Help finding dive sites near Charles Town, West Virginia (25414)

[Wolf666]

Hello all and thank you in advance for any responses (btw Happy 4th of July!!)


So I am moving here shortly to Charles Town, WV and am trying to find any nearby diving options. I have seen a few quarries nearby that look to have potential, but other then that nothing is really jumping out at me. I consider myself very experienced when it comes to ocean diving (having spent 6 years in Okinawa and diving all around that area quite a bit), and now that I'm back in the states my only regret is not getting any more certs while I was over there. Either it was way cheaper or I just was spending money more without thinking.

That being said, I have never fresh water dived, so it will be something new to me and am looking for someplace I can try with baby steps before jumping into anything too technical. I do have all my own gear, however I'd have to find a place sort of local to service it before I tried getting in the water.

Any suggestions would be awesome, I also do the commute to work out to Gaithersburg, MD (20878), so if anyone knows areas near here I'd be interested as well.

Thanks and once again happy 4th of July!

 

[Rich Keller]

This is the only thing I could find in your area, never been there but it sounds like a nice place.

Summersville Lake is the cleanest, clearest freshwater lake east of the Mississippi River according to Skin Diver magazine. It is an oligotrophic lake characterized by steep rocky cliffs that go to about 100 feet below the surface. Scuba divers see huge cliffs, boulders, overhangs, and rock walls. There are swim-throughs and aquatic life including bass, walleye, and catfish to enjoy. Summertime lake visibility is an average 20 to 45 feet depending upon rainfall. The lake is over 300 feet deep at the base of Summersville Dam. Water temperature from June through September runs from 68 to 80+ degrees respectively.

PS: You might do better to post this request in the Mid-Atlantic region.

 

[scubamiller]

Lake Rawlings, in Rawlings, VA is about 200 miles away from you...it is pretty neat...they have lots of underwater attractions, and do the dry suit demo in the spring time....they have camping-dive specials, military specials, and offer lots of instruction; they also do summertime internships...check it out...very good vis...lots of "things to do".

 

[Wolf666]

Thanks for replies and I will have to check out summersville. I was debating which region to post in, but since I'm in the eastern panhandle was kinda in-between the two regions..but I'll post a similar thread there. I've been interested in diving lake rawlings but its definitely a trip that I need to spend a pair of days down there minimum.

 

[Wolf666]

Well Lake Rawling is 3h50m away, Summersville is 4h50m away. Guess I am still looking more east coast in Maryland or NJ. I work in Gaithersburg, MD so that's already half the way to the coast done