Dallas and Austin - Where to dive?

[00wabbit]

Will be in Dallas for a week or so and then in Austin for a month or so - Where to dive?

I'm looking for local dive sites that are inexpensive to check out. This will be in January or February.

Also looking for buddies. I dive in the DIR type style. I have taken Intro to Tech but I'm not a tech diver. I dive year round in Indiana so I'm confortable with any water/air temps as well as lower visibility dives. I would prefer good vis, but I would rather dive than not dive.

 

[Carlos Danger]

In the Dallas/East Texas area there is Clear Springs Scuba Park and Athens Scuba Park. I believe there is also some diving out west of Dallas at Possum Kingdom Lake. Of those three, Clear Springs is the closest to Dallas, and also arguably the better facility. From Austin there is diving out at Lake Travis, Aquarena Springs, and Reveille Peak Ranch, that I know of. Perhaps someone else will chime-in that is more familiar with the Austin scene.

http://clearspringsscubapark.com/indexflash.html

http://www.athensscubapark.com/

http://www.scubaadventurer.com/possum_kingdom.htm

http://www.scubaland.com/dive-club/local-diving


The largest LDS in the Dallas area is Scuba Toys:

http://www.scubatoys.com/


Since it sounds like you'll be in Texas for a while, you might also consider that Cozumel is only about a 2 hour flight away. There is also the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary as well, if you're down for a charter trip.

http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/visiting/divecharters.html

 

[driftwood]

The best diving in the Austin area is Aquarena. The problem is that you need special training and permission to dive there. The lake is controlled by the USFWS regulations.

For Lake Travis, you best bet is diving with Robert at Welcome to Lake Travis Scuba . Reveille Peak Ranch is alright for training but pretty much a deep quarry without much to see. You can also drift dive the San Marcos River, but the weeds are very thick. Another alternative is the Comal River in New Braunfeld. Better than the San Marcos. In both cases, you will need to have a vehicle on either end to make things work smoothly.

 

[00wabbit]

Is it feasible to get training etc to dive Aquarena if I am only there a month?

 

[driftwood]

Aquarena went through a major make over two years ago. They started letting qualified divers back in the lake in late January of '13. They are not offering the training to certify new divers at this time.

Diving for Science : Aquarena Center : Texas State University

 

[Sushi Boy]

Second for the Comal in New Braunfels. It's a fun dive (especially the tube chutes in dive gear!) but I'd strongly recommend finding a local buddy, both so you can have vehicles staged at each end of the dive, and to show you the little ins and outs involved with diving the Comal. It's shallow, but the waters a constant 70ish degrees, there's decent visibility, and there's good wildlife to check out while you dive. Plus the burgers at the Phoenix Saloon are a great post-dive meal.

 

[Cyprian]

When in Dallas, you are more than welcome to come dive with us.

We can typically be found at Lake Murray, OK or Clear Springs depending on conditions and what we are looking to do on that given day. Athens probably won't be open until Mar/Early April.

The other folk are pointing you in the right direction down in the Austin area, but I would throw Canyon Lake in the mix. North Park is closed during those months, but there are other places to enter.

Safe diving!

 

[00wabbit]

I'll look you up. We're hitting the road early January.