drewdude
Contributor
Looking at doing some shore diving at Whiskeytown this month. Does anyone know where to put in at? Would like something with parking close to the shore, minimal walking, etc.
thx
thx
Where does one dive at Whiskeytown?
- Thread starter drewdude
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
- Messages
- 82
- Reaction score
- 1
Hi Drewdude
If your looking to dive whiskeytown from the shore you have several spots. Minimal walking is a subjective term but i think I can help you out. On the west end of the lake take the Oak Bottom turn off. Immediately after taking this turn a smooth dirt road cuts back to your right (a very sharp turn). go to the end of the road. Get into the water there and dive parallel to the highway. Get to 40 feet asap and look for a 10foot diameter culvert. When you find it follow the creek bed and you will see an old cement Bridge. It's about 50' deep. In the rocks between the lake and the highway is a pine tree with a bush or two. It kind of sits all by itself. The culvert is direstly below that tree.
At the other end of the lake is a small turn out (on 299) just below the information center. This is where the Old Highway enters the water. This is also where 90% of the Scuba training takes place. It's a nice place to dive and get to know the lake. There is a small wooden boat somewhere in the area. Divers often move it around.
Between these two spots directly across from the turn off to the actual whiskeytown is another turn out area. Park there and walk to the water. The diving there is pretty good. Lots of tall weeds which mean fish eating fish.
Are you gonna be here on a weekend?
If your looking to dive whiskeytown from the shore you have several spots. Minimal walking is a subjective term but i think I can help you out. On the west end of the lake take the Oak Bottom turn off. Immediately after taking this turn a smooth dirt road cuts back to your right (a very sharp turn). go to the end of the road. Get into the water there and dive parallel to the highway. Get to 40 feet asap and look for a 10foot diameter culvert. When you find it follow the creek bed and you will see an old cement Bridge. It's about 50' deep. In the rocks between the lake and the highway is a pine tree with a bush or two. It kind of sits all by itself. The culvert is direstly below that tree.
At the other end of the lake is a small turn out (on 299) just below the information center. This is where the Old Highway enters the water. This is also where 90% of the Scuba training takes place. It's a nice place to dive and get to know the lake. There is a small wooden boat somewhere in the area. Divers often move it around.
Between these two spots directly across from the turn off to the actual whiskeytown is another turn out area. Park there and walk to the water. The diving there is pretty good. Lots of tall weeds which mean fish eating fish.
Are you gonna be here on a weekend?
boomx5
Contributor
icantdive55:
Since you dive there all the time, is there really old buildings in the lake? If so, have you ever dove them?
Thanks,
OP
drewdude
Contributor
- Messages
- 82
- Reaction score
- 1
boomx5:
It looks like all the buildings were bulldozed before filling the lake. There is one structure that I know of in 85' that has a flat cement top that measures about 10 X 20(at the biggest) It is level with the ground on one end and 3 or so feet above ground on the other end . In the middle the ground dipes to about 6' and there is a hallway through the short dimension. One end in blocked with debri that was piled in front of the doorway. The other end is wide open. The entire structure is made of cement block and sits on a hill.
There may be more but I doubt it even though I'm still looking.
OP
drewdude
Contributor
icantdive55
What kind of vis/water temp should i expect?
What kind of vis/water temp should i expect?
- Messages
- 82
- Reaction score
- 1
drewdude:
Temp and vis depends on where you go. Usually the vis is better above the thermocline. USUALLY the biggest thermocline is around 27'. Quite often the cooler waters below the thermo hold the very fine suspended particles. This is more obvious in the early summer after a hard winter. When I dive deep I wait until late July or sometimes August. As an example on the 3rd spot I described in an earlier post, off the point the visibility was 1-2 feet in early June at 100' depth. By August it had cleared up to over 10'. Staying in the 50' or shallower area the vis will most likely be 15+ feet just about any where you go. The underwater bridge has some of the poorest vis in the lake. Don't be discouraged if you dive there first. The water contains a lot of very fine silt. When you find the bridge look at the silt layer on the bridge itself. It'll blow your mind. As far as temp goes I'm ashamed to say I never check it. Deep it's in the mid to low 50'S during the summer. It is definitely full suit with hood, booties and gloves below the thermo.
OP
drewdude
Contributor
Thx for the info, looks like 9-12 for the dive date.
- Messages
- 82
- Reaction score
- 1
OP
drewdude
Contributor
Dove today at Oak Bottom. Pretty much as you described it. Missed finding the bridge somehow. Found the Culvert. My first experience diving in limited vis so I found myself getting disoriented especially if accidentally touched bottom and stirred up the muck. Only did one dive as i tweaked my back pulling a tank out of my rig. Looking forward to trying it again. Thanks again for the info. Next time I head over there I'll PM you and see if you're available to do a guided tour.
Similar threads
