Where to Dive in Oklahoma?

[EuphoriaII]

EuphoriaII
I am trying to sale my Sea Doo so I can afford the equipment for diving. ...
2000 Sea Doo GS 85hp (55mph) 2 seater w/cover, trailer, tube and 2 Sea Doo vests. asking $3500 OBO. Pass it around if you are close to Lawton, OK

I sold my 1998 Yamaha GP1200 a couple years ago. I sank about $2500 in mods in it. Milled the head, ported cylinders, intake grate, ride plate, water bypass kit. I've been through that phase. Sounds like a nice Seadoo though.

 

[Trisha]

Hey EuphoriaII, we did the 18-20 hour drive from OKC to the Florida Panhandle a couple of weeks ago. Great people in that area, and if you need a campsite we liked Sunset King Lake Resort near De Funiak Springs. Nice sites and reasonable prices, close to Vortex Springs and Morrison Springs, and on 331, which we took to get to Panama City and St. Andrews State Rec. Area.
Check in with Flipper at the jetty dive shop and ask about how things are going for the day. My daughter and I snorkeled near the jetty and saw several interesting fish. Wish we had used our wetsuits, though! And remember your dive flag -- it's the law.
http://www.sunsetking.com
http://www.vortexspring.com/default.htm
http://www.tfn.net/Springs/Morrison.htm
http://www.floridaparks.com/stprks/north_west/st_andrews.htm

BTW, Morrison Springs is now free and a state facility. Here is a thread about the trip we did. Good luck and I hope you have as much fun as we did.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=1023477#post1023477

 

[EuphoriaII]

Hey EuphoriaII, we did the 18-20 hour drive from OKC to the Florida Panhandle a couple of weeks ago. Great people in that area, and if you need a campsite we liked Sunset King Lake Resort near De Funiak Springs. Nice sites and reasonable prices, close to Vortex Springs and Morrison Springs, and on 331, which we took to get to Panama City and St. Andrews State Rec. Area.
Check in with Flipper at the jetty dive shop and ask about how things are going for the day. My daughter and I snorkeled near the jetty and saw several interesting fish. Wish we had used our wetsuits, though! And remember your dive flag -- it's the law.
http://www.sunsetking.com
http://www.vortexspring.com/default.htm
http://www.tfn.net/Springs/Morrison.htm
http://www.floridaparks.com/stprks/north_west/st_andrews.htm

BTW, Morrison Springs is now free and a state facility. Here is a thread about the trip we did. Good luck and I hope you have as much fun as we did.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=1023477#post1023477

Thanks for the info but this was planned as a non-diving family trip before I ever took up scuba so we're staying at a 2 bdr condo in a resort we've stayed at a few times. And we've worked that drive down to 15 1/2 hours by only stopping when the tank is empty (have to cut down on liquids-lol). I've conditioned my wife and kids into hard core 'road warriors'

 

[Trisha]

Sounds sweet! We were getting about 11 mpg with the pickup and fifth wheel, and didn't want to run out of gas in the middle of the night. Next trip should be better.

 

[EuphoriaII]

Ok, so my son and I are finally certified. My son wants to go diving on his birthday weekend in 2 weeks. Which would you recommend for new divers. Ornogo (Blue Lake) or Beaver Lake? Both are exactly 4 hours away (according to Mapquest). We're just looking for a variety of shore dives where we can get some more practice and experience for not a lot of money (might camp or just do a cheap motel). Oronogo looks appealing because of the 'stuff' they have to see underwater as well as the dive shop being right there for air fills.
We both have 7mm suits/hoods and were comfy in 60 degree water yesterday.\
Son will be 15 and he is as capable (or not) in the water as I am.

 

[galscuba]

Congratulations on your certification! You will be an addict shortly, I promise!

 

[bgray]

Between the two choices given, Beaver or Oronogo, for a beginner I would suggest Beaver Lake at the Dam. While I have only been to Beaver once I remember a very large area in which to shore dive. I was told that the cove just North of the dam has many objects to see, connected with a line. (maybe???) We had a boat with a depth finder and we trolled around this cove and found it fairly shallow; ie:35-45ft if I remember correctly. I'm sure there are several on this board that could give specifics.
As for Oronogo, very cool place but can also be dangerous. It is very deep in the middle. For a new diver, you would probably want to limit yourself to the first level of the road leading to the bottom. (the road made several switchbacks in order for the mining trucks to reach the bottom of the pit) Max depth of this first level is around 50ft or so where it makes a 180 and goes back the other way with ever increasing depth. Having said that, you must understand that any OW class that is there for the weekend is going to congregate in this area also, so the visibility can go south pretty quick. The only way to see after this happens is to get deeper. Situational awareness is the key. You must always keep a wall or the bottom in sight so that you don't accidentally end up over the ledge that may go all the way to the bottom. A good way to see Oronogo for the first time would be to go with a guide or someone who has dove there before and can show you around. Also, if you do choose to go deeper, pay vary close attention and don't wander into the caverns accidentally.
This was not written in the intent to scare you away, I personally think it is a very cool place to dive! I don't, however, think it is the best choice for brand new divers. Only my opinion. Be safe wherever you go! Brandon

 

[ozarkjim]

The cove north of the dam fill has a platform that is sometimes used for OW classes. There is a line tied off of each corner to four sunken small boats. To get to them, notice an area where people park (not paved) between the dam and the first road that goes east on the north end of the fill. You will walk down to the lake through some trees on a path and the platform/boats are straight out from there in about 20 ft. of water at normal pool level. They are spread out far enough you should have no problem at least finding one of the lines. Water temp was 61 last weekend. Have Fun !

P.S. There are several campgrounds close and a dive shop just south of the dam.

 

[EuphoriaII]

The cove north of the dam fill has a platform that is sometimes used for OW classes. There is a line tied off of each corner to four sunken small boats. To get to them, notice an area where people park (not paved) between the dam and the first road that goes east on the north end of the fill. You will walk down to the lake through some trees on a path and the platform/boats are straight out from there in about 20 ft. of water at normal pool level. They are spread out far enough you should have no problem at least finding one of the lines. Water temp was 61 last weekend. Have Fun !

P.S. There are several campgrounds close and a dive shop just south of the dam.

We did mostof our diving off the dam bluffs. Found most, if not all of the statues. Someone else there told us about 4 or 5 sunken speedboats in the vicinity you described but with an entrance off that first road north of the dam. We found 4 UW structutres made of PVC pipe (fish shelter/attractors) and then found a line. Followed the line and found a boat. But there wer eno other lines we could find for any other boats. Re-reading your thread now, I think we would have had better success entering from the location you mentioned. Where we were was shallow (20-30ft) and very poor vis compared to the dam bluffs. Lots of silt near the speedboat we found and not much else to look at.
But we had a good time and knocked out our first 5 dives after our OW class with no incidents. Had 3 good dives, one pretty dull (Indian Creek area) and the speedboat dive was so-so.

 

[Trisha]

Most excellent dive report! How was the water temp? I usually figure the White River area to be about ten degrees colder than the OKC metro area.
Contact Natasha at Scuba Adventures, 4920 N. Meridian in OKC. She has a Memorial weekend trip you might be interested in. Phone: (405) 943-9400 or scubajerry@earthlink.com