ATL, let's revive this group

[mattfish]

Hey y'all! Those of you in the greater metro Atlanta region, let's get this group active again.

Let's get started with:

1. your favorite LDS here in the ATL
2. your favorite local diving hole (quarry, lake, etc) within 4 hours drive from Atlanta

 

[schuylerclark]

I haven't found favorites of either. That said, if you have TSA precheck, a direct flight and a short customs line, I'm pretty sure you can be in the Caribbean in 4 hours.

 

[mattfish]

Haha! That is very true!

I tell other divers that the best thing about living in Atlanta is that I can be almost anywhere in the Caribbean within 6 hours from my front door. I live just 20 minutes from the airport and have direct flights to most of the popular locations.

To answer my own questions:

LDS: I bounce between Diver’s Supply and Diventures. Neither of them are perfect in my book, but they are good enough. I do most of my gear shopping online though.

Local dives: Blue Water park in AL is nice from a facilities and maintenance perspective. And Dive Land park, also in AL has nice fish. Neither are amazing, but any diving is better than no diving.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

I grew up in North Georgia - 2 hours from Atlanta.

It is a 5 hour drive from Atlanta to some of the most beautiful springs in the world!!

 

[stretchthepenn]

1. your favorite LDS here in the ATL

I'm closest to Divers Supply (Marietta) and have a good relationship with the people there, so that's where I usually go.

1. your favorite local diving hole (quarry, lake, etc) within 4 hours drive from Atlanta

Dive Land (Glencoe, AL) is my #1 choice. I'm there almost every weekend during the season and every weekend they're open during the off-season. Admission is reasonable, it's the closest site to me, there are a goodly number of underwater attractions, and it's both large and deep enough to do a technical dive. Plus, access to the water is relatively easy.

Blue Water Park (Pelham, AL) is a nice spot, too. It's spacious and deep, with lots of underwater attractions. It's a bit further for me, though, and humping gear up and down that hill is a chore.

Up north in Tennessee, there are two spots. Loch Low-Minn (just outside Athens, TN) is my preferred site; admission is cheap, the paddlefish (although elusive) are awesome, the zero-depth entry is convenient, and the owner, Alex, is a good guy. The second spot, Philadelphia Quarry, is excellent for beginners, but I'm a bit beyond it.

I've not been to Lake Jocassee in a few years, and I've not yet been to Lake Keowee (the Hot Hole), but I've heard it's fun.

 

[mattfish]

Loch Low Minn is cool for sure. I did my stress and rescue dives there. The paddlefish are freaking awesome as heck. We had one swim in to our group while it was filter feeding. It was one of my favorite encounters

 

[Rob9876]

I'm going to consider myself in the greater Atlanta metro region for this question since I'm back and forth to ATL a lot, shop dive gear there, and dive in some of the quarries mentioned.

I've had great customer service with Divers Supply in Marietta for a number of years now, and have bought a good bit from them both in-store and online. In addition, I like them even more since I became aware that they have let DiveHeart ATL use their pool for training adaptive divers for a number of years now.

I have not made it to the Alabama quarries yet, but near me in Tennessee both Loch Low Minn and Philadelphia Quarry have nice set-ups for divers. I will say that I tend to prefer Philadelphia Quarry, as lately I tend to dive with newer divers who need to rent gear, and LLM's gear rental charges are around twice the cost of Philadelphia Quarry -- a huge difference for those who need gear.

By the way, thought I'd mention the thread below which was started before this sub-forum was revived, where the OP needs recommendations for an ENT doctor in the ATL area:

Atlanta ENT?

I'm in need for an ENT in Atlanta who may be able to evaluate me. I have marked asymmetry when equalizing (left doesn't bother me at all, right takes a while, and lingering muffled feeling days after diving). Any recommendations for someone to see locally? Thanks!

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