Niagara Falls Scuba Diving

[Scotttyd]

I am going to be staying in Niagara Falls the first week of August. I have heard there is some drift diving in the Niagara River (hopefully not anywhere near the falls themselves:buggy:). How close are these ops to my hotel (staying in Country Inn and Suites right near the falls). I have never been in the area before and am not familiar with the area. Anyone have contact info for the ops? Also how far of a drive is it to a wreck dive charter in Lake Ontario?

[Graeme Tolton]

Contact Dan's Dive shop in St. Catherines. It is about 20 mins from the falls and they are very helpful.

[fppf]

Call Dip N Dive, they do river drifts.
We do them above the falls around Grand Island. Its a pretty cool dive, lots of fun.

[Scotttyd]

Call Dip N Dive, they do river drifts.
We do them above the falls around Grand Island. Its a pretty cool dive, lots of fun.
which is better, drift diving, or a wreck dive in the lake? (I really do not want to drive more than 45 minutes or so)

[fppf]

Well, the river is a fun dive, you will see some fish. Bass, Sheep head, maybe a Musky, but thats about it. Find some bottles, golf balls, cans, and what not. But its more about flying across the bottom at 2-3 knots.

Wreck dives in lake Erie are awesome, but you need to drive a ways down near the PA line before you really get to the good ones. Its about a 2 hour ride. All the wrecks near buffalo are just flat skeletons because its real shallow, like 30-40 feet. If you choose to do dives in Erie Osprey is the best chatter on the lake. Those dives are advanced though, most are in the 120 foot or deeper range.

I don't know of anyone that is doing dives in the west end of Ontario.

[Jimmer]

Call Matt at Dan's Dive shop and talk to him about charters. He knows all the wrecks in the area and can give you an idea of how much driving is involved.

[shoredivr]

There's the Chippewa Creek drift dive, too.

Be aware of the passport issue: if you are an American and want to dive on the Canadian side of the border, you will need a US passport to return to the States as of last month. And Canadians need a passport to get into the States to dive, no more driver's licenses only to cross the border.

[lowridersvt]

the welland scubapark is also a good dive site for its about 20 min from the falls . and has no current and decent vis

But i recomend contacting dan's dive shop they have charters going out in either lake ontario and eire

Dan's Dive Shop Index (http://www.dansdiveshop.ca)

[Ed Hatfield]

The local drift dives are only an excuse to get wet. If you only have time for 1 dive then get on a charter and take in one of the wrecks. You are going to kill an afternoon either way. The Welland park is OK but then you need to bring all your own stuff - not really worth the rental.

[lowridersvt]

hey scott it was nice diving with ya hope you had fun in the 39deg water hope to see you down this way again

[Scotttyd]

hey scott it was nice diving with ya hope you had fun in the 39deg water hope to see you down this way again
I did have a good time, nice and chilly, not sure how you guys do that on a consistent basis. Dry gloves would be my next purchase. If you ever come back to NC and want to see the sand tigers, drop me a line, or head on over to NCdivers.com, most of my dive buddies post upcomming trips there.

[adjuster-jd]

I have a boat charter reserved for September 19 - doing 2 boat dives on the Niagara River - leaving from Fort Erie, ON. We still have a couple spots left if anyone wants to come along.