Scuba Diving Texas’s Rivers, Lakes and Quarries

When you think of Texas, what comes to mind?  It could be football, Texas has some outstanding college and professional football teams. Vast Desert, longhorn cattle, cowboys, and gun fights? I am sure we all have a favorite western movie. It could be oil wells. The Texas oil fields created a boom for American industry.  How about scuba diving? Texas has some great Gulf Coast scuba diving, which was discussed in a previous article. Still, there are other places to break below the surface in Texas. Scuba diving in Texas includes rivers, lakes, and quarries. Many of these are spring-fed offering a set temperature year-round. Some of these are located near the major cities, making them easy to visit.  Have a business trip taking you to Houston? Make sure you take your dive gear or your snorkeling gear, it is a great way to add some relaxation to a busy business trip.

Tubing is almost a Texas passion come summertime. These participants enjoy the water in Prince Solms Park on the Comal River in New Braunfels, near San Antonio, Texas. The Lyda Hill Texas Collection of Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Public Domain

Natural springs, seven major rivers, one of the shortest rivers in the world, and natural and man-made lakes make up your dive sites when you scuba dive Texas’s Rivers, Lakes, and Quarries. While diving the Texas Gulf Coast is mostly limited to March to December, If you do not mind diving in a 5 mm wetsuit, you will find several Texas dive sites available year-round.

Scuba Diving at the Meadow Center

Texas State University’s Meadow Center for Water and the Environment is one of the highlights of scuba diving and snorkeling in Texas. Located In San Marcos around Spring Lake, the lake and the San Marcos River offers outstanding scuba diving, snorkeling, and kayaking. This experience should be on your bucket list. Spring Lake is a constant 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22c) filled by over 200 springs of the San Marco Springs. Beneath the lake is the Edward Aquifer, one of the largest artesian springs in the world. It is this aquifer that supplies the water to the springs. So, great visibility and a constant temperature year-round. However, Spring Lake is a vulnerable environment, as well as home to seven protected or endangered species. There are limits placed on scuba diving at the lake. For you history buffs, This site is also the longest continuously inhabited location in North America dating back over 11,000 years.

Sadly, you can not just show up and dive at Spring Lake. A small section of the lake has been set aside for dive training. Local dive centers can take students for training dives. This is scheduled by the dive centers. If you are a local diver or plan on being in the area several times a year, you can become part of their volunteer dive program, Spring Lake Aquacorps. To become a member of the Aquacorps, you will need to take part in their certification program. The certification program has a classroom portion done online and an assessment/ training portion in the water. Buoyancy control is critical as the lake is a critical habitat. The training includes citizen scientist training and divers can assist in monitoring the quality of the lake.  There are nine different dive areas in Spring Lake and there is a limit of only 8 divers in the water at a time.

The Meadow Center for Water and the Environment also offers snorkeling and kayaking guided tours. Snorkelers can see up-close the marine life of the lake and can even experience the springs bubbling water into the lake. The welcome center for the Meadow Center has a 1,000-gallon tank that houses many of the species found in the lake.

Spring Lake is the headland of the San Marcos River. The San Marcos River is an active location for scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, and tubing. Scuba divers will find this a nice drift dive with great visibility and 72-degree water. Entry is mostly done at Sewall Park, just below the dam at Spring Lake and you exit at Rio Vista Park. You can rent tubes from the Lions Club at Sewall Park , and tube down to the Rio Vista Park as well, they charge a rate of $24 a day for a tube and that includes a shuttle ride back to the starting point. You can use the tube and shuttle as many times as you want in the day. You might want to combine a day of drift diving and tubing and use the shuttle to return to your car. Drifting by tube between the two parks takes about an hour.

Comal River Drift Dives

The Comal River is the shortest navigable river in the state of Texas and among the shortest in the world. Proclaimed the "longest shortest river in the world" by locals, it runs entirely within the city limits of New Braunfels in southeast Comal County. The headwater of Comal River is Comal Springs in Landa Park. These springs are also fed by the Edward Aquifer that feeds Spring Lake.  The river empties into the Guadalupe River. Comal River is about 2.5 miles long with about 1.5 miles generally used by scuba divers, kayakers, tubers, and snorkelers. 

The conditions here are similar to San Marco River with a gentle current, clear water, and 72-degree water temperature. Depth generally is between 10 and 15 feet, however, there are some shallow places. Hinman Island Park is the most common entry point to the Comal River for scuba diving. As you drift down the river, there are a few points that you can exit either as a break or to end your dive. Many divers choose to exit at Prince Solms Park. There is a tube chut at Prince Solms Park that some divers try with fully inflated BCD and fins first.    Check conditions with a local dive center for their recommendations as to which entry and exit points are best for current river conditions. The river is busy with tubers in the summer, and it may be best to avoid mid-day. Generally during peak season, a dive before 10 am or after 4 pm will avoid most tubers. Some dive centers host weekly night dives. While you are watching the marine life, keep an eye out for other things. Tubers frequently forget to empty their pockets before starting out and accidentally do so on the river. The water here and in the San Marco River is ten times purer than the EPA requirements for drinking water.

Athens Scuba Park

Athens Texas is about 70 miles from Dallas, and way back in 1882, H. M. Morrison created the first factory in Athens, making bricks. White Clay was extracted next to the factory. Over the decades the extraction site became deeper and wider and eventually reached springs located under the clay. The factory was closed in 1968 and the quarry filled from the spring. In 1987 Calvin Wilcher bought the abandoned acreage and started the development of the Athens Scuba Park.  The park is centered around the 8-acre lake with clear warm spring water.

The water is shallow, less than 30 feet, however, do not let that turn you away from this outstanding dive destination. The white clay bottom discourages algae growth, so the water stays crystal clear. There are over 25 items sunk within the lake including two aircraft, several boats, and vehicles. There are ten diving decks around the lake to allow easy entry to the portion of the lake you wish to dive.

Entry to the Athens Scuba Park is $25 a day, if you do not have your own gear, it can be rented on-site including tanks. Refills are just $12. So, dive as much as your dive computer will allow. The 30-foot max depth means you can do many dives in a day. If you are looking to make it a full-dive weekend, bring your tent and sleeping bag. Tent sites are available for $5 per person per night. RV sites are available, prices depend on the RV size and power requirements. The park also has kayaks available for use, which are included in the daily entry fee

Scuba Ranch

The Scuba Ranch near Terrell Texas is about 40 miles from Dallas. This site was previously a rock quarry that filled from the aquafer after the quarry was no longer in use. It is now a 22-acre private lake, the average depth is 40 feet with the deepest attraction at 65 feet.  There are 15 docks around the lake for easy access. If you are diving with a large group, pavilions are available for rent. Camping is available for tents and RVs. There are also a few cabins made from 737 airplane fuselage.

Valhalla Missile Silo

Go Ballistic with this dive, thankfully, the content of the site never did. The Valhalla Missile Silo is located about 20 miles from Abilene and was built to launch an Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile. This site was one of twelve and was shut down in 1964. Left abandoned, the 52-feet wide and extending 174 feet underground silo slowly filled with groundwater. The current owner bought the site in 1982 and ten years later opened it for scuba diving groups. Here is a good trip report on the site

Scuba Diving Texas’s Rivers, Lakes and Quarries

You can not make a generalization when the best time is to Scuba Diving Texas’s Rivers, Lakes, and Quarries. The quarries and some of the lakes are best done in the summer. The constant temperatures of the spring-fed rivers make them a great dive year-round. Late fall gives the diver here good surface temperatures and fewer tubers on the rivers. Accommodations range from camping to luxury resorts and hotels. You can find a great diving vacation within your budget. Being shore dives, per dive cost is low.