Looking for dive site advice in SE Wisconsin (Milwaukee area)

[BrandonTL]

I am looking at doing a Lake Michigan roadtrip in late june and was interested in the Appomattox dive as a shore dive! Does anyone have any more information about the site? If anyone is interested, some company would be nice too!

I hadn't heard of the Appomattox until this thread, here is some information on it (it is supposed to be very easy to access). Per the page I just linked, the site is located here (43.092000, -87.869617).

 

[BrandonTL]

Follow up: Since I originally posted this I have done a couple Lake Michigan dives (great, but cold and generally need to go out on a boat), Lannon Quarry (not great, you can get in the water easy, but not much to see and not great vis), Lake Nagawicka (the worst... easy to get in, but at least when I went I could barely see my hand in front of my face), and Pearl Lake in S. Beloit IL (Best!).

Pearl Lake does have a fee but I don't remember it (the fact that I don't remember means it probably wasn't terrible). It is supper easy to get into, good viz, some fun things to see (put in intentionally), like a submarine, ice cream truck, a few boats, etc. It's not a great place to go if you are looking for something challenging or super adventurous, but it is an awesome place to just get in and dive with very little stress. Also a great place for learning or refreshing skills.

 

[Nosmosis]

I am a new diver (based on number of dives, I have been OW certified since 2020). Up until this point I have only been diving on vacations. I have recently purchased some equipment with the desire of diving locally so I can start to get a lot more experience and become a better diver. I am scheduled for my AOW toward the end of June, but I would like to get a few easy dives in (with my dive buddy who is at the same level as me and will be doing AOW with me). My thinking is that I would like to work on buoyancy, trim, planning, navigation, etc before AOW so I can go and sharpen my weak points in the class rather than just being introduced to it during the class.

I live in Milwaukee County (specifically Oak Creek). Is anyone from this area? Could you point me in the direction of some easy shore entry sites? I used to live in Racine and I know that people used to dive in the Racine Quarry Lake. I did a quick search for that on this site but the last post I could find about it was from 14 years ago so I don't know if it is still good information.

Basically I am just looking for a few places I can just jump in, without the cost of a boat, a crazy long drive or the risks of just jumping blindly into any random spot without knowing what I am getting into. If any of you could help I would be super grateful!

Pearl Lake is in South Beloit, Illinois. Not super far from Wisconsin. Also, I do private instruction and coaching and would be happy to talk to you about getting ready for AOW or even doing AOW with you.