The Homestead Crater - Details

[scuba-flea]

I don't like cold water and have yet to save enough for a dry suit.

I was looking at places for maybe a couple days warm diving from within the continental US. I of course came across The Homestead Crater.

Their website says you can only dive to 35 ft for 35 minutes but looking through here there was obviously a few (though rather old) posts where people have dived deeper as well as had some classes like deep diver there. I see no reference to anything but a basic class there on their web site.

Hotel In Midway UT | Utah Resort Hotel | The Homestead Crater > Utah Vacation Resorts | Activities Near Homestead Resort in Midway

So the questions I have are;

Would a couple of dives there be fun?
Do they let you go lower if you are doing a class (actually looking for maybe deep diver or a tech intro)?
Are there trainers that work with the resort that get special permissions?
Anyone have more info about the place and any trainers?

Thanks. Most of the posts I've seen in regards don't have much detail and/or were several years old.

Thanks

Lee

 

[Rich Keller]

Maybe the first 35 feet are vertical so if you stay at or above 35 feet you can not get into an overhead environment dive.

 

[enduser]

I've always wondered why the site says that as it is not accurate. Even on just a paid dive you can go to the bottom or just above where a rope hangs. And can use your full air.

They do have instructors that teach from there OR pretty much every shop in the valley teaches there as well. Not sure if they do deep diver or intro to tech there you would have to ask around. Contact Dive Addicts or Neptune in SLC.

I also have contact info for one of the DM at the crater Ed Zite. Pm me and I will send it along.

As far as the crater dive goes. It is an interesting dive. But I would consider it more a novelty. 60 feet down in 96 degree consistently warm water in the middle of a small mountain in January while it 35 outside is cool! But as far as the dive goes not much to see, it is basically a hole.

Having said that I have dove it 10 times

Hit me up if have more questions or if you do come I'd be happy to dive with you.

 

[CCR Josh]

We (Dive Addicts) do offer intro to tech training at the Crater, although most of the course happens in the classroom and pool.

We also offer FII Level 1 Freedivinng training at the Crater


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[reo]

I did a dive in Homestead Crater the day after Thanksgiving in 2005. There were two things that I found interesting. First, the water temp was 96 degrees. It was very warm and very relaxing. Second, if you dive there, you are prohibited from wearing exposure protection--no wetsuits allowed. The day I went, the outside air temperature was 32 degrees, the temperature inside the dome was considerably warmer. One dive would be fun, I'm not sure a second dive would be as good. You'll be able to see everything in one dive. If you are in the area, it would be worth it to dive there, just to experience the very warm water. When I went, I was told to stay off the bottom so the silt wouldn't be disturbed. There wasn't the 35 minute time limit, or I wasn't told about it if there was a time limit. My dive was down to 60ft (short trip to near the bottom to see what was there). Most of my dive was spent around 45ft or less. My dive time was 44 minutes. I ended the dive with plenty of air left because I had checked out everything there and was getting very relaxed and tired. It was a unique experience.

Ron

 

[knotical]

The 35 minute limit is probably because they liked to schedule groups on the hour, especially on busy weekends. Allowing much more than that and some divers will stress their schedule. There’s not a lot of excess room in the tunnel to mill around.

The 35 foot limit is probably aimed at novice divers. If they go much deeper and don’t have good buoyancy control, very soon they’re finning up the silt. And there’s a lot of silt.

The site isn’t deep enough for a deep diving course.

As for enjoyment – everyone’s different. Not a lot of variety. On the other hand, when I conducted Open Water and Buoyancy courses there the students loved it.

 

[CCR Josh]

The site isn’t deep enough for a deep diving course.

AGREED! Don't get ripped off by one of the many instructors offering it there. If they tell about "altitude compensated depth" or "sea level equivalent depth" they don't know what they are talking about.


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[g2]

I was looking at places for maybe a couple days warm diving...

Have you considered traveling outside the US? Coming from Missouri, it might be as cheap and easy to go to Cozumel or a Caribbean destination. Staying in the US, seems like Florida would be closer.

Those options would definitely have more scenery and fish than Homestead.

 

[boulderjohn]

Have you considered traveling outside the US? Coming from Missouri, it might be as cheap and easy to go to Cozumel or a Caribbean destination. Staying in the US, seems like Florida would be closer.

Those options would definitely have more scenery and fish than Homestead.

I agree with Glenn. If you are going to travel all the way from Missouri to Utah to go diving, your time and money would be much better spent elsewhere.

It would, on the other hand, make sense to do it in combination with other activities. If you do it in the winter, there is fantastic skiing nearby. How often do you get to go skiing and diving on the same trip? If you are not afraid of the altitude gain, you can even do it on the same day---and I know people who have done that. In the summer, the resort has a nice golf course and other recreation available, including excellent mountain biking trails. Yes, I have dived and played golf there on the same day. If you make it part of your overall vacation package, it can be fun.

 

[DaveA]

My wife, son, and I did our AOW open water dives there, including the "deep" dive to around 55 feet in January several years ago. Agree with the above posts regarding silt if have poor control -- not a good way to make friends! It is hard to find a better place to do a dive, be toasty warm, and watch snow flakes come down the open hole in the ceiling.