I am out somewhere pretty much weekly as long as the water is open and then I have to wait until it is thick enough to cut holes in. In the last 24 months I dived at least once a month except January (ice too thin).
Local Groups
Minnesota Hammerheads - I think that they can still be reached through
www.h-heads.com (they are now named twin cities dive club)
Minnesota Manatees - Out of Chanhassen and made up of what appears to be a fair number of Public Safety divers. They are out weekly on the west side of the cities.
www.mnmanatees.com
Store sponsored outings
A couple of local stores do weekly outings and a batch of somewhere in the state outings. Scuba Dive and Travel (my favorite) and Smith Diving come to mind. Scuba Center may as well.
Local Board
www.mnscuba.com
Local places to go
Superior - hard to beat Isle Royale for wrecks. There is also the Madiera, the Hesper and the Ely north of Duluth. Other than wrecks there ain't much in Superior.
Crosby/Ironton - the old pits are great to dive in.
There is wazee in Wisconsin as well as Perch just across the border.
Mille lacs is actually a nice dive if you know someone with a boat.
Local to the twin cities
Actually square can be quite nice if you get past the area that the newbies have mucked up. There are some nice parts to the lake.
Little Long is great for the amount and size of some of the fish.
I like Lake Elmo. It is a bit dark, but it is narrow and fairly deep, 114 ffw. The glide down the slope is a lot of fun.
There are other lakes as well, the thing to do is pick one and give it a try.
Diving in Minnesota can actually be a quite entertaining. It all depends on your expectations. It isn't Coz, but it is fun in it's own way.
JoelW
