Going to Houston!

[creamofwheat]

I am going to be in Houston for the second week of May, and would like to dedicate one of my 6 days there to diving. Unfortunately, the only diving I know of in the general area is Lake Travis. I will have a nice big truck to drive, so transport is not an issue to take the drive to Travis. What kind of diving will I find there? Someone brief me. What thermo protection will I need at that time of year? Also wondering where I could rent tanks...I am not aware of dive shops in Houston, but I know they are there...

Or, instead of diving Travis...is there anywhere else within a 2-3 hour drive from Houston that would be worth checking out? (shore access only). I only have one day for diving so I want to make it the best possible. Yep. That is all. Thanks in advance!

 

[JessH]

I believe there is some diving closer to Houston than Travis but I don't really know. Visibility will be somewhere between 3 and 20 feet. There will be some fresh water fish and in some places a collection of sunken stuff such as toilets, small boats and cars.

~Jess

 

[Jay_SMART_Diver]

Depends on what part of Houston you are in, but here's some shops:
Gander Mountain on IH-45 North in Spring. It may be a bit of a hike but they have a pretty large SCUBA area with a good selection of items from multiple manufacturers with very good prices and a helpful, knowledgeable staff (from what I hear all three Houston Gander Mountains have a dive section). There are some good shops in Houston but you'll probably have to drive a little for some better service.
Gigglin Marlin - Never been to their shop but want to, I did meet a couple of their employees/divers diving at Aquarena and they were really nice.
Hydrosports - the dive shop in Lake Jackson for Mammoth Lake, Brand new store Pictures look great.
WW Diving - Another little hike to Humble, this shop comes recommended from a good friend of mine, and I think they handle tech stuff. (yet another I would like to visit.)
Kickady SCUBA - is in the Woodlands and is run by a really nice family that just loves to dive, and they have a Tiki-Bar IN THE SHOP!!!
Houston SCUBA Academy - I'm pretty sure this is the oldest dive shop in Houston, I got certified through a sister store (now defunct) back in 1989, there still in business so they must be doing something right, good size store and they're a Scubapro dealer (best regulators in my opinion.)
Scuba, Inc. - http://www.scubainc.com/
Scuba Houston - http://www.scubahouston.com/
Also check out the City Of Houston Underwater Mariners Social Diving Club - or CHUM for short, a great group of fun loving divers in the Houston area who dive a lot and have monthly drink-er-I-mean meetings at the Stag's Head Pub near downtown.
For Houston Diving there is The Blue Lagoon, North of Houston near Huntsville.
South of town there is Twin Lakes, off Hwy 288, and Further South is Mammoth Lake, (see Hydrosports Above.)
Besides, Lake Travis, for Central Texas there is Canyon Lake outside New Braunfels, Diving there is usually off North Park, Aquarena Center in San Marcos, The Comal River in New Braunfels. Heres a link to Dive Site List from the Texas A&M Scuba Club website. Heres another Texas List with some links, has some of the same info.
Water temps in May are usually Mid to upper 70's I usually dive a MM wet suit all summer. Hope this helps.

 

[NadMat]

I'll let the houstonians answer about Houston diving, but another swamper and I dove Travis @ Mansfield yesterday and had 53 degrees at depth(around 50') and vis as good as 20+ around the ledge about 35-40 foot down. You could see entire length of 22 ft sailboat without a problem, nice to be able to get more than 5 foot from your buddy without losing em in the silt.

 

[Scubafast]

The closest is Twin lakes and the Blue Lagoon. I personally like the Blue Lagoon in Hunstville. An hour drive but nice atmosphere and usually clearest water around unless it rains.
Depending on where in Houston you are there is also in Clear Lake (NASA area)
Divers Paradise
www.dpscuba.com

 

[ianr33]

I did my OW many years ago at Blue Lagoon. Its very shallow and IMHO not particularly inspiring.
Travis is the way to go and has the added benefit that it will get you out of the Houston area (puts on flame proof underwear ) A drysuit is appropriate at this time of year if you want to do anything deep or multiple dives but most people survive in wetsuits. it will be in the mid 50's at depth.Lake bottom is around 135 at the moment.

Another alternative if you can stretch your diving time to 2 days would be the Flower Gardens.Not particularly cheap and a lot of trips get blown out this time of year but definitly worth diving.

 

[outback]

By May there should be daytrips out to the rigs on the go (though most likely on the weekend) - usually around the $180 mark - most of the dive stores should be able to hook you up. (Check out the CHUM site, maybe some stuff on there nearer the time)

The local diving in Houston relies on sandpits - Blue Lagoon is probably the best to just get in the water, play with gear etc, but there's not much to see.

Otherwise Aquarena out at San Marcos is nice (about 3 hours from H-town - but you need to have done their Scientific Diver course in order to dive there), go tubing on the Comal river in scuba gear.

Mammoth Lake way south of town is slowly filling up, but no idea if it'll be ready for diving by May - currently 6' deep. But should be a great site, they've got all kinds of toys on the bottom, including a yellow submarine.

 

[creamofwheat]

Thanks for all the information everyone. I'll check it all out!

Unfortunately flower gardens wont be in the mix for me this year, but perhaps next time I come down, which will probably be next year.

At any rate, I appreciate all the information. Thanks!

 

[Teknadv3x]

Finally Lake Travis seems to be on the mend, vis reports are very good right now.
Contact: http://www.bubadives.com/aboutus.html he can bring you to the best parts of the Lake. Use thermo protection like you would for BC



Dave

 

[Mack Diver]

If you decide to dive Lake Travis and are going to rent gear, you might as well rent it in Austin. That can save you the hassle of luggin it back and forth. Plus you only pay for the one day that you use it. Also, we (Oak Hill Scuba) have 6.5 wetsuits where as most Houston shops will likely only have 3mm.