Dive Sites

The dam was completed in 1927, now approaching 100 years of age, the old dam is over 2,160 ft in length with an upstream height of 166' and a downstream height varying from 40' to 296' of depth in the center of the original Agua Fria riverbed.  We have several sites along the dam, because of its enormous size, lake levels and diver certifications. Due to the normal seasonal lake changes in water levels, the top of the Old Waddell Dam is seasonal for Open Water certification depths and is normally rated as an advanced dive which requires a minimum an Advanced Open Water certification and 100 logged dives.  Most often this is where you can find our technical dive team Sea Team 6 (r) exploring, mapping and continuing to find new treasures from the deep, even when the dam was built back in the 1920s.

Tech Island is an amazingly diverse dive site with depths ranging from 10' to 196' depending on the seasonal lake levels.  These depths vary throughout the year as the lake is drained and refilled throughout different times of the year.  The site offers something for all levels of divers from new OW students to advanced and technical divers.  The cake layered shape with step offs in conjunction with a large flat top, is perfect for divers to feel safe and explore within their comfort limits.  Some of the aquatic life you may see while diving the site include schools of blue channel catfish, flathead catfish, blue gill, crappie, sunfish, Asian carp, largemouth bass, white bass, tilapia and striper.  Tech is also home to the 2 swim through rock formations along with rock wall cliffs to dive on that make up the island's unique attraction.

 This is one of a number of wreck dive sites in the entire lake.  The XXI Gun sunk a number of years ago, she has been preserved very well in the deeper fresh waters.  She ran aground due to the operator being newer to the lake and was unaware of the changing water levels, ran the portside (left) into the rocky structure below the surface.  She has a large gash in her portside hull mid ship.  Where she came to rest on the bottom, she was visible from the surface during low water level at about 30' depth. She was later disturbed by another group of divers who raised her and towed her to her final resting place mid lake.  The wreck is a 28' Pearson. Lots of aquatic life that live on and around it that call it their home.  Depths here typically range from 40' to 150' depending on the seasonal lake levels. 

South Point is a unique site with depths ranging from 5' to 100'.  the site is located in a protected nook on the Southern end of Barker island.  The unique features are the long sloping wall of barker island for easy navigation, with small caverns to look in where many catfish have been known to call home.  The largest population of crawfish we have seen over the years resides here and is believed to keep the abundant fish fed and happy.  Along this site you can very easily find many lost articles from over the years that boaters have dropped.  There are even remnants of an old aircraft that collided with another plane during the filming of a WW2 movie in the 1950's

 The Pinnacles dive site offers steep walls and pinnacle rock formations that protrude from the lakebed.  Depths here range from 10' to 130' depending on lake levels, visibility, and of course what depths you choose to explore.  Some of the aquatic life you may see while diving the site include schools of catfish, blue gill, Crappie, gizzard shad, Asian carp, largemouth bass, and striper 

Many more sites to come.