Author: Oregon Scuba Lover

We are a couple of SCUBA diving fanatics located in Oregon who love to share all of the cool dive sites that Oregon has to offer!

Categories
Central Cascades

Waldo Lake Shadow Bay Day Use Area Boat Ramp

The Shadow Bay Day Use Area Boat Ramp on Waldo Lake is a fun and easy place to go diving on the lake.  This is a big, clear body of water that has excellent visibility although at this particular site there isn’t that much to see.  We like diving here with SCUBA friends to take photos of one another goofing around underwater.  It is also neat to watch sailboats pass overhead on the surface from 50 feet down.

Waldo Lake
Photo by Coulee at English Wikipedia (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Waldo Lake is a fun place to go diving because of the great visibility and easy diving conditions.

Site Highlights:

The main thing we like about this dive site is the visibility.  Aside from Clear Lake, there aren’t that many places in Oregon where you can go diving so easily and get such great viz.  We like taking photos of each other underwater here and we also enjoy watching the hulls of sailboats glide past from the bottom.

Nearest Town:

Oakridge, Oregon is down the highway by a half hour or so from Waldo Lake.

GPS Coordinates:

43.691354, -122.042806

Special Directions to Site:

Look for signs to Waldo Lake on Highway 58.  National Forest Road 5897 is the road you want.  Follow the road for a few miles until you reach National Forest Road 5896.  There should be a Shadow Bay sign at the left turn.  Follow signs for the boat ramp.

Parking:

Parking usually isn’t a problem at the boat ramp area.  On really busy summer days, you may have to park over in the campground day use area.

 

shadow bay
Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google. Shadow Bay starts shallow but gets very deep when you exit the little bay by the boat ramp.

Site Orientation:

The little bay next to the boat ramp is shallow.  Depending on your inclination, you can start diving here or you can surface swim out to the deeper water.  The larger part of the dive site can get very deep.  We went as deep as 70 feet here before.  It is important to use a compass and have good navigation skills because it is easy to get disoriented in the deeper water where there are no underwater landmarks.

Entrances and Exits:

We usually walk right in at the boat ramp but you can also enter from the shore along the lake if you don’t mind a little bit of a scramble to get in.

Salt/Fresh:

This is a fresh water dive.

Shore/Boat:

While we usually dive this site as a shore dive, you can also dive the entire lake as a boat dive.  Recently the Forest Service has begun allowing electric motors on the lake after many years of banning all engines.  Even with electric motors being allowed, most people still use sailboats here.

Normal Conditions:

Conditions here are usually good.  There isn’t any current to speak of.  Just watch for boat traffic when you surface.  We suggest taking along a dive flag so that boats can spot and avoid you.  We recommend the dive flag that we use on our Gear We Use page.

Normal Visibility:

Visibility is usually at least 40 feet and sometimes in excess of 100 feet.

Normal Temperature:

In the summer, water temperature around the boat ramp can be 65F.  At greater depths, expect water temperatures around 40-45F.

Best Time of Year:

This site is only accessible in the summer and fall.  Snow in the winter and spring blocks the road.

Max Depth:

We have not gone past 70 feet here although it appears you can easily go below the maximum recreational SCUBA diving depth limit on the western side of the Shadow Bay dive site.

Suggested Special Training:

This lake is an altitude dive.  Shadow Bay is at 5400 feet above sea level making it one of the higher lakes that you can dive in Oregon.  Be sure to know what you’re doing with your altitude tables and be sure your computer compensates for altitude before diving here.

Aside from the altitude diver training requirement, this dive site is very accessible to just-certified open water divers.

Difficulty of Dive:

This dive is very easy aside from needing to remember about altitude considerations.

Distance of Walk to Entrance:

Depending on where you park and where you enter, you will walk between 50 and 500 feet.

Surface Swim Length:

You don’t strictly need to surface swim here although swimming out of the little bay where the boat ramp is will conserve air for the deeper areas further to the west.  You might want to surface swim about 300 feet.

Special Site Notes:

Remember that this is an altitude dive.  The bottom on the western side of the site slowly drops deeper and deeper.  Watch your gauges and your depth.  It is very easy to be lured deeper than you intended to go because there aren’t any visual cues.

[Underwater Map of Dive Site Coming Soon!]

Closest Local Dive Shops to Get Air Fills and SCUBA Gear:

The closest dive shops are in Eugene and Bend.  This site is in the middle of nowhere and you need to be self sufficient to dive here.

Nearby Restaurants We Like:

There aren’t any restaurants nearby.  Bring your own food!

Nearby Places to Camp and Diver-Friendly Hotels:

There are many National Forest campgrounds and many opportunities for primitive camping in the area.

What Other People Have to Say About This Site:

Please write in the comments below your experiences with this dive site!

Categories
Central Cascades

Big Pool Swimming Hole on Fall Creek

Big Pool on Fall Creek outside Eugene, Oregon is a fun dive site perfect for a lazy summer or early fall afternoon SCUBA session.  We have heard this site also called Ye Olde Rope Swing Hole although that name seems to have fallen out of favor in the last few years.  Many divers in Oregon would never think to go dive a swimming hole on a creek in the Central Cascades.  We have done it and we can say it’s pretty fun.

fall creek
Fall Creek from the Unity Covered Bridge a ways below Big Pool Swimming Hole.

 

Site Highlights

This site is fun to dive.  There isn’t any big highlight other than it’s just plain fun to scramble down the bank and go diving somewhere people usually swim.  We have found glass pipes, a variety of beverage containers, and sunglasses in the bottom of Big Pool.  This is also a good place to go after crayfish.  We caught a pile here once with nothing more than our mesh bag (we have a mesh bag we highly recommend our Gear We Use page) and our hands.

With being so shallow, you can spend a long time diving this site.  Going slow along the bottom looking for things lost by swimmers can be a lot of fun.

Nearest Town:

The little town of Lowell, Oregon is just down the road.  Eugene and Springfield are a little further away and much larger.

GPS Coordinates:

43.966372, -122.600530

Special Directions to Site:

Head up the Willamette Highway and then follow signs for Lowell.  Take Moss Street north out of Lowell (it becomes Jasper-Lowell Road) and then turn right onto Big Fall Creek Road.  Go through the little community of Unity and head upstream above the dam and Fall Creek Lake.  Look for signs for Big Pool Campground.

Parking:

Usually you can squeeze into the Big Pool Campground parking area or nearby by pulling off the forest road.  Don’t block other people in.

big pool
Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google. Big Pool is a fun place to do a dive not far from Eugene.

Site Orientation:

You might encounter a bit of current depending on the time of year and how much water is flowing down the creek.  Upriver is against the current and downriver is with the current.  The site isn’t very large so you don’t have to worry about getting lost.

Entrances and Exits:

You have to walk down a bit of a scramble of a bank from the campground area to get to Big Pool.  We had to walk through someone’s campsite the last time we were here.  the Forest Service may have improved the campground since last we went diving at Big Pool.

Salt/Fresh:

This is a fresh water dive.

Shore/Boat:

This is a shore dive.

Normal Conditions:

Usually there is a tiny bit of current but nothing bad.  Conditions here are benign unless you’re diving during the big spring snow melt.  When the thaw is on and the creek is raging, Big Pool might be a bit too much for most people to dive.

People like swimming in Big Pool.  Be mindful of other users of the SCUBA dive site.  People also like to jump into the water from a few different overhanging areas.  It might not be a bad idea to have a friend stay on the surface to keep people from jumping on top of your bubbles while you are trying to surface.

Normal Visibility:

As long as you stay off the bottom, you can get 15 feet of visibility here.  If you stir up the silt on the bottom, it’s easy to go down to 3 feet of viz.

Normal Temperature:

At the end of summer, water temperatures can be up around 65F.  During the spring snow melt, it can be around 34F.

Best Time of Year:

The summer and fall are the best times to dive this site but it can be accessed most of the year as long as the road is open and not covered in snow.

Max Depth:

We found 25 feet here once but most of the site is shallower than that.

Suggested Special Training:

Open water divers can dive this site without too much problem.  This site is just below 1000 feet so by the training standards we are familiar with, this does not count as an altitude dive.  If you go further up Fall Creek, you will get into altitude diver territory.

Difficulty of Dive:

This is an easy dive.  The hardest part is the scramble down and up the bank.

Distance of Walk to Entrance:

About 100 feet unless you get really unlucky with parking.

Surface Swim Length:

No surface swim at Big Pool!

Special Site Notes:

Please be considerate of other users of this site.  People come here to relax, swim, chill out, and have a good time.  Talking with other site users before you go diving can go a long way to improving relations between SCUBA divers and the public.

[Underwater Map of Dive Site Coming Soon!]

Closest Local Dive Shops to Get Air Fills and SCUBA Gear:

There is a local dive shop in Eugene with full service gear repair, sales, and air fills.

Nearby Restaurants We Like:

We haven’t tried any of the restaurants in this area so please let us know if there is one we should check out!

Nearby Places to Camp and Diver-Friendly Hotels:

There are many campgrounds in this area including right at the dive site.  There are also primitive camping opportunities.  We haven’t tried any of the area hotels so please let us know if you find a hotel that is SCUBA diver friendly.

What Other People Have to Say About This Site:

Please write in the comments below your experiences with this dive site!

Categories
Central Oregon

Lake Billy Chinook – The Cove Palisades State Park – Crooked River Boat Ramp

The Crooked River Boat Ramp at Lake Billy Chinook is a good place to go get wet in Central Oregon.  You can either do this as a shore dive or a boat dive depending on if you bring a pontoon or motorboat with you.  The site varies from a fairly shallow and sandy bottom to deep, steep, and rocky.  There is a fair amount of boat traffic in the summer around the boat ramp but there are plenty of other places to enter and exit the water nearby for shore diving.  We have had a good time searching for objects lost by boaters at the boat ramp.  More often than not, it seems that there is a boater with something that just fell overboard who is very happy to see a couple SCUBA divers in the parking lot.

Lake Billy Chinook and Mt. Jefferson
Copyright 2009 Sarah McDevitt. Lake Billy Chinook has a lot of potential for SCUBA diving if you have a boat. The Crooked River Boat Ramp is a good place to put your boat in or to shore dive.

Site Highlights:

The draw for us to dive around the Crooked River Boat Ramp is the underwater topography.  While the swimming area and directly around it are relatively shallow and sandy, going to either the north or south you will encounter steep underwater cliffs that are fun to explore.  Taking a boat farther out into the lake opens up many potential dive sites that we haven’t been able to explore yet.

Nearest Town:

Culver and Metolius, Oregon are the two closest small towns.  Redmond and Bend are further south and have more services.

GPS Coordinates:

44.554023, -121.262217

Special Directions to Site:

From US 97, follow signs for Lake Billy Chinook and The Cove Palisades State Park.  You’ll end up on SW Jordan Road as you descend into the canyon.  Right after the switchback at the bottom, the marina is on the right and clearly signed as the Crooked River Boat Ramp.

Parking:

Parking is plentiful although it fills up on weekends in the summer.  Be sure to park in the lot that is appropriate for your vehicle.  Don’t take up a boat trailer spot with your car.  The last time we were here, we paid to park but that may have changed.

Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google. The Crooked River Boat Ramp has a lot of good entrances and exits, and varied terrain that keeps this dive site interesting.

 

Site Orientation:

The site runs roughly north-south.  The further to the west you go, the deeper it gets.  We haven’t gone beyond 75 feet deep at this site although the depth finder on our boat indicated that out in the old river channel, you can surpass the maximum recreational SCUBA diver depth limit.

Around the boat ramp and swimming area, the bottom is mostly flat and sandy.  This is a shallower area that is appropriate for practicing your SCUBA skills.  To the north and south, the water gets deeper and the terrain gets more rugged and rocky.  We have found big boulders underwater that must have plunged down centuries ago from the basalt cap rocks on the mesas high above.

Be sure to steer clear of the boat ramp and docks when boaters are present unless you’re helping a boater retrieve lost gear.

Entrances and Exits:

There is an entrance and an exit for everyone here.  Most of the entrances are easy walk-ins.  A few you have to do some big steps down to the water.  At the boat ramp, someone with limited ability can walk right into the water.

Salt/Fresh:

This is a fresh water dive.

Shore/Boat:

The Crooked River Boat Ramp can be dived as a shore dive or a boat dive depending on what you want to do.  If you’re doing a boat dive, we suggest you head further north along the lake and check out some of the cliffs up in that direction.  The entire lake is diveable although you need to check with local regulations to see if SCUBA divers are allowed everywhere.

Normal Conditions:

You sometimes can get a little wake from boaters coming into the marina too fast.  Otherwise, there can be a little current to the west of this dive site if the Crooked River is running high during the spring snow melt.  Beyond that, this is a pretty benign dive site compared to diving on the Oregon coast.

Normal Visibility:

The last time we went diving here, we easily had 50 feet of visibility although during the end of the summer when water quality can be very poor, the viz can go much lower.

Normal Temperature:

We have seen water temperatures as cold as 38F at depth and as warm as 60F in the shallows here.

Best Time of Year:

In the summer, the lake is packed with boats which makes it a little more tricky to dive around the Crooked River Boat Ramp.  However, the air and water are warmer and all of the concessions along the lake are open.

In the winter, we have heard that the gate to this site sometimes is closed although we have not had that problem ourselves.

This site is diveable all year round.  Choose your favorite time of year to go to Central Oregon and head to Lake Billy Chinook!

Max Depth:

We haven’t gone past 75 feet at this site although you should be able to touch 130 feet without too much effort to the west of the site.

Suggested Special Training:

Open water divers can dive this site after taking an altitude specialty class.  The lake elevation is usually around 1900 feet above sea level making this an altitude dive.

Difficulty of Dive:

This is an easy dive site that can be enjoyed by everyone assuming that you have altitude diver training.  Entrances and exits are very easy.  There is even handicapped parking right next to the boat ramp.  If you want a little more challenge, go either north or south along the canyon walls to find underwater cliffs and deep water.

Distance of Walk to Entrance:

Depending on where you park, it can be between a 50 foot and a 500 foot walk to the entrance.

Surface Swim Length:

If you enter in the swimming area, you’ll want to kick out 100 feet or so in order to find some deeper water.  Otherwise the other entrances don’t require much of a surface swim.

Special Site Notes:

Steer clear of the boat ramp if boaters are actively putting in or taking out boats.  We suggest flying a dive flag to let boaters know where you are.  We have one we use all the time when we go diving in Oregon that we highly recommend.  Check out our Gear We Use page for details.

[Underwater Map of Dive Site Coming Soon!]

Closest Local Dive Shops to Get Air Fills and SCUBA Gear:

There is a full service SCUBA shop in Bend.

Nearby Restaurants We Like:

There are a few restaurants in Culver and more up north on US 97 in Madras.  If you have a favorite, please let us know!

Nearby Places to Camp and Diver-Friendly Hotels:

There are several state and federal-run campgrounds nearby.  There is also a private resort just down the road with cabins.  If you know of any hotels in the area that are SCUBA diver friendly, please let us know!

What Other People Have to Say About This Site:

Please write in the comments below your experiences with this dive site!

Categories
Central Cascades

Big Cliff Reservoir – Old Boat Ramp by the Transmission Tower

The dive site by the old boat ramp at the electrical transmission tower at Big Cliff Reservoir is an interesting place to go SCUBA diving.  It is not as scary of a dive site as the upper river bottom but it is still a serious dive site due to the current and the ease of which you can go too deep.  This is an interesting site for the steep submerged cliffs and the flooded river bottom.

Big Cliff Dam
Copyright 2013 Robert Ashworth. Big Cliff Dam at the bottom of the reservoir regulates water flow coming out of Detroit Dam.

Site Highlights:

The main draw for this site is the interesting submerged cliffs and river bottom.  Even though visibility is usually not great, it is still interesting to explore along the cliff faces and practice drift diving.  If you come to dive the upper river channel and get cold feet, this is an alternative place to dive.

Nearest Town:

Detroit, Oregon is just up the Santiam Highway.

GPS Coordinates:

44.731105, -122.262966

Special Directions to Site:

The turn-off to this dive site should have a sign for the Detroit Dam but the sign might be missing depending upon homeland security threats.  Look for the right turn along the reservoir.

Parking:

Park by the old boat ramp next to the big metal electrical transmission tower.

Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google. The dive site accessible from the old boat ramp at the top end of Big Cliff Reservoir has some interesting submerged cliffs to check out.

Site Orientation:

We suggest sticking along the north shore of Big Cliff Reservoir.  We haven’t explored much on the southern shore so we can’t provide many details about it.  Sticking to the north shore also makes it much easier to get to an exit and back to your car.

We like to enter just upstream from the big metal electric transmission tower and drift down underwater.  Keep to the right and hug the cliffs at a depth that you want to stay at.  This dive site can go below the maximum recreational SCUBA depth.

Sometimes there is an eddy that will slowly push upstream right along the bank.  If the eddy is running, you can drift down with the current a little deeper and farther away from the bank, and then drift back up toward the exit closest to your car at a shallower depth.

There are potential underwater obstructions on this dive site.  It isn’t as bad, in our experience, as the upper riverbed dive site but the risk is still there.  There may also be potholes in the deep old riverbed that could have pinch points and caverns that could trap and drown you.  Be careful and dive within your personal limits!

Entrances and Exits:

We like to enter just above the electrical transmission tower and float down to the main part of the dive site.  The old boat ramp is another place to enter.  The last time we were here, the boat ramp was blocked off for boat traffic but you could still walk down to the water easily.  This boat ramp could reopen in the future or be more closed off than before.

The old boat ramp is also a good place to exit if your dive takes you back to this point.  Otherwise, there are a few places along the northern shore where you can exit and scramble up the bank to the road.  The scramble is difficult.

Salt/Fresh:

This is a fresh water dive.

Shore/Boat:

This is a shore dive although a boat could help if you want to drift much farther down the reservoir.

Normal Conditions:

There is always a strong current here.  Underwater obstructions and hazards are probably present.  Be careful and dive within your personal limits.  You could get hung up underwater and drown, and be very dead.

Normal Visibility:

Usually we get around 10 feet of visibility here.

Normal Temperature:

Water temperature varies based on what Detroit Dam is doing.  It can be down around 38F or up to about 65F depending on the time of year and upstream conditions.

Best Time of Year:

We have only gone diving here in the winter and spring.  It was fine during those times.  The rest of the year is also probably fine although in the summer and fall, there may be worse visibility due to poor water conditions.

Max Depth:

You can surpass 130 feet at this site if you try.  Be mindful of your depth and plan your dive.

Suggested Special Training:

We suggest rescue diver training and drift diver training for this site.

Difficulty of Dive:

The old boat ramp at Big Cliff is an intermediate level of difficulty dive site.  The main challenges are the current and potential surface swim or scramble up the bank, and the potential for underwater obstructions to catch and drown you.

Distance of Walk to Entrance:

100 feet or less.  But coming back from the lower exit is about a 600 foot walk.

Surface Swim Length:

Depending on how well you navigate and what the current is doing, none up to 600 or so feet to get to an exit.

Special Site Notes:

As we have already mentioned several times, this site has the potential for underwater obstructions of various types that could catch a diver and drown you until you are completely dead.  The current can be tricky here and we treat this site as a drift dive.

We suggest taking a good dive light so you can see your gauges and see where you are going.  When you get deep here, it becomes very dark.  We have several dive lights that we trust and use all the time when we go diving in Oregon that we list over on our Gear We Use page.

Closest Local Dive Shops to Get Air Fills and SCUBA Gear:

The closest dive shop is in Salem.

Nearby Restaurants We Like:

Up in the town of Detroit, there are several decent restaurants.  Let us know if you have a favorite that we should check out.

Nearby Places to Camp and Diver-Friendly Hotels:

There are many state and federal campgrounds in the area as well as a few private campgrounds.  Check at the USFS ranger station in Detroit for primitive camping options on the forest roads.

We haven’t tried any of the hotels or cabin rentals in the area yet.  Please get in touch with us if you know of a place that is SCUBA diver friendly!

What Other People Have to Say About This Site:

Please write in the comments below your experiences with this dive site!

Categories
Central Cascades

Big Cliff Reservoir – Upper River Bottom

The upper river bottom of Big Cliff Reservoir just below Detroit Dam on the Santiam River in the central Oregon Cascades is a serious business, no screwing around SCUBA diving site.  Don’t get us wrong, this is a fun site to drift dive, but it is also a very demanding site where you can easily get caught in an underwater obstruction and drown.  For this reason, this is a site that you need to be prepared to dive and be willing to accept the risks of the site.

Site Highlights

The main highlight of this site is doing a high speed drift dive down the river bottom.  There aren’t many places that are deep enough to blast down a river at breakneck speed.  Dodging sunken trees and huge boulders is great fun (although quite dangerous).  There are some deep potholes that you will most likely get sucked into and spit out the other side after swirling around inside a few times.  We don’t know if there are any underwater caves or pinch points that you might get stuck in but we would not be surprised if there are.  This site has some significant risks that you need to be aware of and willing to accept.

Nearest Town:

Detroit, Oregon is up the road from Big Cliff at the top end of Detroit Lake.

GPS Coordinates:

44.730873, -122.262835

Special Directions to Site:

Heading east on North Santiam highway, look for the right turn toward the top end of Big Cliff Reservoir.  The last time we went diving here a couple years ago, there was a sign for Detroit Dam but this may have been removed since then.

Parking:

We park at the old boat ramp next to the big metal electrical transmission tower.  There is another parking area up toward Detroit Dam on the access road that we have used to stage gear before leaving the car at the lower exit.

big cliff site plan
Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google. The upper river at Big Cliff Reservoir is an exhilarating dive site but it can kill you.

Site Orientation:

You just follow the river down.  There isn’t much else to it.  Along the way you will encounter rocks, logs, big washtubs and potholes in the rock, and a bunch of other stuff that blazes by in the blink of an eye.

Entrances and Exits:

We usually enter at the entrance farthest up the river just above the bridge.  However, due to national security concerns, this area may now be closed off or could be closed off at any point in time.

There is another good place to enter and a good place to exit early just below the bridge at a pull-out.  If push comes to shove, you can exit just about anywhere along the river if you don’t mind scrambling up a steep bank.  You can also float along the surface until you reach the lower exit and your car.

The lower exit is at the old boat ramp and the big metal electrical transmission tower.  We have tried putting out a line underwater here so that we know when we need to surface but we seem to never manage to see the line.  Instead, watch your depth and surface when you hit around 50 feet (this depends on the Big Cliff Reservoir water level though).  If you blow past 50 feet, you’ll be heading into the lower dive site on Big Cliff Reservoir.

Salt/Fresh:

This is a fresh water dive.

Shore/Boat:

This is a shore dive.

Normal Conditions:

The whole point of this site is the incredible current.  You cannot fight against it.  All you can do is follow along.

The potential for underwater obstructions that can entangle and drown you is very real at this site.  Be darn sure of your skills and ready to accept the very real risks before you jump in here.  We are very skilled divers with experience diving all over the world and thousands of dives under our collective belts, and this site scares us.

You will almost certainly lose your buddy underwater unless you’re holding onto each other.  Be prepared and have a plan for what to do when you separate.  Taking the time to surface (which you should do unless you are certified to solo dive) will eat up a lot of river distance due to how fast the current is.

Water conditions change rapidly and drastically here based on what Detroit Dam is doing.  There is no warning for changing water conditions.  Although if you hear a big alarm klaxon, that may mean Detroit Dam is suffering some sort of breach or failure and you’re about to be swept way downriver in a flood.  That probably isn’t going to happen while you’re diving here though.

Normal Visibility:

We usually get 5-10 feet of visibility here.  It is dependent on the water quality exiting Detroit Dam upstream.

Normal Temperature:

Water temperature really varies here based on what Detroit Dam is doing.  Usually it seems the water is between 45 and 65F.

Best Time of Year:

We don’t know if there is a better time to dive here or not.  We have only gone to this site a couple of times in the spring and summer.  During those times, conditions were acceptable for the level of risk we were willing to take.

Max Depth:

Most of the way along the river, you will be between 15 and 25 feet deep.  In potholes, you can hit 40 feet briefly.  At the bottom end of the site, you should surface before you hit 50 feet so that you don’t end up way down at the bottom of Detroit Lake.

Suggested Special Training:

Anything less than a rescue diver certification and extensive experience with drift diving and underwater hazards is really asking for trouble at this site.  Even with that training and experience, this site is still risky.

Difficulty of Dive:

If it weren’t for the very real danger of being pinned under a log or against a rock where you will slowly run out of air and then drown, this would be a fairly straight forward and easy dive.  Because of these very real risks, you need to be in peak physical condition and be a very experienced diver.

Distance of Walk to Entrance:

Depending on where you park, if you drop your gear off upriver, and if you choose to enter at the middle or upper entrance, you could be walking anywhere from 50 feet to 2400 feet.

Surface Swim Length:

There is no surface swim here.  Swimming against the current is normally impossible.

Special Site Notes:

This is a no screwing around dive site.  There are many things underwater waiting and eager to grab and drown you thoroughly dead.  Get some serious training and serious experience before you attempt this site.

We suggest taking a good dive light so that you can at least read your gauges in some of the deep, black holes.  We have several dive lights that we use every time we dive in Oregon and highly recommend at the Gear We Use page.

[Underwater Map of Dive Site Coming Soon!]

Closest Local Dive Shops to Get Air Fills and SCUBA Gear:

There aren’t any close dive shops up here.  The closest shop is in Salem.

Nearby Restaurants We Like:

Detroit has a few small restaurants that are decent places for a meal.

Nearby Places to Camp and Diver-Friendly Hotels:

There are several federal and state campgrounds nearby and plenty of primitive camping in the national forest.

We haven’t tried any of the hotels or cabins in the area.  Please let us know if you know of a good place that is SCUBA friendly!

What Other People Have to Say About This Site:

Please write in the comments below your experiences with this dive site!

Categories
Central Cascades

Foster Reservoir – Calkins Park

Calkins Park on the top end of Foster Reservoir is a decent place to do training dives or to explore for things that fall overboard from boats being put into the water at the boat ramp.  We have done some training dives here for a rescue diver class.  The dives were pretty miserable but it was excellent training for all of the students.  If you’re looking for a site to dive in the central Oregon Cascades, this could be just the ticket.

Foster Reservoir (Linn County, Oregon scenic images) (linnDA0050a)
Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives [Attribution], via Wikimedia Commons. Calkins Park can be beautiful in the summer and fall but can be a wet, miserable place in the winter and spring.

Site Highlights:

You can probably already tell that this isn’t our favorite dive site.  The bottom is muddy and will cause complete blackout conditions if you touch it.  In the winter and spring when snowmelt is pumping down into the reservoir, the water can be right at freezing.  In the summer and fall, boaters crowd the boat ramp and make this site not very safe for SCUBA divers.

That being said, Calkins Park is a great place to go train in sometimes challenging conditions.  We have participated in and seen several rescue diver classes take place here.  The conditions are demanding and the site is challenging enough to be useful for training but not so challenging as to be bad for teaching a class.

If you go to dive here for fun, more power to you.  You might find a lost wallet or fishing gear that fell off of a boat getting put into the water.

On one particular day, we did several training dives at this site.  The water temperature was cold enough that we were quite unhappy with our drysuits because they weren’t keeping us particularly warm.  We could see ice crystals flowing by in the water.  The bottom conditions instantly turned into blackout at the slightest fin touch.  The current was strong and unrelenting.  One student dropped his face mask and it instantly vanished in five feet of water.  No amount of scouring the bottom revealed where the mask had gone.  But the students learned a lot and are much better divers for the experience.

Nearest Town:

Sweethome, Oregon is just down the road.

GPS Coordinates:

44.413542, -122.626049

Special Directions to Site:

Head east from Sweethome on US 20 (Santiam Highway) and look for signs to Calkins Park and Quartzville Road.  Right after you turn left onto Quartzville Road, take another left into Calkins Park.

Parking:

We went diving here in the late winter and had the place to ourselves.  In the summer and fall, parking is packed.

calkins par
Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google. Calkins Park is a good place for training dives in challenging conditions but otherwise is not something that we dive regularly.

Site Orientation:

The shore runs more or less east west.  Deeper water is to the north.  Steer clear of the boat ramp when people are actively loading and unloading boats.  We suggest taking a dive flag along if there are boaters in the area.  We have a dive flag that we love and use listed on our Gear We Use page.

Entrances and Exits:

If there isn’t any boat traffic, you can use the boat ramp.  Otherwise, the beach to the west of the boat ramp is usually a good entrance even when the water is very low.

Salt/Fresh:

This is a fresh water dive.

Shore/Boat:

This is a shore dive although you could practice boat diving here.

Normal Conditions:

Conditions vary widely based on the time of year and water level in the reservoir.  In the summer and fall, there is very little current and the site gets a bit stagnant from the water not moving.  In the winter, icebergs can flow into the lake with the water level so low that the site is not diveable.

Normal Visibility:

The best we have ever seen here is about five feet of viz.  If you even so much as look at the bottom the wrong way, you will have instant blackout conditions that will not clear if there isn’t enough current.

Normal Temperature:

32F during snowmelt all the way up to 65F at the end of a hot, dry summer.

Best Time of Year:

There isn’t any boat traffic here in the winter which is desirable.  Otherwise this site can be dived any time that the water is high enough and you are bold enough to do so.

Max Depth:

The max depth really varies based on how much water is in the reservoir.  When we went diving here in the winter, we never went below 30 feet but in the summer when the reservoir is full, you could see 60-70 foot depths.

Suggested Special Training:

Open water divers can dive this site.  It would be a good place to practice your neutral buoyancy skills and navigation.

Difficulty of Dive:

This is an easy dive with an easy entrance.  The only difficulty is when the water is freezing cold and when you get blackout conditions because you stir up the silt.

Distance of Walk to Entrance:

Depending on parking and water level, 50-500 feet.

Surface Swim Length:

No surface swim is needed usually.

Special Site Notes:

Ask yourself if you really want to dive here before you bother setting up your gear.  We think this is a pretty miserable dive site in the winter and spring.  In the summer and fall there is a lot of boat traffic.  The bottom stirs up and reduces visibility to absolutely nil.

When the water level is low, the lake bed becomes a series of morasses and mud flats where people sometimes get stuck up to their waists in the mud.  Go gingerly through the mud and turn back if you start to hit quicksand.

[Underwater Map of Dive Site Coming Soon!]

Closest Local Dive Shops to Get Air Fills and SCUBA Gear:

There isn’t any dive shop around Calkins Park.  The closest shops are in Salem and Eugene.

Nearby Restaurants We Like:

Sweethome has a couple decent restaurants.  Let us know if you have a favorite that we should try!

Nearby Places to Camp and Diver-Friendly Hotels:

There is plenty of camping in the area at federal campgrounds, private campgrounds, and off forest roads where you can do primitive camping.  We haven’t tried any hotels or cabins in the area.  Let us know if you know of a good hotel that is SCUBA diver friendly in the area!

What Other People Have to Say About This Site:

Please write in the comments below your experiences with this dive site!

Categories
Northern Oregon Coast

Crab Rocks / The Three Graces

The Three Graces, otherwise known as Crab Rocks, is a beautiful dive site right off US101 just west of Garibaldi, Oregon.  We love coming here to dive for the scenery above and below water.  The complex and ever changing currents make this a fun and challenging site to navigate.  We have had great luck spearfishing and crabbing here in the past.

Site Highlights

This is one of the easiest sites to access in Tillamook Bay.  The entrance and exit are easy and straight forward compared to the jetty dive sites.  The scenery is breathtaking.  The crabbing and spearfishing are pretty good.  And the tricky currents that are constantly changing make this a fun navigation puzzle.

Nearest Town:

Garibaldi, Oregon.

GPS Coordinates:

45.564029, -123.936416

Special Directions to Site:

Look for the parking on the west side of US101 just north of the Three Graces.

Parking:

Parking is free and plentiful.  We have heard from some of our SCUBA friends that sometimes people’s cars get broken into here if a bunch of expensive looking equipment is left visible inside.  When we go diving here, we usually take some friends along who aren’t divers so that they can make sure our stuff is safe while they enjoy the scenery.

three graces
Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google. The Three Graces or Crab Rocks dive site is a fun navigation puzzle with good spearfishing and crabbing.

Site Orientation:

The main site is around the Three Graces.  Stick close to the rocks and remember than heading east gets you to land.  Good navigation skills are a big help here especially when the current starts playing tricks on you.

The rock further north (called Painted Rock on NOAA navigational charts) can also be dived although a longer surface swim is necessary to reach it.  There are a few smaller rocks in between that might be worth checking out if you feel like navigating to them.

Entrances and Exits:

The entrance and exit is along the railroad tracks.  Follow the path that crosses the railroad tracks and pick your favorite spot to climb over the low jetty to get to the water.  One spot is much easier than the others.  Scout ahead before you jump in.

Salt/Fresh:

This is a salt water dive.

Shore/Boat:

This is a shore dive.

Normal Conditions:

This is so far in the Tillamook Bay that you won’t have any surf or surge.  You will have current though.  The current swirls around the Three Graces in unusual and somewhat unpredictable patterns.  It makes this a great navigation puzzle site.

Normal Visibility:

We have seen anywhere from 10 to 25 feet of visibility depending on time of year and upstream river conditions.

Normal Temperature:

This site can be as cold as 38F and as warm as 57F depending on what is happening upriver in the Coast Range.  Cold winter rains can really chill the water here while hot summer days can make the water pretty warm.

Best Time of Year:

We like diving here in the spring and fall the best although the site is diveable year round.

Max Depth:

We once logged 51 feet here in some potholes by the base of the three graces before but most of this site is pretty shallow.

Suggested Special Training:

This site is accessible to anyone with open water SCUBA certification although you will want to have sharp navigation skills because of the complex nature of this dive site.

Difficulty of Dive:

We rate this as an easy beginner dive because there isn’t much that can go seriously wrong at this site.  You would have to really work at it to get sucked out to sea from here.  There is boat traffic in the shipping channel but sticking close to the rocks you won’t have any troubles with that.

The entrance does require a small jetty scramble but it’s nowhere near as intense as many of the other jetties along the Oregon coast.

Distance of Walk to Entrance:

It’s about a 200-300 feet walk to the best area to enter.

Surface Swim Length:

You will want to surface swim maybe 100 feet out to get to deeper water before you descend.

Special Site Notes:

At low tide, this site is really not diveable.  This is much more enjoyable at high tide.

Taking gear to spearfish or crab can be a fun way to spice this site up if you have gone diving here before.  We have a list of gear that we use when we go spearfishing and crabbing over at our Gear We Use page.

[Underwater Map of Dive Site Coming Soon!]

Closest Local Dive Shops to Get Air Fills and SCUBA Gear:

There used to be a dive shop in Tillamook although we haven’t been able to confirm in a few years if it is still open or not.

Nearby Restaurants We Like:

Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach both have good restaurants.

Nearby Places to Camp and Diver-Friendly Hotels:

Tillamook County Parks operates several campgrounds in the area.  We haven’t tried any of the local hotels so please let us know if you know of a good hotel that is SCUBA diver friendly!

What Other People Have to Say About This Site:

Please write in the comments below your experiences with this dive site!

Categories
Central Oregon Coast

Florence – North Jetty SCUBA Park and Crab Hole

Crab Hole at the Florence north jetty SCUBA park is one of those dives that just about every SCUBA diver in Oregon has done at least once.  Many people do their last one or two open water certification dives at the SCUBA park.  Lots of people come over for an afternoon of diving from Eugene or a weekend of fun in Florence from Portland.  The very easy diver-friendly entrance, the relatively protected inner area of the dive site, and the plentiful crabs out in Crab Hole make it an excellent place to have some fun.  Even when the parking lot is full of divers, the site is big enough to accommodate everyone.

florence entrance
The entrance at the Florence Dive Park and Crab Hole is custom-made for SCUBA divers. Sometimes a little debris gets washed up into the top of the old fish ladder but it usually isn’t too bad.

Site Highlights:

This site has something for everyone.  Most people will first mention Crab Hole, a feature of the jetty construction where there is a small semi-circular hole in the bottom that crabs congregate in by the mesh bag full.  Many people will mention how easy the entrance and exit is.  An old fish ladder was installed at the site specifically to make it easier for SCUBA divers to get into and out of the water.  There isn’t an easier place to reach the water on any of the jetties in Oregon that we know of.  We also love looking at all of the micro marine life at this site.  There are a few protected spots that you can mostly get out of the current to go slow and check out nudibranchs, hermit crabs, barnacles, and other tiny things.

Nearest Town:

Florence, Oregon

GPS Coordinates:

44.016220, -124.131106

Special Directions to Site:

It’s a little tricky finding this site without a GPS or navigation map on your phone.  If you plug in the GPS coordinates listed above, your smart device will take you right to the site.

Otherwise, take 35th Street west from US101 in Florence.  Turn right onto Rhododendron Drive.  Turn left onto North Jetty Road.

Take the first left off of North Jetty Road into the large parking area.

Parking:

Parking has always been free and plentiful here.  It is not uncommon to see several of the dive shops from the Willamette Valley have their trailers parked here while they run classes at the dive site.

Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google. An easy entrance, a bounty of crabs, and lots of parking — this dive site has it all! Crab Hole and the Florence SCUBA Park is a great place to go diving and get experience on the jetties of Oregon.

 

Site Orientation:

The site runs from southeast to northwest.  The entrance is roughly in the middle of the dive site.  There is a big old pipe underwater that is a good marker for knowing where to surface to take your exit.  Crab hole is roughly south from the entrance.

If you get too far out into the shipping channel not only will you find nothing but sand but you will also potentially find strong current and shipping traffic.

Entrances and Exits:

This is one of the easiest entrance/exit setups on the whole Oregon Coast.  No other jetty has it this easy.  You walk down some stairs into the old fish ladder where there are some benches you can sit on while you do final gear checks.  Then step out of the end of the old fish ladder into the water, put your fins and mask on, and away you go!  Just about anyone can do this dive site.

Salt/Fresh:

This is a salt water dive.

Shore/Boat:

This is a shore dive.

Normal Conditions:

Conditions here are usually good.  Occasionally there is some surge but it is rare.  Very occasionally a big storm can push wood and other debris up into the entrance area.  We once did not dive here because some big logs were rolling around right where we wanted to dive.

Nine times out of ten, this site is just fine to go diving.

logs in the water
In really bad storms, logs and other debris can find their way into the entrance area at the Florence SCUBA Park and Crab Hole. On days like these, we usually go to a different site in Florence rather than deal with the hassle of logs.

There is some current that you need to deal with especially on the western side of this dive site.  This is a good place to practice dealing with current on a jetty.

In crab hole itself, the current can swirl around in an unexpected way that can be disorienting to some people.  Be sure to watch your compass so that you can stay oriented with the jetty.

Normal Visibility:

Usually we get about 15 feet of visibility when we go diving here.  The bottom is sandy and can’t really be stirred up.  On a rare day with a very big high tide, you might push 20 feet of visibility.

Normal Temperature:

It’s usually between 45 and 55F here.

Best Time of Year:

This site can be dived all year long.  Crab Hole always has crab in it but check local crabbing regulations and make sure you have your permits in order.

Max Depth:

We have hit 55 feet in Crab Hole before.  Most of the site is around 40 feet though.

Suggested Special Training:

We have watched many open water divers finish their training dives here.  This site is accessible to anyone who is certified to go SCUBA diving in open water.

Difficulty of Dive:

This is an easy dive suitable for beginners who are freshly certified and for people who don’t like the physically demanding entries at other jetties on the Oregon Coast.  The only difficult part is the current can kick up and make your dive a little more strenuous.

Distance of Walk to Entrance:

20 feet if you get the best parking spot.

Surface Swim Length:

None unless you want to for some reason.

Special Site Notes:

It’s a good idea to fly a dive flag here to let boaters in the area know that you’re underwater.  A flashlight is a good idea when you’re in Crab Hole hunting for crabs and to peer in between the jetty boulders.  A good mesh bag is what you need to put crabs in.  We have our favorites for all of these gear items listed on our Gear We Use page.

The site can get very busy with divers.  Be sure you know what your buddy looks like underwater and stick close together.  We have seen it happen more than once where a buddy pair will surface with different buddies than when they started the dive!

[Underwater Map of Dive Site Coming Soon!]

Closest Local Dive Shops to Get Air Fills and SCUBA Gear:

There used to be a local dive shop in Florence although we haven’t been by in a couple years to confirm if it is still in operation.  The last time we were in, you could get air fills and very limited SCUBA gear.

Nearby Restaurants We Like:

The old waterfront in Florence has some great seafood restaurants that we like.

Nearby Places to Camp and Diver-Friendly Hotels:

There are several camping areas around Florence that the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Bureau runs.

We haven’t tried any of the local hotels yet.  Please let us know if there is a good hotel in town that is SCUBA friendly that you have tried!

What Other People Have to Say About This Site:

Please write in the comments below your experiences with this dive site!

Categories
Northern Oregon Coast

South Jetty on Tillamook Bay

The south jetty of Tillamook Bay does not see very many SCUBA divers because of the difficulty of access.  The road out to the jetty is almost always gated and locked.  With a boat launched from one of the marinas in Tillamook Bay, you can easily reach the site.  We have heard of a few people surface swimming from the north shore at the Inner North Jetty dive site but that is an epic surface swim where you have to fight the current and dodge boat traffic.  With a hand cart and patience, you can lug all of your dive gear from the parking area along the gravel road to the jetty a few miles away.

The main reason people go dive the south jetty is to spearfish.  Because so few people dive along the jetty, the fish tend to be bigger and more plentiful than on the north jetty (at least in our experience).  You also get to put the feather in your SCUBA cap of diving a site that not many people ever get to dive.

USACE Tillamook Bay Oregon
By Bill Johnson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. The south jetty (on the right) doesn’t get many SCUBA visitors but it is worth the difficulty of accessing the dive site if you want do some good spearfishing.
The old abandoned town of Bayocean is what drove the construction of the jetties on the mouth of Tillamook Bay.  Depending on what path or road you take through the Tillamook County Bayocean Peninsula Park, you might catch a glimpse of a few foundations and the memorial sign at the old town square.  Most of the town fell into the ocean due to coastal erosion.

Bayodancenata
See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. The old natatorium and dance hall at Bayocean before they fell into the sea.

Site Highlights:

The reason anyone dives here is for the spearfishing.  Otherwise this is a pretty typical Oregon jetty dive that has really difficult access.

Nearest Town:

The little unincorporated town of Barview is across the channel.  The town of Garibaldi is just up the bay and on the other side.  Tillamook is further south.

GPS Coordinates:

45.565360, -123.948930

Special Directions to Site:

If you’re going to access this site via boat, go to Garibaldi and put your boat in at the marina there.

If you’re going to do the long hike to the dive site, in Tillamook take the Netarts Highway to the west from downtown and then turn onto Bayocean Road just after you cross over the bridge.  Follow Bayocean Road all the way to the parking area at the Tillamook County Bayocean Peninsula Park.

If you’re going to do the surface swim because you’re practicing for an Iron Man or because you like punishing yourself, the parking area for the Inner North Jetty dive site is the best place to park.

Parking:

In Garibaldi at the boat launch, there is plenty of parking.  At the Bayocean Peninsula Park parking lot, there usually is plenty of parking.

Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google.
It is a challenge to get to the south jetty on the Tillamook Bay but the spear fishing is good.

Site Orientation:

The site hugs the jetty wall from southeast to northwest on the inner part and then after a bend in the jetty, from east to west.  The western area is deeper than the eastern area.  You could theoretically dive the jetty tip if you wanted but the conditions out there are almost always very rough and not something that would be all that fun to do.

close up of barview jetty south site
Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google.
The south jetty on the Tillamook Bay is a good place to spearfish. There is one area on the jetty wall that is easier to climb over than others but most of the jetty is pretty accessible.

Entrances and Exits:

There is one area on the jetty wall near where the jetty hooks to the west that is a little lower and easier to scramble over.  However, you can enter or exit just about anywhere along the wall.

Salt/Fresh:

This is a salt water dive.

Shore/Boat:

The south jetty can be done either as a shore dive or a boat dive.  A boat dive is significantly less physically demanding although a competent captain is needed to navigate dropping off SCUBA divers along the jetty wall.

If you do this as a shore dive, prepare for a several mile long hike towing a cart with all of your gear in it.

Normal Conditions:

This site almost always has a wicked ripping current along the south jetty.  The tidal exchange into and out of Tillamook Bay is pretty huge and there is very little slack tide.  Stay close to the jetty rocks and plan your dive to stay safe.  You don’t want to get sucked out to sea or pushed way up into the bay.

There can be surf and surge, especially the farther out you go on the jetty toward the ocean.  We strongly suggest you assess the conditions and only dive where you feel comfortable diving.

Normal Visibility:

Viz here is usually around 15 feet although it can be better in fair weather.  The bottom is mostly sand so you don’t need to worry too much about stirring up mud.

Normal Temperature:

Water temperature usually is around 42-55F.

Best Time of Year:

The best time of the year to dive here depends on if you are doing the long walk from the parking area or if you are taking a boat.  If you’re taking a boat, just about any time is decent to dive here as long as conditions aren’t too rough.  If you’re hiking, we suggest doing it in the fall or spring when it isn’t too sunny or warm so that you don’t roast on the long slog to the dive site.

Max Depth:

On the westerly part of the jetty, you can find 40 feet sometimes.  On the inside eastern part of the south jetty, the depth is more like 15-20 feet.

Suggested Special Training:

We suggest having advanced open water training and experience diving other jetties in Oregon, such as the Florence north jetty SCUBA park and “crab hole” where there is an easy entrance and exit and more forgiving conditions.

If you are doing this as a boat dive, you need experience on how to safely enter and exit a boat.

If you’re planning to go more toward the jetty tip, rescue diver training, drift diver training, and a lot of experience in very rough conditions is necessary.

Difficulty of Dive:

The dive itself is an intermediate difficulty site because of the jetty entrance and exit, and the current.  However, the huge hike from the parking area makes this a shore dive for only the most fit of people.  If you’re doing this from a boat, weekend warriors shouldn’t have much issue.

Distance of Walk to Entrance:

If you do the long walk from the parking area, you have several miles to lug all your gear.  A wheeled cart will make your life much easier.

Surface Swim Length:

There isn’t any need to surface swim unless you are accessing this site from the inner north jetty dive site.  If that’s the case, then you are looking at a 1000 foot surface swim with current and shipping traffic to dodge.

Special Site Notes:

We suggest you contact the Tillamook County Parks Department to see if you can arrange to have the gate opened to drive out to the jetty rather than having to walk.  We have not been successful with this approach yet but if enough people start asking, perhaps the parks department will start opening up the gate more often for SCUBA divers.

[Underwater Map of Dive Site Coming Soon!]

Closest Local Dive Shops to Get Air Fills and SCUBA Gear:

There used to be a shop in Tillamook that did air fills although we can’t confirm if it is still open.  Please let us know if you know of a local shop!

Nearby Restaurants We Like:

Tillamook has a lot of good food.  Oceanside and Netarts just down the road have good food as well.  If you’re coming in from Garibaldi on a boat, there are also some restaurants there.

Nearby Places to Camp and Diver-Friendly Hotels:

There aren’t any close campgrounds although Tillamook County Parks operate several in the area as does Oregon State Parks.

We have not tried any of the local hotels.  Please let us know if you have tried one and found it to be diver friendly!

What Other People Have to Say About This Site:

Please write in the comments below your experiences with this dive site!

Categories
Northern Oregon Coast

Outer North Jetty at Barview Jetty County Park

The outer north jetty at the Tillamook County Barview Jetty Park is a good SCUBA site to visit if you want to go crabbing or spearfishing.  Big lingcod lurk on the outer reaches of the jetty where the saltwater of the Pacific Ocean mixes with the freshwater from Tillamook Bay.

USACE Tillamook Bay Oregon
By Bill Johnson, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. The north Barview jetty is a great place to dive if you want to go spearfishing or crabbing. The middle north jetty dive site has a shorter walk than the inner north jetty dive site but is a little more exposed to ocean conditions.

Site Highlights

The reason we dive this site and put up with the strong current and difficult entrance is to go hunting.  Spearfishing for monster lingcod, rockfish, and other fish is really fun on the outer north jetty.  Aside from a few minutes of slack tide, the current is always roaring here and will easily suck you out to see if you aren’t careful.  It is still a fun site to dive in spite of the current for the thrill of finding those big fish that everyone desires.

Nearest Town:

The little unincorporated community of Barview, Oregon further inland along the jetty.  The towns of Garibaldi and Tillamook are a bit further south.

GPS Coordinates:

45.569981, -123.957693

Special Directions to Site:

Follow signs for the Tillamook  County Barview Jetty Campground and keep going along Jetty Road until you come to the parking lot at the beach.  Park over toward the jetty to minimize your surface walk.

Parking:

There is usually plenty of parking here.  The last time we went to this site, parking was free but this could change.

barview outer north jetty site plan
Imagery ©2017 Google, Map data ©2017 Google.
The outer north jetty at Barview is a great place to go spearfishing but the current can be wicked.

Site Orientation:

The dive site runs roughly east-west along the north jetty for Tillamook Bay.  The farther out you get on the jetty, the rougher the conditions will get.  We don’t recommend going all that far out toward the jetty tip because there are almost always big waves, surf, and surge on the jetty tip.  The current can also easily pull you out to sea which would be no fun.

Entrances and Exits:

Right by the parking area there are a few places that are more easy to scramble over the jetty rocks.  If you get in a pinch, you can climb up on the jetty further out toward the ocean or treat this as a drift dive and exit either at the middle or inner dive sites on the north jetty.

Salt/Fresh:

This is a salt water dive.

Shore/Boat:

This is a shore dive.

Normal Conditions:

This site almost always has a wicked current that will try to suck you out to see or in toward Tillamook.  When the waves are lined up just right, big breakers can wash over the jetty and the surge can be huge.  The further west on the jetty you go, the more the conditions deteriorate.

Normal Visibility:

You usually have 10-15 feet of visibility at the outer north jetty dive site.

Normal Temperature:

Water temperature usually runs between 48 and 57F at this site.

Best Time of Year:

The only time you want to go diving here is when the ocean is relatively calm.  With the wild Pacific Ocean just a few hundred feet away, you need to watch the surf, marine, and weather forecasts.  Luckily there are plenty of other dive sites around Tillamook Bay for you to check out if this site is no good to dive.

Max Depth:

Out toward the tip of the jetty you will see a depth of around 45 feet.  further east, you will see more like 35 feet of water.

Suggested Special Training:

Advanced open water training is a good idea here.  Rescue diver training is also a good idea.  You need to have a safety sausage (we have one we highly recommend on our Gear We Use page) in case you get into trouble and get sucked out to sea.  Remember don’t try to fight the current if you get sucked out.  Go parallel to shore and look for somewhere that the current is carrying you back toward land to make your exit.

If you do have to do a beach exit after getting sucked out to sea, don’t forget your training.  Getting through breakers can be very challenging for even the most experienced divers.

Difficulty of Dive:

We rate this as an intermediate dive as long as you dive this site in good conditions and are mindful of how far out along the jetty you go.  If you decide to head for the tip, this becomes an advanced dive.

Distance of Walk to Entrance:

If the parking close to the jetty is full, then you might have to walk a hundred feet or so.  Usually you can park right next to the jetty, scramble over the rocks, and you’re in the water.

Surface Swim Length:

There is no surface swim here unless you for some reason want a surface swim.

Special Site Notes:

There is boat traffic that comes in and out of the Tillamook Bay.  Don’t stray into the channel.  As we’ve said elsewhere on this page, be very mindful of the current and don’t go too far out on the jetty unless you really know what you’re doing.  While this is the outer north jetty dive site, we specifically don’t include the tip of the jetty in this site because of the difficulty of that area.

[Underwater Map of Dive Site Coming Soon!]

Closest Local Dive Shops to Get Air Fills and SCUBA Gear:

There used to be a local dive shop in Tillamook.  We aren’t sure if it is still there or not.  If you know of a nearby SCUBA shop, please let us know!

Nearby Restaurants We Like:

There are quite a few restaurants up and down US101.  If you have a favorite, please drop us a line and we’ll add it here.

Nearby Places to Camp and Diver-Friendly Hotels:

The Tillamook County Barview Jetty Campground is a good place to camp.  They have RV sites, tent sites, and cabins for rent.

We haven’t tried any of the nearby hotels.  If you know of a good one that is SCUBA friendly, let us know!

What Other People Have to Say About This Site:

Please write in the comments below your experiences with this dive site!