Hello from South Dakota!!

[Adam Jorgenson]

Hello Adam. Welcome.

I've been out to Pactola a couple of times now. Cold Spring Reservoir has even better diving, IMO, in the same area (a ways southwest iirc). There are some other lakes in the surrounding areas that are fun to dive, especially early in the year as they green up badly as the summer wears on. The presence of relatively few divers in the area means that the "finds" can be really good.

I get out to Crosby from time to time, good diving there too, cold. Like you I finished my OWD in Key West, a couple years ago now, I've been back to dive the Vandenberg since.

I just got a boat that is seaworthy enough for Lake Superior and am looking forward to more dives there.

Thanks everyone! I will have to check out Cold Spring Reservoir! The lakes around us tend to green up pretty bad as well, so it is best to get out early here too. I would love to dive the Vandenberg and some wrecks in Superior eventually. Very cold there too! We drove the north shore last June & it was beautiful. They have a wreck by the Split Rock Lighthouse that I want to go back and dive.

 

[T.C.]

Thanks everyone! I will have to check out Cold Spring Reservoir! The lakes around us tend to green up pretty bad as well, so it is best to get out early here too. I would love to dive the Vandenberg and some wrecks in Superior eventually. Very cold there too! We drove the north shore last June & it was beautiful. They have a wreck by the Split Rock Lighthouse that I want to go back and dive.

A good investment for any Northern Diver is a good Drysuit.

Landshark or Donovan's can get you set the next time you're down by Sioux Falls.

 

[ScubaBunga]

Welcome Adam - hey can you talk about the Crosby mines a bit - My grandfather used to have a cabin on black hoof lake (right next to mines) and I spent a week each summer up there as a kid. Only dove it once though back in '93! My boys are now certified and hoping to plan a trip back there, wondering what the area is like now with all the mountain bike trails and other tourist activities. There was no one in the area back when I visited up there. What's the diving like now - vis? I am hoping to camp (Travel trailer) - I saw there was one camping place next to the park but was all drive up with no reservations. It's a 10hr trip for me, kind of far with no guarantee of a spot. Did you camp or stay near by? Thanks for any info.

 

[Adam Jorgenson]

A good investment for any Northern Diver is a good Drysuit.

Landshark or Donovan's can get you set the next time you're down by Sioux Falls.

We are going down in mid February to do some pool dives with Landshark, just to refresh skills. Im gonna look at a drysuit then. Landshark Scuba are awesome people to work with. Did several weekend dives with them last year, very friendly. Helped us complete our AOW at Crosby. I can't say enough about them! Donovan seems a little put off about PADI divers, not sure why.

 

[drbill]

Welcome to ScubaBoard

 

[Adam Jorgenson]

Welcome Adam - hey can you talk about the Crosby mines a bit - My grandfather used to have a cabin on black hoof lake (right next to mines) and I spent a week each summer up there as a kid. Only dove it once though back in '93! My boys are now certified and hoping to plan a trip back there, wondering what the area is like now with all the mountain bike trails and other tourist activities. There was no one in the area back when I visited up there. What's the diving like now - vis? I am hoping to camp (Travel trailer) - I saw there was one camping place next to the park but was all drive up with no reservations. It's a 10hr trip for me, kind of far with no guarantee of a spot. Did you camp or stay near by? Thanks for any info.

Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I had to pull out the log book to refresh my memory! There are bike trails all over, but it's not a problem for diving. There was a big bike weekend when we were there & it was hardly noticeable from the spots we dove. The diving was great! Vis is around 20-30 ft or so. We went to several different places while we were there. South Alstad was very nice. Did a night dive at Portsmouth Beach, right near the campground we stayed at. Btw, very nice campground, and they do take reservations, even though it is a state campground. My favorite spot was Eternal Bliss at Lake Louise. If you get a chance to look it up, it's very cool. There are a bunch of things to see put there by divers: two submerged boats, one of which is a sailboat, a snowmobile, an "electrocuted powerline worker", a pirate bar, mermaid, etc. I'm sure your boys would find it to be pretty awesome, I know I did! I'm not as knowledgeable as others are on the area, and if you were looking for an expert opinion I would recommend seeing Bill Matthies in Brainerd. He has the Minnesota School of Diving. Very friendly guy. Also very interesting, Bill is in his 80's and has the lowest active PADI number, #79. A true wealth of knowledge and a great LDS.

 

[Adam Jorgenson]

Welcome Adam - hey can you talk about the Crosby mines a bit - My grandfather used to have a cabin on black hoof lake (right next to mines) and I spent a week each summer up there as a kid. Only dove it once though back in '93! My boys are now certified and hoping to plan a trip back there, wondering what the area is like now with all the mountain bike trails and other tourist activities. There was no one in the area back when I visited up there. What's the diving like now - vis? I am hoping to camp (Travel trailer) - I saw there was one camping place next to the park but was all drive up with no reservations. It's a 10hr trip for me, kind of far with no guarantee of a spot. Did you camp or stay near by? Thanks for any info.

A bunch of us from my LDS, Landshark Scuba in Sioux Falls, will be there Aug 10-12. More than welcome to join us! The campground we stayed at was Portsmouth Campground at Ironton, MN. It takes reservations, and has the info on the website.

Portsmouth Campground : Explore Minnesota

 

[Adam Jorgenson]

Thanks drbill!

 

[2airishuman]

Thanks everyone! I will have to check out Cold Spring Reservoir!

It's quite clear compared to the others, maybe 10-15' viz, lots of fish and a few odd artifacts, logs, trashcans, etc. Sand bottom. No reason to go deeper than 30' and the lake is maybe 40' at its deepest point. I stayed well away from the dam. Been there two different years.

We drove the north shore last June & it was beautiful. They have a wreck by the Split Rock Lighthouse that I want to go back and dive.

The Madeira. I've been there. Be careful, can be an unforgiving dive if you don't know what you're doing. There was a fatality there last year.

 

[ScubaBunga]

@Adam Jorgenson
Excellent - that was the campground I was thinking of - but (it's been a while since I checked) I didn't think they took reservations, glad they do now. I think my boys might be back in school already at that time - but I'll be checking - that's a good time for those mines - hot air to offset the cold water! It would be nice to get back up there - always loved the time I spent up there.

I visited many of those mines long before the state recreational area was even defined. The railroad tracks were still there. Last time I was there they had just put in a paved road. Definitely will plan a trip up there.