I reported a while ago that we were on the edge of losing Rock Lake as a diving site. Well, thankfully that did not happen, and it looks as if there is a commitment for greater use of the area.
For those who don't know, Rock Lake is a huge sink hole just outside of Santa Rosa, home of the Blue Hole. It is 400-500 feet across at the top, and it is about 280 feet deep at its deepest. I don't know anyone who can say for sure how big it is at the bottom. The site is used primarily for technical diving, both for instruction and just diving. It is arguably the only real technical diving site in the southern Rocky Mountains, and I only wrote "southern" because I don't know what's available in the north. Although its primary use has been technical diving, the only requirement is that you have AOW certification and are under the direct supervision of one of the technical instructors that has permission to use the site.
Like the Blue Hole, Rock Lake is a spring, so its water temperature is relatively constant. It is usually only a couple degrees cooler than the Blue Hole. This past December we had a very comfortable, warm dive to the bottom of the lake and then rushed back to the motel in 16° outside temperatures. That does change in late summer, though. The lake has no natural outlet, and the water that would normally flow out is drawn off through a large pipe and taken to the neighboring Rock Lake trout hatchery. As a consequence, the top 35 feet or so does not have as much natural flow as you find at the Blue Hole, and it warms up considerably under the hot summer sun. The temperatures in that top layer can be in the 70s.
In the past, the only thing on the site in addition to the lake has been a tin shed in a near-collapse state. Plans are now in effect to have a skeet shooting range there as well, and the site is supposed to be opened for fishing. There is another much smaller lake on the property, Swan lake, and there are plans to have that open as a dive site for OW divers and OW instruction this spring. That lake is 60 feet deep, and it will have a floating dock to accommodate entries and exits.
If you are interested information, you can chime in on this thread or send me a private message.
For those who don't know, Rock Lake is a huge sink hole just outside of Santa Rosa, home of the Blue Hole. It is 400-500 feet across at the top, and it is about 280 feet deep at its deepest. I don't know anyone who can say for sure how big it is at the bottom. The site is used primarily for technical diving, both for instruction and just diving. It is arguably the only real technical diving site in the southern Rocky Mountains, and I only wrote "southern" because I don't know what's available in the north. Although its primary use has been technical diving, the only requirement is that you have AOW certification and are under the direct supervision of one of the technical instructors that has permission to use the site.
Like the Blue Hole, Rock Lake is a spring, so its water temperature is relatively constant. It is usually only a couple degrees cooler than the Blue Hole. This past December we had a very comfortable, warm dive to the bottom of the lake and then rushed back to the motel in 16° outside temperatures. That does change in late summer, though. The lake has no natural outlet, and the water that would normally flow out is drawn off through a large pipe and taken to the neighboring Rock Lake trout hatchery. As a consequence, the top 35 feet or so does not have as much natural flow as you find at the Blue Hole, and it warms up considerably under the hot summer sun. The temperatures in that top layer can be in the 70s.
In the past, the only thing on the site in addition to the lake has been a tin shed in a near-collapse state. Plans are now in effect to have a skeet shooting range there as well, and the site is supposed to be opened for fishing. There is another much smaller lake on the property, Swan lake, and there are plans to have that open as a dive site for OW divers and OW instruction this spring. That lake is 60 feet deep, and it will have a floating dock to accommodate entries and exits.
If you are interested information, you can chime in on this thread or send me a private message.
