Blue Hole Santa Rosa NM

[Cuda66]

Has anyone dove The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa NM? It looks interesting to say the least. I'm thinking of taking a weekend trip up there.

Santa Rosa, New Mexico : City of Lakes

 

[rakpix]

there are too many holes ... most of them blue ... in this world. belize, dahab, guam, jeez ... divers need some original names. and no, haven't dived it ... but i'd like to! could maybe be combined with a trip to balmorhea/san soloman springs.

 

[cbrich]

The last time I went was in 2000, and it's just a hole in the ground, it's about 100' deep, and bell shape, it's narrow at the top and then gets wider as you go deeper. This is feed by an underground spring; the opening from the springs goes into a cave system, and good luck on trying to dive it. The dive spot is fenced in, and the cave system, is bared, and lock. This is a hot scuba park for OW and AOW classes, and it crowded on the weekends, and there is only one entry into the dive spot. For someone to take a trip, and travel 12 hours to dive this place is not worth it, go somewhere else.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I dive there once a month. Actually it is not a bad practice hole. Also there is a very small lake nearby (Perch) semi-dedicated for divers with a sunken plane and car. Neither place is going to make any ones top 10, (or 20) but Texas is not known for a plethora of great dive sites. So it may not be worth a 12 hour drive, but if you are in the neighborhood, why not.

Depth is 84' at the grate, varies from 65-75 over most of the bottom
Width is 135' at the bottom.
Temp is constant 61F
Wildlife is limited to crawdads and a few gold fish.
Visibility on weekdays and early morning is 135'+
Night diving here is nice, few students and it makes the place seem bigger.
On summer weekends it is very crowded with students and vis drops to 40' or so - this kinds sucks
Air on site via Stella (mostly weekends) for $5 (also tank rentals if you need them)

If you come in the summer, do an early morning dive at the the hole before the students, then pop over to Perch for a late morning dive. Finally end the day with a night dive. At that point, you have been-there-done-that and avoided the crowds.

 

[texdiveguy]

Best time to go is in the winter a fellow dive buddy tells me....now they have built a nice dive center on the site in the past year.

 

[richerso]

I agree with GrumpyOldGuy. He is just about spot on.

I will tell you - I am the adventurous type. I went to go dive Blue Hole (from D/FW) about 2 years ago. I am glad I did it because I can say that I have been there/ done it. They were framing the dive center building while I was there.

Would I dive Blue Hole again? Yes.
Will I go out of my way to get there? Probably not.
It is an interesting one time dive; but it ain't that special. As described, construct a ginormous clock tower bell (liberty) and fill it with water (ignore gravity -- fill the bell with water in an inverse gravity process). It is kind of interesting at the surface with very limited entry points. At the bottom, the bell mouth opens out. Depth is approx. 85 ft. as reported. Entry to cave system is there. You will not be able to weld/burn your way through the gate with an acetylene torch. That is by design. It is good for one dive. No more. I did one complete dive in about 45 minutes and packed all my gear in. Then, I headed for the VLA Very Large Array to play space / New Mexico tourist.

Winter is the best time to dive Blue Hole because you don't have to deal with OW classes. Last time I was there, you had to travel to Santa Rosa city hall to obtain a dive permit for $8. Go figure. I think they have a dive center on site now. Hope this helps.

 

[Trimix2dive]

Has anyone dove The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa NM? It looks interesting to say the least. I'm thinking of taking a weekend trip up there.

Santa Rosa, New Mexico : City of Lakes

Make sure the fill station is in operation, or bring all the tanks you plan on diving with you. Closest fill station is about 4-1/2 hour away. Wet suit yes, on the bottom crawdads. Cold 85 foot deep hole - positive flow outward, vis not ever really a problem.

Eat at the TEXAN in Amarillo on the way back.

 

[cbrich]

Eat at the TEXAN in Amarillo on the way back.

I believe you mean the Big Texan, and they have a FREE 72 oz steak.

 

[fire_diver]

This is a hot scuba park for OW and AOW classes, and it crowded on the weekends, and there is only one entry into the dive spot.

Actually, there are 3 entrances. There are the stairs, the giant-stride platform, and the rock (if you like a 15' drop).

I wouldn't dive here every week, but it's not a bad dive if you time it right to stay away from the OW students.

BH, plus perch lake should be on your "do at least once" list if you live in this part of the country.

MAke sure you print off, fill out, and return your dive permit to city hall. They are closed on weekends, so it makes it hard to get a permit last minute (unless they have changed how they operate). Any "local" BH divers care to to elaborate on the latest permit proceedures?

 

[fnfalman]

The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa beats the heck out of swimming pools.

It ain't much but it's plenty deep and roomy enough to keep one's skills current. Water is around 60-F or so. Not too cold. I was toasty warm in my 7mm wetsuit.

Oh yeah, the crawdads are mean and not afraid of you.