new suits.

 

[RonFrank]

I would assume anything you dive in CO is going to be "MnN". But it's great when it's not!

If you have a requirement for "NON MnM" than you are going to be disappointed. See comment #1!

 

[Divedoggie]

There are plenty of perfectly clear lakes in the high mountains. In fact, I know of a dozen or so that are near Cameron pass which is an hour from Ft Collins. The problem is high elevation.
(9,500 - 11,500 elevation)

The lower resevoirs are mucked up, while the high natural lakes are very clear and cold.

Proper altitude training, an evacuation plan, available O2, and very solid dive buddies are highly recommended.

Ron, we still need to try Sweetwater!

 

[mhedstrom]

Jefferson Reservoir is pretty good, but it's high altitude for sure (like at 10k feet I think). We had decent viz (over 20 ft) when we dove there last fall. You can dive it in a 7 mil, but you might get a little cold towards the end, and I wouldn't recommend that early in the year.

 

[boulderjohn]

Welcome to Boulder! Sorry I am late jumping onto this--I don't visit ScubaBoard as often as I did once.

If you are thinking dry, I suggest uou check out Ocean First Divers on Bluff Street, just east of 30th. They have just started carrying White's Dry suits. Go to the equipment section of this forum for the latest buzz on those.