So last year I was trying to plan a trip where I would dive all 5 Great Lakes over a 2-3 day period. During my initial research I looked at the distances and estimate dive times and determined it was doable. However when I started to make inquires, I realized that it was very unlikely. I discovered that unlike other parts of the country, the majority of Great Lake dive charters occur only on the weekends and that they fill up quickly. I also discovered that the majority of divers are local and out of town divers such as myself are very rare. Finally tanks and weights are not usually supplied so as an out of town diver, I would have to try and make those arrangements prior to diving.
With all those issues I thought hey, I'll just shore dive but that would have been a waste of time because there would be nothing to see and in the case of Lake Erie, I'm told you'd want to avoid shore diving there due to pollution concerns. Private charters would work but I don't have that type money. In order to make it a worthwhile trip, I realized that I would have to take multiple dives spread out to get the best dives and experiences. After many inquires I ended up planning and diving a Great Lakes dive trip:
Lake Superior - I have yet to dive wrecks on Lake Superior but I have done ice diving numerous times since 2023
Lake Michigan, July 2024 - Dove with Double Action Charters, dove on the Straits of Mackinaw and The Wells Burt
Lake Erie, June 2025 - Dove out of Dan's Dive shop (Canadian side) dove on the Raleigh and an Unknown Wreck
Lake Ontario, June 2025 - Dove out of Dan's Dive shop (Canadian side) double dipped on the Tiller
Lake Huron, July 2025 - Dove with Double Action Charters, dove the Regina and Sport Wrecks
Another thing I was surprised at was that many divers dive the lake close to where they live, they will rarely travel to another Great Lake to dive. I thought divers would bounce around to the different lakes but that is not the case. At any rate I enjoyed the experience and plan on doing it again. Even though I've dove Lake Superior multiple times, I haven't done a shipwreck there yet, so that's my first order of business and I've also been told that I really need to go dive the wrecks up in Tobermory. I'm looking forward to planning those trips. I just completed my ANDP and will be doing Helitrox before the end of the year, so I plan to put those new skills to use.
Oh and finally, I recently came across an article where a group of women did what's called the Grand Five Great Lakes Diving, where they dove all 5 lakes in a 24 hour period. That's quite a feat but I'm ultimately happy the way I did it as I was able to take my time and enjoy.
With all those issues I thought hey, I'll just shore dive but that would have been a waste of time because there would be nothing to see and in the case of Lake Erie, I'm told you'd want to avoid shore diving there due to pollution concerns. Private charters would work but I don't have that type money. In order to make it a worthwhile trip, I realized that I would have to take multiple dives spread out to get the best dives and experiences. After many inquires I ended up planning and diving a Great Lakes dive trip:
Lake Superior - I have yet to dive wrecks on Lake Superior but I have done ice diving numerous times since 2023
Lake Michigan, July 2024 - Dove with Double Action Charters, dove on the Straits of Mackinaw and The Wells Burt
Lake Erie, June 2025 - Dove out of Dan's Dive shop (Canadian side) dove on the Raleigh and an Unknown Wreck
Lake Ontario, June 2025 - Dove out of Dan's Dive shop (Canadian side) double dipped on the Tiller
Lake Huron, July 2025 - Dove with Double Action Charters, dove the Regina and Sport Wrecks
Another thing I was surprised at was that many divers dive the lake close to where they live, they will rarely travel to another Great Lake to dive. I thought divers would bounce around to the different lakes but that is not the case. At any rate I enjoyed the experience and plan on doing it again. Even though I've dove Lake Superior multiple times, I haven't done a shipwreck there yet, so that's my first order of business and I've also been told that I really need to go dive the wrecks up in Tobermory. I'm looking forward to planning those trips. I just completed my ANDP and will be doing Helitrox before the end of the year, so I plan to put those new skills to use.
Oh and finally, I recently came across an article where a group of women did what's called the Grand Five Great Lakes Diving, where they dove all 5 lakes in a 24 hour period. That's quite a feat but I'm ultimately happy the way I did it as I was able to take my time and enjoy.
