Long Lake Quarry, Lima Ohio

[eckybay]

As a newly certified diver, I was wondering if this quarry was worth checking out. :huh: It's just minutes from my house, which would be great for when I get the diving urge.
There's some information available on the website
http://www.gilboascuba.com/facilities.html
They have limited hours and the one time I drove back there to check it out, I wasn't too impressed with the surroundings - think large piles of debris and old cars sitting around.
I'm willing to give the place a chance if I can get some positive input about it, but I don't know any other divers in the Lima area to ask. The other divers I know in NW Ohio seem to stick to Portage, White Star, and Gilboa, all of which are still an easy drive for me.. Any opinions on Long Lake would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Notso_Ken]

Never been there before. How do I find it? Might be worth an exploration trip some time.

Ken

 

[eckybay]

It's located at 3160 Long Road, Lima, Ohio 45807

It's located just outside of Lima on the west side of Town.

If you get the chance to explore before I do, let me know what you think!

 

[diver_paula]

hmmm.... Does Long Lake SCUBA have a quarry? Thought they were the previous owners of Gilboa. The description of the quarry on the facilities page is definitely NOT Gilboa but the web address is the old Gilboa address.

Paula

 

[eckybay]

I drove back there once out of curiosity - there is definitely a body of water back there.
If you look at this mapquest map, it shows up.

 

[Randy43068]

Long Lake is a not worth your time! The quarry is nice, but small, however, it is located in a junk yard! I don't know whey they don't clean the place up. No kidding, the environment sucks. I got an air fill there ONCE and it was bad air, too. Got my tank filled on the way to Gilboa once becuase it was only 5 bucks last year. The air was so bad I aborted the dive, emptied the tank and paid 7 bucks for mikes air.

If you dive there, you'll have to park your car beside junk piles. Don't let the rats scare you, I'm sure they're harmless. After you park you have the wonderful experience of walking over dirt soaked with old dirty motor oil. Quite an experience..

 

[Randy43068]

I'm not sure what the arrangement between Twink and Mike are, but it seems like Mike bought Gilboa from Twink. That's the appearance to me, but it's only a guess on my part.

Mike sure has turned Gilboa around from what it was years ago. Nice place now. We're pretty lucky to have a dive site like Gilboa right here in Ohio.

 

[eckybay]

Well, we got brave and checked this place out this past Friday night. The quarry is actually owned by one person, the scuba shop by another, so they don't have any real control over the junk on site. There are piles of wood, old cars, and other old rusting metal objects on site, so that does make one a little leary. We took our own tanks that already had a full fill, so I can't comment on the air quality. It's an okay little quarry - max depth is about 25'. Navigation lines to get between sunken objects - the usual assortment of boats and cars. Plenty of fish. Visability isn't the best, but it was tolerable - maybe ten feet or so. Not my first choice for a quarry dive in Ohio, but since it's only minutes from my house, it'll do when I want to get wet and can't make the time to get to one of the larger ones. Friday night was quiet - one other diver in the water. Some people getting ready to put in a small boat and fish as we were leaving. That is another point to bring up - boats and jet skies are allowed and there is a swimming beach on the one end, so that's a factor to keep in mind if you go investigating this place as well.

 

[Notso_Ken]

Well, we got brave and checked this place out this past Friday night. The quarry is actually owned by one person, the scuba shop by another, so they don't have any real control over the junk on site. There are piles of wood, old cars, and other old rusting metal objects on site, so that does make one a little leary. We took our own tanks that already had a full fill, so I can't comment on the air quality. It's an okay little quarry - max depth is about 25'. Navigation lines to get between sunken objects - the usual assortment of boats and cars. Plenty of fish. Visability isn't the best, but it was tolerable - maybe ten feet or so. Not my first choice for a quarry dive in Ohio, but since it's only minutes from my house, it'll do when I want to get wet and can't make the time to get to one of the larger ones. Friday night was quiet - one other diver in the water. Some people getting ready to put in a small boat and fish as we were leaving. That is another point to bring up - boats and jet skies are allowed and there is a swimming beach on the one end, so that's a factor to keep in mind if you go investigating this place as well.

Thanks for the first-hand report on it!

Given that it would be a little over an hour away for me, I'll just finish the hour + 45 and go to Gilboa!

Ken