Places to Dive in Idaho not to far (3 to 4 hours max) from Boise.

Redfish Lake

TopoZone Map of Point Campground

We shore dive from the north end of the lake at the Point Campground Day Use Area. We dive from the sand beach that faces south and from the gravel beach that faces east. One can get to 60 feet fairly easily but I haven’t found much more depth than that. There is an underwater peninsula that sticks into the lake from the point between the sandy beach and the gravel beach. Its fairly shallow along this with lots of rocks.

Alturas Lake

TopoZone Map

Petit Lake

TopoZone Map

We shore dive from the east end of the lake at the day use area. I only found 21 feet of depth although the bottom is covered in plants and a school of 150 or so three to four inch fish followed me around. They would come right up to my mask if I stopped (this is with my Rebreather).

Warm Lake

TopoZone Map

There is a beach at the north end of the lake and we shore dive from that location. There are lots of plants above 15 feet and I saw a number of fish while cruising along in the plants on my Rebreather. The lake gets very cold below 15 feet or so.

Payette Lake (Location of Ice Diving Class)

Ice Diving: TopoZone Map

The location of our ice dives in January, February, and March. Take our ice diving class! The entire event is lots of fun. Its not as cold as you might think with a drysuit. Don’t have a drysuit yet? Take our pre ice dive drysuit class. We rent suits from Viking for this class so you can try one before you purchase. The Viking Extreme is an excellent suit at a very good price.

Payette River

Good river diving spot just south of Banks. We start a short ways above the sandy beach and then drift back to it. There is a forest service “comfort station” along the side of the road. It’s a fee area.

Arrowrock Reservoir

TopoZone Map

Lucky Peak Reservoir

TopoZone Map

TopoZone Map of our favorite shore dive site

When the reservoir is full we can get to 130+ feet at this site. The visibility is usually pretty good (15 feet) once the reservoir has filled but it degrades badly once it starts to drain and when its being filled. We often go to Arrowrock in the winter since the visibility there is usually better.

Quinn’s Pond (in Boise)

TopoZone Map

Quinn’s pond was a gravel pit before the city took it over. It is on the Boise Green belt path. To get there take 27^th street north from Main Street and turn to the west on Pleasanton Avenue. When Pleasanton turns North there is a small parking lot and a path to the pond. It doesn’t look quite right on the TopoZone map or in the phone book map. One can gear up in the parking lot and walk a short distance to the pond. The depth is around 30 feet but the visibility on the bottom is poor. When the pond stops stirring the visibility can be 10 feet or so. There are plants on the far side and I’ve seen quite a few small fish in it.

Billingsly Creek Pond

TopoZone Map (better location to come for this one)

Farther Away

Blue Lake, Utah (just south of Wendover, NV). Warm all year.

TopoZone Map

This is a popular diver training lake. The lake is warm all year. The depth is good and there are a number of “things” to look at that have been sunk in the lake.

Bonneville Sea Base, Utah