How to Scuba Dive the Great Lakes

Great Lakes scuba diving is full of adventure and unique diving experiences. Diving among the many ship wrecks in the big lakes gives divers a new perspective of this region and all its possibilities. Scuba diving in the great lakes is definitely a cold water dive so cold water dive preparation is necessary.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Contact a Great Lakes Scuba Diving company for information on prices, dive times and sights where you would like to dive.

2. Use at least a 6mm wet suit. The temperatures in the Great Lakes are very cold below the thermoclines, so some divers will want to dive with a full wet suit.

3. Take an underwater dive camera to capture artifacts from shipwrecks on film. Never remove any artifacts from a shipwreck.

4. Get information on available dives from scuba diving bulletin boards on the Internet. Scuba divers are always sharing about the dives they've taken and what they've seen.

5. Use a map to find all the dives in the five underwater preserve areas of Lake Superior. These areas are the Keweenaw, Whitefish Point, Alger, Straits of Mackinac and Marquette Underwater Preserves.

6. Look for buoys marking the spots of the dives. These markers are placed by volunteers from the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council.

7. Dive with an experienced diving company. Scuba diving the Great Lakes is a different experience than warm water diving and should only be done under the supervision of an experienced Great Lakes diving instructor.

Tips & Warnings

• There are many shipwrecks to see in the cold waters of the great lakes. Artifacts that would have long ago disappeared in corrosive salt water are wonderfully preserved in the fresh water of the Great Lakes.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• Tired of Being Tired? Fight Fatigue and Try FRS for FREE!