Smith Mountain Lake

[BrownBear]

Hi,
Did anybody dive there? I am going to be rent a cabin for the next week - thought may be I will do some diving.
The only problem, I can't find any information about diving there.

Does diving there worth it? What is the water temperature there?
What is the local dive shop?
Any dive reports?

thanks

 

[BrownBear]

Hi, found some info, but it does not make sense.
1. http://www.virginiasbestkeptsecret.com/scubadiving.html

In 1966 a beautiful town with a beautiful church with a high steeple, countless stores & scores of homes were buried in the name of a beautiful man made lake.
Since Smith Mountain Lake is the cleanest largest lake east of the Mississippi makes for good visibility. Some of the town is in water that is around 60 feet deep.

2. Very last post by james_croft http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=149896&page=3&highlight=Smith+Mountain+Lake

I would avoid diving Smith Mtn Lake. It is a flooded valley and deep. I last dove there on a body recovery. 50 feet from shore we were in 90 feet of water. Upon entering the water and making the descent it was nice for the first 30 feet. Then we started going down through tree tops of a flooded forest. At the bottom there was silt, tons of tree limbs and mud. O visibility. One of the worst dives I have been in. Upon coming up we had to thread our way up through the forest. Definitely a spooky dive. I would need a real good reason to dive there. Oh and it is wall-to-wall boat traffic.

Anybody knows a dive shop around this place?

 

[bubble-head]

I'm looking for more info about it also. Diving a submerged town is intriguing, even if the visibility is questionable. I've talked to a couple people in the past that dove it and they thought it was neat.

 

[BrownBear]

Well, here is the reply I got from
http://http://aquatrek.biz

Thank you for your inquiry. Unfortunately diving at Smith Mountain Lake for
the most part is marginal. Visibility(lack of), boat traffic, and
underwater hazards such as fishing line etc. can be a few of the issues.
There are some coves that will be clearer than other locations but again
visibility is still marginal. Most of our dive training is conducted in the
New River near Radford Va, Lake Rawlings near Petersberg VA, or Blue Stone
Quarry in Thomasville NC.

Enjoy your stay at Smith Mountian

Rick Wolfe

 

[Mitchell]

Great place. About 15 years ago I stayed there. This man made lake is huge. Remember the movie "What About Bob" Well wouldn't you believe they filmed that there in 1991. I stayed there about a month after they finished filming. The town was still all made up to look like N.H. I was really confused, they maps were all wrong. Of Course the people I stayed with told me the story. The name of the town is Moneta, VA. Nice folks great food. Clear water from what I remember. Of course you could call the town hall and ask around. Good Luck...