Trisha
Contributor
Welcome aboard!
We explored the White River lakes this summer, one trip each. We are beginners, so our diving was geared to 60 ft or less. Here are our observations:
Beaver Lake near Eureka Springs, Arkansas: Nice diving near the dam and also near the swimming area. Our oldest daughter did her OWD there and enjoyed it.
We stayed at Lost Bridge North campground and did not enjoy the 45 minute trip to the dam. If it were not for that I would have enjoyed Lost Bridge North, which was lovely.
The campground near the dam was literally "on the lake" -- May and June rains had put some picnic tables under water! I'm not a fan of latrines, so I will search around before returning, or take our fifth-wheel and toss the diving equipment out of the bathroom!
We stayed five days, but were so busy between our diving and our daughter's classes that we did not explore Eureka Springs.
We used Lost Bridge North Marina for our airfills. C and J Sports is setting up shop on the hill above the dam, and word is that they will be putting in a campground.
www.beaverlake.com
www.candjsports.com
www.lostbridgemarina.com
Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri: Loved the crawdads, particularly the night dive! Very nice shore diving from Dewey Short nature center, which includes a (gasp!) bathroom. We are headed back this weekend for our AOW and will probably explore the staircase nearer the dam (there are two) which leads to the deeper diving. Both daughters did shore dives and wore my husband out!
We stayed two miles away at Table Rock State Park -- the bathrooms are awesome! (Yes, there's a theme here.) Campground 1 has a view of the marina where we got our airfills. Campground 2 is also nice in a wooded location.
Scuba Sports has two locations and also does airfills.
We stayed ten days and when we were not wet, explored Branson, Missouri. We did not take in the shows, but we road the Ducks, visited the winery, cruised the mall (yes, two daughters!) and spent a couple of days at Silver Dollar City. Marvel Cave is a must-see, but bring a sweater. Diner? It's Branson, so take your pick.
www.mostateparks.com/tablerock/camp.htm
www.boatbranson.com
www.scuba-sports.com
Bull Shoals Lake near Bull Shoals, Arkansas: This was a family event, with Richard's brother and sister-in-law, three of their kids (two scuba dive), and our quartet. Did we like it? We already have reservations for next year!
We stayed at Bull Shoals-White River State Park. Watching the fog on that cold spring-fed river at night was unreal! We did some campfire meals and walking back we could see a house lit on the hill and the observation tower lights, floating in the sky.
The in-laws brought their boat and showed us some of the spots they had found. Very interesting and enjoyable, with the kids taking turns swimming and scuba diving. Alas, we had so much fun on the boat that we didn't take the time for shore dives, but we can try that later.
We used the Bull Shoals Lake boat dock for our airfills.
We stayed five days and had a blast. The in-laws enjoyed renting a boat and doing some fishing on the White River. And Gastons is highly recommended for a hearty breakfast.
www.arkansasstateparks.com/stay/parks/park.asp?id=8
www.bullshoals.com/boatdock/padi.html
www.bullshoalslakeboatdock.com
Scuba Adventurer was a help in selecting sites, including restaurants and dive shops.
www.scubaadventurer.com/dive.html
Good luck and enjoy getting wet!
We explored the White River lakes this summer, one trip each. We are beginners, so our diving was geared to 60 ft or less. Here are our observations:
Beaver Lake near Eureka Springs, Arkansas: Nice diving near the dam and also near the swimming area. Our oldest daughter did her OWD there and enjoyed it.
We stayed at Lost Bridge North campground and did not enjoy the 45 minute trip to the dam. If it were not for that I would have enjoyed Lost Bridge North, which was lovely.
The campground near the dam was literally "on the lake" -- May and June rains had put some picnic tables under water! I'm not a fan of latrines, so I will search around before returning, or take our fifth-wheel and toss the diving equipment out of the bathroom!
We stayed five days, but were so busy between our diving and our daughter's classes that we did not explore Eureka Springs.
We used Lost Bridge North Marina for our airfills. C and J Sports is setting up shop on the hill above the dam, and word is that they will be putting in a campground.
www.beaverlake.com
www.candjsports.com
www.lostbridgemarina.com
Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri: Loved the crawdads, particularly the night dive! Very nice shore diving from Dewey Short nature center, which includes a (gasp!) bathroom. We are headed back this weekend for our AOW and will probably explore the staircase nearer the dam (there are two) which leads to the deeper diving. Both daughters did shore dives and wore my husband out!
We stayed two miles away at Table Rock State Park -- the bathrooms are awesome! (Yes, there's a theme here.) Campground 1 has a view of the marina where we got our airfills. Campground 2 is also nice in a wooded location.
Scuba Sports has two locations and also does airfills.
We stayed ten days and when we were not wet, explored Branson, Missouri. We did not take in the shows, but we road the Ducks, visited the winery, cruised the mall (yes, two daughters!) and spent a couple of days at Silver Dollar City. Marvel Cave is a must-see, but bring a sweater. Diner? It's Branson, so take your pick.
www.mostateparks.com/tablerock/camp.htm
www.boatbranson.com
www.scuba-sports.com
Bull Shoals Lake near Bull Shoals, Arkansas: This was a family event, with Richard's brother and sister-in-law, three of their kids (two scuba dive), and our quartet. Did we like it? We already have reservations for next year!
We stayed at Bull Shoals-White River State Park. Watching the fog on that cold spring-fed river at night was unreal! We did some campfire meals and walking back we could see a house lit on the hill and the observation tower lights, floating in the sky.
The in-laws brought their boat and showed us some of the spots they had found. Very interesting and enjoyable, with the kids taking turns swimming and scuba diving. Alas, we had so much fun on the boat that we didn't take the time for shore dives, but we can try that later.
We used the Bull Shoals Lake boat dock for our airfills.
We stayed five days and had a blast. The in-laws enjoyed renting a boat and doing some fishing on the White River. And Gastons is highly recommended for a hearty breakfast.
www.arkansasstateparks.com/stay/parks/park.asp?id=8
www.bullshoals.com/boatdock/padi.html
www.bullshoalslakeboatdock.com
Scuba Adventurer was a help in selecting sites, including restaurants and dive shops.
www.scubaadventurer.com/dive.html
Good luck and enjoy getting wet!
