I have listed some of the dive sites with photos I have been to that I think divers may be interested in. This a overview of the dive sites I have dove or someone like your self has dove and sent in but 99% of what you see here in from my own experience. I have been to many lakes, rivers, ponds, stock tanks, mud puddles.... that did not warrant listing here. My goal is to promote diving in Texas not run it down but, I do tell it as I see it. If you have questions about a site listed here or not drop me a line. Chance are I have at least been there and can save you a trip if it's not dive worthy. The rating system I use is one to five stars. One being poor, five being great. This is only my opinion and your experience may differ depending on weather and time of year. If I have not dove there the rating will be left blank. The sites are listed in alphabetical order and you may click on underlined words for more information and photos. If you have been diving lately PLEASE send me a report and I will list include it here. There is a links at the bottom of this page where you can check Texas lake condition and view maps.
Amistad
Date: 04-14-01
Amistad Divers is also on Hwy. 90 just before you get to Amistad
Lodge. They can fill your tanks and rent you any gear you may need. They will also show you where all of the dive sites are
located. To get to the area we dove take Hwy 90 W past Amistad Lodge and turn right at the first entrance you come to.
Take the first road to the right and watch for the sign that reads swim area. There are several picnic tables with one right next
to the stairs leading down to the water. The lake has been down for some time now and was still down 38' while we were
there. This makes the trip back and forth to the water a real work out so do not walk down to look at the lake with out
carrying a tank down with you. I carried two tanks down then went back up, suited up and walked back down with all of my
gear on. It's not that tuff of a hike and like I have said before "If the Fat Boy can do it" well you know the rest.
The best diving where we were at was in the 30' range with a nice rock ledge going down to 40' where you will find mud and
not much else. There are the remains of a boat in 20' and we were told a training platform is there also. This is a very large cove
and can take a lot of divers and not be to crowded. The day we were there we had it all to ourself. I enjoyed diving Amistad
and we will go back again but we will use a boat next time. I have listed a few surface photos and a map of the area we were
at and I will post the underwater photos as soon as they come back. If you have questions, comments, dive reports or whatever drop me a line.
Aquarena Springs
Athens Scuba Park
Balmorhea
Benbrook
Blue Lagoon
Canyon Lake
Cedar Lake
Clear Springs Scuba Park
Comal River
Granbury
Hamilton Pool 
Oasis
Paluxy River
Possum Kingdom
San Marcos River
Squaw Creek
Texohma
Toledo Bend
Travis
Twin Lakes
Tyler State Park
Valhalla
Whitney
Texas Lake Conditions
Texas Lake Maps
Location : Amistad
Max depth: 100 +
Water temp : 68
Visibility: 20'
Rating: * * *
Dive shop: Amistad Scuba
Phone: 830-775-0878
Comments:
We dove Amistad April 14, 2001, and found the lake to be very clean and the average viss about 20' . I am told that 40' may
be found if you have a boat. We tried to rent a boat but found out that one should have been reserved in advance. They have
rental boats at Lake Amistad Marina and you can get pricing and reserve boats online. The marina is located just across the cove from where
we dove at Diablo East Recreation Area just past Amistad Lodge on Hwy. 90 which is also where we stayed.
Date: 7-24-99
Location: Aquarena Springs
Max depth: 25'
Water temp :72 Year round
Visibility: 75'
Rating: * * * *
Dive shop: Aquatic Adventures
Phone: 512-219-1220
Comments:
We went with Aquatic Adventures, the cost was $30.00 per diver for two days. We had the the site
8:00am till noon and were free to make as many dives as we wanted. The only drawback is that you
cannot leave the netted area. This is where they used to put on the underwater show, if you have
been there before the university took it over you will know what I mean. The visibility was great until
the newbees got on the bottom and stirred it up. I had no other recourse but to slip through the net
and out into the lake. I know I should not have done this but I stayed off the bottom and touched
nothing. If they catch you in the lake you will be barred for life, so if you decide to do this your on
your on. (get in and out before 9:00am, this is when the boats start running and you will get caught)
however I think
it was worth the risk because it is like no other site in Texas. You can get in the lake without the risk by
calling
512-245-7560 tell them you want to sign up for the Scientific dive program, I plan on doing this
next spring. GREAT DIVE!!
Date: 5-23-99
Location : Athens Scuba Park
Max depth: 27'
Water temp: 74
Visibility: 3'
Rating: * * *
Dive shop: Scuba Park
Phone: 903-675-5762
Comments:
Athens Scuba Park just had their grand re-opening May 22. The park is under new management. Calvin and Shannon's Back!!!! The park was getting a little run down but Calvin and Shannon have done a great job whipping it back into shape. This has got to be one of the best training facilities in the state as well as a fun place to spend the weekend diving. There is a lot to see under water, like buses, boats, a piano, an airplane and a motorcycle
just to mention a few. There are dive platforms for training and nine entry docks. The lake is 7.5 acres and is big enough so that you will not get in each others way. There were over 100 divers when we were there and there was plenty of open water as well as parking. There are rest rooms, showers, campsites, beach volleyball court, basketball courts, a stage for live bands and a dive shop. Cost is $21.50 per diver, $10.00 for non divers, kid's under eleven $5.00, students get in for $35.00 for the weekend, dive masters with a class gets in free and instructors get in free all the time. They are open Friday noon till dark, Saturday 8:00am till dark and Sundays 8:00am till 6:00pm. They are also open Wednesday and Thursdays with reservations. You can also get a season pass for $100.00 This is good for May-November 1, 1999. The visibility was bad the day we were there but there had been a lot of divers before us. I am told that this lake has great visibility more often than not. Scuba Park is located in Athens, Texas. Their address is 500 North Murchison Street, P.O. Box 2681
Athens, Texas 75751. Phone (903)675-5762, Fax (903)675-2464,
Pager (214)512-3606 Get there early, stay off the bottom which is heavy silt have fun and DIVE SAFE.
Date: 2-26-99
Location : Balmorhea State Park
Max depth: 25'
Water temp: 72-76 year round
Visibility: 50'+
Rating: * * *
Dive shop: Desert Oasis Dive Shop
Phone: 915-375-2572
Room reservation: 512-389-8900
Comments:
Thanks to Desert Diver for this tip.
I have heard through very reliable sources that Balmorhea St. Pk (the Pool) will be closed from mid December through mid January 2002. The Pool needs major renovations. I've been informed that the Pool needs immediate repair. If the problems are not taken care of, the Pool might have to be closed for up to 2 years. Call Park Ranger Tom (B.S.P.) to verify the time when the water will be unavailable. Might save a long trip out to West Texas!
From the surface this looks like a big swimming pool, but under the surface you will find the clearest
water in Texas. The pool is fed by the San Solomon Spring to the tune of 20 million gallons of pure
spring water every day. We got there Friday at noon and had it to our self till dark. This was the best
visibility I had ever seen and it looked much different than it did on the surface. Lots of fish including a
fish that I am told can be found only here, named the Comanche Spring Pup Fish.
There are also fish here named the Pecos Mosquito fish both are on the endangered list. There are
also Mexican Tetras, Catfish, Perch, Minnows, Crayfish and Turtles. All are VERY friendly to the
point of swarming you. We made a dive that night and were amazed to find that with the full moon a light was not necessary.
The pool is open 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. The cost is two dollars per diver plus three dollars
for the night dive. There are rooms available for thirty five dollars and up per night. Camping and RV
sites for ten dollars a night. Tanks are available at the dive shop next door for seven dollars and air fills
are five dollars. Call before you go and reserve tanks before you leave home without your own. If the
dive shop is closed call the number and they will come meet you there. It can get a little crowded on
the weekend so I recommend going during the week. I really enjoyed diving Balmorhea.
Date:
Location : Benbrook
Max depth:
Water temp :
Visibility:
Rating:
Dive shop: Scuba School
Phone:
Comments:
I have not dove at this site yet but will when it gets a little warmer. I did go check it out and find some places to dive. I also took some photos and they are posted below. I know of no one that has dove here, if you have PLEASE file a report.
Date : 12-6-98
Location : Blue Lagoon
Max depth : 26'
Water temp : 65
Visibility : 25'
Rating : * * *
Dive Shop : On site
Comments :
This is a quartzite quarry near Huntsville, it has been referred to as Cozumel in the Pines. This really is
the bluest water you will find in Texas. The visibility was 25'+ the day we were there
I was told it can be 60' at times. The only thing I did not like was the absents of marine life. The only
marine life you will see there is called a dragonfly nymph. They look and act like a shrimp and
can be seen around the 40' Chris Craft that I could not resist scratching my name on with all the
others ("What a newbee"). There were at least five dive platforms there for training as this is what this site was opened for and I could
not think of a better place in Texas for open water training. The only draw back is that you will not
soon see this visibility again in Texas unless you go to Balmorhea or off shore. If there was marine life
here I would give it a five rating but with out fish it gets just a little boring. If you are looking for
some blue water but don't have the bucks for for Cozumel this is it. This was a fun dive and I would
go back. There is also a second lagoon you can dive for the same price next to this one.
Date : 06-05-99
We dove at North Park and
was told that there is good diving at Overlook Park as well as Comal Park. The owner of the dive
shop will be happy to tell you all about the lake.
This dive goes well with the Comal River dive since they are close to each other. We did this dive just after
lunch and a few divers had been in before us but the visibility was good. This lake does not see a lot of
divers and I do not under stand why. It was a fun dive with very easyentry and exit to the water. Park just to the left of table number 12 and the site will be a few steps away. You WILL need a full wet suit to dive below the
thermocline which was at 36' and the temp dropped to around sixty degrees. There is a
small wall we followed for a quarter mile or better with a car or two along the way, there is also a
training platform. We stayed above sixty feet due to the temp but there is all the depth here that you could want. The cost is eight dollars a car and camping is permitted. The dive shop is open seven days a week and is across the
street from a tube rental shop and a hotel that is also owned by the same people as the dive shop. If no
one is at the shop just go across the street and they will come help you. It is located at 12381 Hwy.306
just a few miles from the turn off to the dive site. If you would like a room across the street from the dive shop call early as they go fast. The number to call is (830) 964-3600. As with all of the other sites if you want to know more just drop me an e-mail.
Date : 07-13-02
Cleburne State Park is a 528-acre park that encompasses a 116-acre, spring-fed lake. Located southwest of Fort Worth near Cleburne, in Johnson County, the park was acquired from the city of Cleburne and private owners in 1935-36 and was opened in 1938. The viz was 3' to 5' the day that we dove it (July 13. 2002) but I feel it will be better once the weather cools off and the swimmers leave. The surface temp was in the mid to high 80s with a couple of thermoclines. The first thermocline was at 7' then another at 22' or so. The viz went to 0 at around 20' due to the suspended sediment in the water. I was amazed at how clear the water was for the first 10 feet and if it was like that in the deeper water this would be a heck of a little diving lake. The plan was to put in at the fishing bank (see the park map) and follow the bottom to the water outlet pipe which is about 50 yards out from the dam. When we hit 22' or so the viz had got to the point that I could not read my depth gage or compass. We surfaced and took another compass heading and decided to stay in the 15' range to the water outlet pipe. Once we got to the pipe we dropped to the bottom which was 30' and found it to be a mud bottom and 0 viz. We moved in closer to the dam and found the viz to be pretty good as long as we stayed above 15'. We followed the dam all the way back to the shore where we had put in at and found several old bottles one of which I brought home to clean up and keep. The only fish we saw were some very small fry at the water outlet pipe. Over all there are better places to dive but this is not a bad place if you want to avoid the crowds and the boats. The speed limit on the lake is 5 mph but I would still recommend a dive marker. Getting to the water near the dam is a little tuough (see photo 2) but if this old fat boy can do it any one can. This is a spring fed lake so if you can find the spring you may find some very clear water. No one at the park had any ideal about the location of the spring or what was on the bottom. If you decide to dive it send me a dive report and maybe we can build some information on this lake.
Date : 06-03-01
This is a new scuba park slated to open mid June 2001 just outside of Terrell Texas. It will be known as Clear Springs Scuba
Park. It will be operated by Debbie Cameron and her husband Robert. Audrey will be taking care of security watching over
your valuables for you while you are busy having fun. This 22 acre lake has been in Debbie's family for over one hundred years
and they has decided to share it with us by turning it into a scuba park. There are not many creature comforts just yet, but clear
blue water is in abundance. They already have two dive training platforms in place at 40' and 20' and they have plans to sink a
boat in the near future. The max depth that has been found so far is fifty eight feet but the entire lake has not been explored at
this time. We did run across some nice walls that dropped from the surface to a depth of forty feet. You can see by the photos
there is some vegetation but is not overgrown with it and holds lots of fish. . It is very scenic and reminds me a little of
Aquarena Spring in San Marcos.
Date : 06-05-99
This is a spring fed river that flows through New Braunfels. It is divided into three areas, upper,
middle and the lower. We went on the week end and the only entrance we could find was at Prince
Solms Tube Chute. We got there at 8:00am and the gate was open, we later learned that the gate is
locked at 9:00am so do not park inside this gate, park just outside of it. The dive is to the left of the
tube chute, dive up the river and watch for goodies lost by the tubers and keep a eye out for the
Large Mouth Bass that live there as well as Catfish, Perch, Crappie, Carp.... You can dive a quarter of a mile or better up the river then come back down the other side. Things have changed a lot here
the last few years so most of the dive Texas books are outdated and just plane WRONG, where they say to
enter are no longer accessible. This is the only part of the river we found suitable for diving. If you
want to know more just drop me an e-mail.
Date : 06-19-99
This is a river lake fed by the Brazos River. I have lived on this lake for four years and I can tell you
that this water is not fit for diving. Why did I dive it? I suppose because it was there and I just
wanted to do a report on it, and after all I do dive Mud Puddles. We dove the north end of the lake in a river channel that was 32' deep.
The visibility was 0, kinda like chocolate milk. The deepest part of the lake is just in front of the dam, it is 56'. I was told by a "diver" at whitney that there was a old submerged bridge on Pearl St. just
down from City Beach. He had dove there and the water was clear, however, after much research and talking to a old timer (sorry Ollie) that
watched the bridge be torn apart and hauled away there is no submerged bridge in Lake Granbury. There is definitely no clear water in Granbury. Next week we dive a dog bowl, I heard a old train was submerged there. : )
Date: 2-16-03
Hamilton Pool formed when a cave over an underground river collapsed thousands of years ago leaving a large waterfall spilling over a large open cavern. The pool is located where the Pedernales River and Hamilton Creek join in southwest Travis County near Austin.
We dove Hamilton Pool for my dive club Underwater Explorers to see if we wanted to have a club outing there or the San Marcos River. We dove both this weekend and San Marcos River got the nod again however, this is a pretty neat dive and I think worth the trip. It may be the most scenic place I have ever dove in Texas and your non diving friends will enjoy the time on the surface while you are diving. There was not a lot to see underwater besides turtles, catfish and some perch but hey, that's Texas diving.
The visibility was 10' over all opening up to maybe 20 in places. The bottom is covered in silt so stay off it and your viz will be decent. It is a fairly large pool so even with a dozen divers you will not be in each others way. We went in Feb so we had the place to ourselves. I can see this place teaming with swimmers in the summer time so this may be better suited to early and late in the year diving. Be sure to call (512-264-2740) before you go as they do close it to swimmers from time to time. The cost was five bucks per vehicle and the parking lot is sized for 75 cars, when all spaces are taken, cars are held up at the gate until a space opens I am told. You don't want to try to dive here with that many people in the pool anyway and it will not be a problem if you go early or late in the year as we did. The nearest air fills are in Austin so take all the tanks you need. There is nothing here to eat or drink so bring all that with you as well. There are some decent bathrooms to change in. The hike to the pool in just over an 1/8 of a mile down a path which is not bad but the hike back up in full scuba gear is a little tuff so be prepared for that too. When we were there they were in the process of making a nice service road to the pool from the parking lot for the employees to use. This may be completed and would make the trip walking to and from the pool a lot better.
Hamilton Pool is located about 30 miles west of Austin on FM 3238. From SH 71/U.S. 290 junction southwest of Austin, take SH 71 about 81/2miles to FM 3238 (Hamilton Pool Road), turn left and travel about 13 miles to the preserve. The entrance to the 232-acre preserve is on the right.
Date: 4-25-99
I had been hearing a lot about this site for awhile so I went to check it out for myself. We got there
a little late and had to hurry to get in the water because they close the gate at five. The entry is very easy
as you giant stride right off a platform. Once in the water we were greeted by a few dozen big hungry
catfish. There was a large dive platform on the bottom great for a open water class. There was also a
cabin cruiser to look at and I was told another boat could be found as well as other sunken objects.
The visibility was not that good as a lot of students had already been there, not to mention the catfish
they do a good job of stirring up the sediment themselves. The other divers were friendly and eager to
talk diving and the staff of the park was accommodating letting us stay a little late and chat with the
other divers. This is a limestone quarry that is spring fed and I would guess it covered about three
acres. The closest air is at Island divers in Denton and they are open Sunday till five. You might want
to call first in case they change this practice before you go with a empty tank. Cost is ten dollars per
diver and overnight camping is allowed at an extra charge. Over all this site is better suited for
training and to check out your gear or a place for new divers to log some dives.
Location : Canyon Lake
Max depth : 100'+
Water temp : 72
Visibility : 15-20'
Rating : * * *
Dive Shop : Goofy's Dive Shop
Phone : 830-964-2222
Location :Cedar Lake
Max depth : 30'
Water temp : 75 - 85
Visibility : 3' to 5'
Rating : * *
Dive Shop :Tiger Shark
Phone : 817-447-7525
Comments :
Location : Clear Springs Scuba Park
Max depth : 58'
Water temp : 50 - 79
Visibility : 30'
Rating : * * * *
Dive Shop : None
Comments :
Location : Comal River
Max depth : 15'
Water temp : 72
Visibility : 15'
Rating : * * *
Dive Shop : Goofy's Dive Shop
Phone : 830-964-2222
Location : Granbury
Max depth : 56'
Water temp : 72
Visibility : 0'
Rating : *
Dive Shop : Burleson Scuba
Phone : 817-447-DIVE
Comments :
Location : Hamilton Pool
Max depth: 30'
Water temp: 58
Visibility: 10'
Rating: * * *
Dive shop:
Phone:
Comments:
Location : The Oasis
Max depth: 21'
Water temp: 63
Visibility: 5'
Rating: * *
Dive shop: Island Divers
Phone : 940-383-3483
Comments:
