Dive Local + Scuba Travels = Goodness!

November 21, 2024

Dive Local: How exploring your own Backyard will make your Scuba Travels EVEN BETTER!

There are sooo many tempting exotic scuba adventures around the world, sometimes it's easy to overlook the awesomeness of diving closer to home - AND how diving local can actually help make your big scuba trips even better too!

Let's dive into a few benefits of exploring your local scene & how that can connect back to scuba diving trips & travels:

#1 Want to really BE on vacation when you're on vacation? Do your Dive prep locally before your next big scuba trip:

Been a while since your last dive? Do a Refresher course & get some practice in locally to get back in the swing of things.

Own any of your own gear? Test everything before you go. Do a fit check, get your kit serviced & handle any needed repairs / replacements.

Planning to rent gear? Try out different makes/models/types of gear near home before you go, so you'll have a much better idea of what you like, what works best for YOU, and what you want to rent! You may also find some easy-to-travel-with items to consider investing in.

Traveling to a place where additional skills & certification levels might be helpful? Get your coursework, pool sessions, & more (if available) done near home before you go! Get comfortable with Night diving, Deep, Wreck, Drysuit, and other specialties locally - so you can spend your limited time on vacation feeling confident & really enjoying those epic dive adventures while you're there!

#2. New & Unique Freshwater Dive Experiences - Once you start looking, you may be surprised at the hidden gems within reach of a weekend hop or even a quick day trip! Here are a few examples (far from the coast) to get you excited:

Local lakes can have interesting freshwater critters, sunken forests, geological features, and more!

Have you heard about Flooded Quarries turned into scuba adventure parks? You can practice your skills while diving with wild & amusing things like:

Sunken helicopters, school buses, tractors, & more!
One quarry in the Midwest even has the plane used in a famous Hollywood movie!
Another has the world's first underwater freshwater agriculture biosphere!
Why not perfect your underwater navigation skills through a field of garden gnomes?!
You might even get to see a Quarry Shark (aka a huge ancient paddlefish)!

Live near The Great Lakes? Oh the fun you can have exploring the epic shipwrecks that are well-preserved in the fresh, cold water!

This is cold water diving but the right kit will keep you nice & comfy
Scuba Diving is best from April to early November, but in the off-season you can try Great Lakes surfing! (Yes that is a real thing!!)

Flooded Mine? Missile Silo?

Once you start looking, you'll find all sorts of unique diving opportunities - even if you live far from the coast!

#3. Community & Connection - Everything can begin close to home!

Meet potential Buddies:

No matter where you live, chances are you can find a shop, dive club, or online community with potential future dive buddies.
There are all sorts of amazing dive groups: some are free, some have membership dues but come with perks.
You can find groups that are open to any & all new members, and others with criteria to join (like living in a certain region, having a specific skill level, or even being women-only).
Smaller groups can actually be much more tight-knit & active! Some will be informal, some will have a combination of Local Diving & Travel, and some may even fully arrange big trips, training & ongoing learning activities too.
Whichever groups you join, building a strong network of diver friends will help you stay active, keep learning, and get you motivated (+ potentially join you) for fun dive adventures both near home & further away too!

Support small businesses in your area:

Local Dive Shops can be amazing resources for gear servicing, testing out new kit, and keeping your training up-to-date.
Hungry after your dive? Try out a small local restaurant nearby!
Staying active at a nearby Quarry Scuba Park or Lake will help ensure those sites stay well-maintained and keep jobs in the community.
❤️ A little support goes a long way for small businesses like The Lake Shark

Local conservation & learning: Interested in Coral Reef Restoration work or other dive-related volunteering?

Even if you don't live near a reef or on the coast, every dive you take will help you learn more about, appreciate, and want to help find ways to cleanup & protect what you love.
As you start to explore the local dive scene near you, keep an ear out for opportunities to make an impact close to home - they are out there! Your local dive shop, scuba clubs, & online diving communities for your region are great places to find info.
And for when you do take that bigger travel volunteering trip - Staying active & improving your dive skills locally beforehand will only help you. Good buoyancy is absolutely critical for volunteers in a coral nursery & for doing outplanting at a reef & other activities. Practice & amp up your skills before you go!

So what are you waiting for? We hope you'll give local diving a try and get on the fast track to becoming a better, more confident diver - wherever your scuba travels take you!

As your fav scuba brand based in a cold weather landlocked state, The Lake Shark is a super fan of both dive travel AND diving local & how well they can support each other!