Chicago scuba scene

[Marie13]

A few of us in the Chicago area solved the problem not being able to dive in the winter by getting cave certified in WI. I’m serious. Fab woman tech instructor out of Madison. You trained at a former lead/zinc mine in SW WI and then you were able to fun dive at the mine whenever instructor was out there. Sadly, fun diving at the mine seems to have gone away (training still happens) and I was only able to get out there in November this winter, but the two previous winters I dived at least once a month from Nov through March at the mine. It was a very unique, awesome place to dive. 3-3.5 hour drive each way.

But seriously, you’re not to have anywhere close to dive, even in the summer. Get used to driving. There is shore diving on wrecks in WI. Think there’s a lot in Green Bay.

 

[lowwall]

Isn't there a usually a charter onto Lake Michigan from the city most Saturdays in the summer?

You can also get involved with the Underwater Archeological Society of Chicago . They used to do surveys of the wrecks off Chicago each summer from private boats. I don't know if that's still going on, but it's worth asking.

 

[grantctobin]

But seriously, you’re not to have anywhere close to dive, even in the summer. Get used to driving. There is shore diving on wrecks in WI. Think there’s a lot in Green Bay.

Or there’s a boat out of Hammond that you won’t mention, or a boat out of Kenosha, or a boat out of Milwaukee…

What you will find is that most of the diving in the Midwest is less formally organized. MWUE is fairly active and you’ll likely find that as you make more local friends, the opportunities to dive increase fairly significantly.

 

[Jared0425]

It’s not even legal to dive into the lake from the beach in Chicago. There is a little wreck in Evanston and one off the Hammond, IN marina beach.

That's a bizarre rule. Why not? I was planning I'm doing the Chicago River next summer for some artifact hunting with a work friend who lives in Park Forest. Said he found cool artifacts near the draw bridges.

 

[lowwall]

That's a bizarre rule. Why not? I was planning I'm doing the Chicago River next summer for some artifact hunting with a work friend who lives in Park Forest. Said he found cool artifacts near the draw bridges.

I did a little digging. That's actually a Chicago Park District (CPD) regulation. It doesn't apply to diving from private property. Anyway, Park Forest is a separate municipality with its own rules and regulations.

Back to Chicago, the CPD regulations do allow for the city to designate areas for scuba diving. In the past they have allowed it either from Oak Street Beach or North Avenue Beach by the Chess Pavilion. The rules were that you had to check in with a lifeguard to show your scuba certification card, no solo diving and you had to have a float with dive flag. I e-mailed the Chicago Park District this morning and asked if there are any areas currently designated for scuba and what are the rules for off-season diving. I'll report back when I get an answer.

Other possibilities include the handful of private beaches in the northern end of the city. These belong to the adjacent buildings and typically only allow access to their residents.

The city to the north of Chicago is Evanston. Here are their rules from https://www.cityofevanston.org/gove...munity-services/lakefront-beaches/beach-rules

Scuba Diving and the use of masks and snorkels is only permitted on Greenwood Beach by certified divers with required equipment. Required equipment includes at least one other certified diver with them, a buoyancy vest, scuba certification card, diver down flag, and submersible pressure gauge to enter.

 

[lowwall]

Here's the response from the Chicago Park District:

We currently do not have any designated SCUBA area at beaches due to the inability to have our own staff in those areas. I believe the only way to dive right now is off of a boat, unfortunately.

There is no checking in with staff during non-guarded hours as beaches are “closed” whenever lifeguards are not present in Chicago.

Sorry, wish I could be more helpful.

Andrew Walsh
Manager of Beaches & Pools
Chicago Park District

This is annoying, but isn't a surprise. Using the lake from the beach is heavily regulated here due to safety concerns given the large non-swimming population of the city. OTOH, if you have enough to money to get a boat, you can do whatever you want.

It probably wouldn't take much pressure to get them to reopen one spot in the summer. But that's not going to help for the other 9 months of the year.

 

[SpeedyJ]

Or there’s a boat out of Hammond that you won’t mention, or a boat out of Kenosha, or a boat out of Milwaukee…

What you will find is that most of the diving in the Midwest is less formally organized. MWUE is fairly active and you’ll likely find that as you make more local friends, the opportunities to dive increase fairly significantly.

Grant is right, there’s no shortage of local diving, especially if you’re a congenial sort. There are communities that cater to a variety of divers, often somewhat “attached” to a shop.

MWUE is the local GUE community covering the Midwest, and is active in promoting opportunities for local diving across all skill levels with events all throughout the year - typically with a few members from the Chicago area in attendance.

 

[Mr. Dooley]

Just wanted to thank folks on this thread for insight on the Chicago dive scene - I'll be arriving in town next week. I've got a training dive squared away for next Saturday to get my solo cert, so I can hit the quarry alone if need be. Looking forward to getting to know the local dive community. Oh, and I've created a Chicago chapter of the dive club I started in out east - Chicago Divers & Dives. Check it out if that's your thing.

 

[Marie13]

Just wanted to thank folks on this thread for insight on the Chicago dive scene - I'll be arriving in town next week. I've got a training dive squared away for next Saturday to get my solo cert, so I can hit the quarry alone if need be. Looking forward to getting to know the local dive community. Oh, and I've created a Chicago chapter of the dive club I started in out east - Chicago Divers & Dives. Check it out if that's your thing.

Haigh opened at the beginning of the month and viz has been absolute crap. Maybe 5ft if you‘re lucky.

 

[Mr. Dooley]

Haigh opened at the beginning of the month and viz has been absolute crap. Maybe 5ft if you‘re lucky.

Sounds like a typical New England dive - I should be right at home! Fingers crossed the vis improves through the season though, as I'll be there near weekly.