Clear Lake in Oregon

[DSimp]

Anybody dove Clear Lake in Oregon? I heard it was a cool dive. Just looking for opinions before I make a road trip.

 

[Curt McNamee]

Anybody dove Clear Lake in Oregon? I heard it was a cool dive. Just looking for opinions before I make a road trip.

I dove the lake several years ago and got my altitude cert there. I was with a group of divers from Seattle. We rented a cabin and had a great time. The lake is very interesting and is at about 5,500 ft above sea level. The water visability is from 100-200 ft until someone muks up the bottom. There are old trees, stumps and trout to look at and a big crater on the bottom. We also swam up one of the rivers that feeds the lake and had a wild ride back down. It was a great experience. The water is very cold because it comes from the melting snow pack. There was a lodge and a place to eat. The area is way out in the woods and very secluded. I would do it again someday.

If you do go, let me know how your trip turned out. Make sure you take into consideration the altitude of the lake for your dive planning. You can get into trouble if you don't know what you are doing.

Have a safe trip.

Curt

 

[Xevious]

Hey, PM me if you are heading to the lake and wouldn't mind some company. I've been meaning to get up there for a while now.

If you want a lot of company, there are a group of folks here in Eugene who dive clear lake frequently. Always nice to have a guide.

 

[Diver Mike]

Also check out www.diverhead.com

That is an Oregon based board and there is alot of information about the dive at Clear Lake and Detroit lake last year.

Mike...

 

[diveborg]

The folks from my local dive shop go to Clear Lake every August for a dive and a picnic. The water is cold and very clear, especially at the end of the lake by the lodge. The lake bottom is volcanic ash which is very fine. That means if you plow thru it, you will stir up a nasty cloud that takes all day to settle out. You won't be popular. Good buoyancy skills are important for this dive. The water temp has been 37-38f the times I been diving there. That is because the lake is fed with glacial melt thru underground springs. At the clear end, there are some tree trunks standing upright in the water, the rest of it kind of reminds me of a moon-scape.

I'd say it was worth the drive from Salem at least once anyway.

 

[StevenB]

Call the Jefferson Ranger Station to make sure the road in is open. Ususally doesn't open til April-May or so, but snow is pretty light this year and you may get in earlier.

SteveB

 

[DSimp]

Hey, PM me if you are heading to the lake and wouldn't mind some company. I've been meaning to get up there for a while now.

If you want a lot of company, there are a group of folks here in Eugene who dive clear lake frequently. Always nice to have a guide.

Hey I would love some company, the more the merrier. Probably me and a buddy going up from Colorado early summer. Gotta get my Drysuit cert and some practice in a drysuit this spring. I heard the lake was real nice.

 

[diveborg]

I dug around in some of my photo folders and found a photo I took in Clear Lake. I think I was using an MX-5, I hadn't gone digital yet.

 

[crab]

Clear Lake is a "cool" dive for a couple different reasons. I usually get up there 2-4 four times a year. The most important thing for your first trip is to make sure you end up at the lodge side of the lake rather than the camp ground end. The camp ground (Cold Water Cove) is worth diving on a subsequent trip, but if you want to see the great vis and interesting trees, etc... that everyone talks about, you need to dive the lodge side.

Your best bet for a good trip will be to wait until late spring when the snow is gone and the weather has warmed up a bit. The best scenario is a warm summer afternoon under a bright sunny sky where you can warm up between dives and enjoy a really good cheese burger at the lodge. That is Cascades high lake diving at its best...

Here (I hope) are a few of my Clear Lake pics...