Is Oregon worth a flight?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Hello all:

Just exploring all the great dives USA has to offer. I have already done Florida and North Carolina, Georgia and will be doing Maine, and some Great Lakes area this summer. In Winters I plan on diving the best places in West coast. So far I have Catalina Islands and Puget Sound on my list as these are the more trumpeted dive sites. Since West coast has another state (Oregon) in between, how come it is never mentioned as good diving? Are the dive sites really boring or is it because there is lack of dive operators there? Since I plan on driving from California to Puget sound for diving purposes only, would there be a place worth stopping in between? Or should I skip and keep going North?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Sinbad

 

[USFpsychDiver]

Oregon has many great things to offer. Diving isn't one of them.

 

[TSandM]

The reason Puget Sound is such a great place to dive is that it is inland and protected. We don't do much diving on the Washington coast, either, because the weather and the roughness of the water make the places where you can even get to the water challenging. Duncan Rock, out in the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is supposed to be a fantastic dive, but few people get to do it, because conditions have to be so perfect to make it possible.

I've gotten the impression that Oregon coastal diving is pretty much the same.

 

[JohnN]

I've gotten the impression that Oregon coastal diving is pretty much the same.

What's not to like about BIG surf, cold water, low visibility and big currents?

Live in and love Oregon, but if you have the time, go North to Vancouver Island. The diving in the Tofino/Ucluelet area is supposed to superb.

 

[pasley]

The west coast is rather rugged. The mainland is often 50 to 100 feet above the ocean and North of Point Conception California the swells are large. This remains true for Oregon and the Washington Coast. Sells comming across the open ocean crash into the rugged coast. In addition Oregon has different property laws and the beach is privately owned outside of designated public area making access more challenging. There are dive shops in Oregon, but when I was up there they recommended I go to WA and dive in the Puget Sound. Great diving there by the way.
Seaside, Oregon Surf Forecast and Surf Report

 

[raptor660]

If you can Neah Bay best diving in wa IMO.

 

[scubamarketing]

Having lived here my entire life and been an active instructor in Oregon, while there are some pleasant dives for us locals, it honestly isn't worth a flight out here. Since it looks like you may be driving through, I'd say plan on stopping in the Eugene area. Eugene Skin Divers Supply is one of the oldest and best dive shops I've been to (used to teach for too) on the west coast. Eugene is a nice middle of the state spot to stop too, but any dives are going to be 1.5-2 hours off I5. Clear Lake is amazing, but cold and an altitude dive. The coast can be nice, but can also be equally bad (visibility, marine life).

 

[Scuba_Noob]

Vancouver Island is worth a dive for the very north Pacific Northwest, if you want to go out to Port Hardy for a dive 'resort'. By 'resort', I mean a room, food, and multiple dives each day off a boat. If you want the best dives in the Pacific Northwest, Port Hardy is considered by many to be the best place to dive in North America. There are also numerous other amazing dive areas on Vancouver Island.

It's not in the USA, but worth a look if you're looking to stay somewhere for a few days.

 

[LowDrag]

I have only done two dives on the Oregon Coast. Both were at Garibaldi, the first being on the North outer side of the jetty - NOT RECOMMENDED for newer divers. We got caught in a rip tide and had to fight to get out in one piece. The second was kind of a drift inside the jetty's on the south jetty itself. That was good but we were in a boat and the vis was poor at best, I will say that the vis was better than when we did our cert dives at Hoodsport Washington on the sound the month before. Time of year was this past July (the last week of July).

 

[Furnari]

Minor correction- Oregon's entire coastline from low tide to high tide is publicly owned. But yeah- the coast, especially in winter, is pretty challenging. That said, if you can get offshore in the summer or fall, you'll have some amazing diving. Another plus for Oregon is that spearfishing laws are much more lenient than up north, so it's not a bad option if you're diving for groceries. As noted above, Clear Lake is definitely worth a stop. It features 100-ft viz and a 3,000 + yr. old sunken forest.