Athens Scuba Park, Athens TX
I took my family out to Athens this memorial day weekend and met four other families there. We and one other family camped and the others were in RVs. It was pretty pricey considering the accomodations. The camping area is right next to a very active railroad track so don't expect to sleep - we counted 6 trains each night and since there is a crossing closeby, the horns are blaring. Not the owners fault, but something to consider if you are planning on camping. Other camping shortcomings - one picnic table for entire area, one fire pit and no water. Big plus was firewood - they had a very nice pile there for the campers.
Be prepared to go to sleep then wake up with loud music. I do a lot of camping and I have had to ask a lot of people to turn down their music as the adult beverages begin to flow, but never the owners! At one point the music was so loud I could not carry on a conversation without shouting at our campsite some 100 yards away. When I went to talk to someone at the desk about it, there was no one there and then at the pool area I had to shout at someone there to ask them to turn it down - they either couldn't hear me or were too intoxicated to understand. Granted, the music did stop before it got late, but then it started all over again the following morning a little after 8:00am - gotta love that Fleetwood Mac at breakfast! All of the other reviews I have read talk about how great the people there are, but my impressions were mixed. Maybe it is just a different crowd.
Immediately adjacent to our camp area was a three foot sign saying "no parking" - three dive school cars parked there and we had to put up with them in our way all day - no small feat when moving dive gear you know. We told them it was a no parking area, but they said they "have known Calvin for twenty years and it was OK". Apparently Calvin is one of the owners - you will see "Calvin was Here" painted on every boat, plane and object in the lake. I moved my van in to the same area to unload some ice and groceries and I promptly met Calvin - who told me to move my vehicle - I guess you have to be one of the locals to be allowed next to your campsite. I moved mine and some hour or two later, dive school was out and the other car owners called it a day and left.
"No alcohol allowed" was also posted but definitely not observed (Athens is dry). I wouldn't let my youngest kid down at the pool because of the alcohol and loud music there - I think it was the owner again. The place had sort of a "good-ol-boy" feel about it. Visitors were tolerated but not necessarily welcome - the local divemasters were the kings. Nice showers, very clean facilities - only one real toilet (per sex) for the camp so you might wait in line for that. There are portapoties next to the camping area. Dogs are allowed for campers (another nice thing).
The kids enjoyed the swimming both in the lake and the pool and the train-tracks. Kids are drawn to trains like a magnet. There were kayaks on the lake. Strange thing about the Kayaks - one of the other family's daughters in our group asked the management about the kayaks and were told they were $40 per day. When we checked in, it was implied that they were free. A little later, the RV family next to them had three of the Kayaks and said they hadn't paid anything. Just one of those inconsistencies that leaves you wondering what is going on. 'nuf said about the camping and facilities and on to the really important stuff.
Keeping in mind that Texas Lake diving isn't a Cozumel drift dive (You have to adjust your expectations), the overall diving experience was average to above average. The lake is completely dead, we didn't see so much as a polywog or a crawdad. The wrecks are interesting and the dives were a good refresher for my daughters. We had the three C's - Calm, Clear and Comfortable water. Visibility was OK, rarely more than 20 foot but a LOT better than any other lake dive I have dove (dived, diven?). I missed feeding the catfish but the clarity was a really nice change. You might try the Comal river for amazingly crystal clear freshwater diving (strong current, shallow but lots of life). Diving is shallow so you may have ear problems as you tour up and down the wrecks (my youngest daughter and wife had trouble staying clear). It is a good place to work on bouyancy - just don't touch the bottom! Temperature was very pleasant - no need for skins or wetsuit for any of our divers - also a nice change from some of the lake and river dives you get in Texas. There is not a lot to see after you visit the wrecks and culvert tunnel. The bottom is a fine clay silt and there is enough activity during the day that our night dive was murky and visibility was poor as the fine silt reflected our flashlights back into our eyes. We planned two and only did one. We were planning on diving Saturday, Sunday and Monday, but by the end of the day Sunday, all of our divers were ready to go so we canceled out on Monday (we had 6 divers on our party). One of our families left Sunday afternoon. We considered leaving, but it was so late for us (plus we had a long drive home) that we stayed until Monday morning. Note that you have to leave by 9:00am or you get charged for another day (per person).
Lots of safty hazards so be very careful - sharp stuff everywhere. One our divers got snagged by a screw on the house boat ripping his diveskin and leaving a pretty nasty cut on his shoulder. One of the kids scraped all of the skin off four of her toes on the rusty ladder at our dock (and I gigged my hand pretty good on the way up too). Be careful and bring some band-aids. Watch for nails all over the ground - narrowly missed disaster with my daughter there and one of her dive booties has a vent now. Don't take any short cuts in the dark - there is a single strand of barbed wire about waist hig by the parking lot - it could clothesline a kid pretty easy. This place is meant for the adult only crowd.
After all of the nickel and diming, we layed out around $300+ for my family's dives and camping. Considering that we convinced four other families to join us for this trip, I felt a little guilty - I should have scoped this out better before arranging the trip. Had we been a big group of partying adults and/or singles this would have been a great place. For a family outing, we could have gone to Padre for a weekend for the same money. So, for diving, we will probably take the kids on a day trip to Canyon Lake or the Comal and get a better deal. I don't want to seem like Captain Negativity about Athens - we just left with a bad impression. We probably won't go back. If we lived close by, I might consider going out by myself or with a friend for a day dive. I haven't heard from the RV gang yet but they were grumbling before we left so I am not sure if their impression was much better.
