Planning a visit to PNW in August/September...

[jbm]

My wife and I are planning to visit Washington/Oregon this August/September. We will be travelling in a RV and looking to stay at State Parks.

Would appreciate any State Park recommendations from forum members. I am particularly interested in state parks that offer or are in close proximity to shore diving opportunities (salt or fresh water).

So if you can pass on the name of your favorite parks or shore dives, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

James

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Salt Creek State Park, about 15 miles west of Port Angeles. Beautiful park, with some incredible diving right there.

County Park out on San Juan Island.

Dash Point State Park, in Des Moines/Federal Way area ... Redondo is just down the street.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[oldsalt]

Bob's recommendations are good. Also Fort Casey State Park at Keystone on Whidbey Island. The jetty, pier, and Driftwood park are all nearby dives worth doing. Stop at the dive shop in Oak Harbor to get local knowledge as far as tides and currents.
-Curt

 

[TSandM]

Saltwater State Park is a pretty little park with a very nice dive site right there -- sensitive to currents, and not too much fun at very low tide, but the timing of your trip means you should see some good windows for current-sensitive spots.

 

[Furnari]

In Oregon, South Beach and Beverly Beach parks near Newport on the coast are nice, and offer lots of nearby activities. The South Jetty "Fingers" are a decent dive that time of year and just a short hop from either park. If you're inland, Clear Lake along the McKenzie River in the Cascade Mtns. offers a spectacular dive with over 100-ft viz in a 3,000 yr. old sunken forest. There's a resort on the lake with RV parking, although there are several parks within a half hour drive. Pretty cool stuff...

 

[sgtchunk]

We just dove the fingers at Newport Jetty. We had bad viz as they had dredged just a few days earlier. However there was still quite a bit to see while under. Check with South Beach Scuba, just 5 minutes south of Newport. They were great with the rental equipment we needed and can recommend local shore diving or boat diving. I really like that shop! They can be found on Facebook.

 

[scubak]

Go on out to Hood Canal...there you can stay at several state parks. Have you gone onto the state park website yet? Give that a try. On Hood Canal you can stay at PotLatch and that is pretty central to several dive sites that are shore dives. Also, if you want to boat dive you can get in touch with Dons' boat at Pleasant Harbor (PAC Adventures). What days are you going to be out this way?
Kirsten