Utah is a long way from the ocean. There are no coral reefs growing in the state's waters, and the wildlife is somewhat less impressive than you would find in the ocean.
But that doesn't mean you can't find someplace to make a few inland dives.
"The beauty to diving is to go out with friends and have a great time. The diving is incidental," said Jim Miller of Dive Utah in Holladay. "Utah is not a dive destination. There are no great dive sites in Utah, but there are plenty of good dives to teach people and then get them off on a trip."
For being a non-coastal state, Utah does have some unique dives, according to Mike Taylor of Scuba Utah in Midvale.
In fact, experienced divers at three Salt Lake-area scuba shops recommended a few local dives that, while not exactly exotic, are worth getting wet for.
The most recommended spot in Utah may also be in some of the coldest water in the state. At an elevation of almost 9,000 feet, Fish Lake is usually only "used in the very dead of summer," Miller said. Water temperature is about 68 degrees at the surface, but it drops to below 54 beneath a thermocline at about 34 feet deep, according to the Web site www.utahdiving.com.
Fish Lake has good visibility, averaging about 20 feet, and has plenty of fish and interesting plant life. The lake moss grows up to 8 feet in some places, making it more like the ocean, Miller said. "It's just cool up there in and out of the water," said Jared Cornwall at Neptune Divers in Sugar House. Cornwall and Miller both said the north end is better because it is more accessible to shore divers.
One dive that is nearer Salt Lake City — and warmer than Fish Lake — is Bonneville Sea Base outside Grantsville. Lori Cornwall of Neptune Divers said Sea Base is always the first place they recommend. With a salt content that is the same as the ocean, saltwater fish are abundant.
"You're not going to see fish anywhere in Utah like that," Lori Cornwall said.
The water at Sea Base is fed by natural warm springs, making the temperature near 84 degrees, and it can be used year-round. Sea Base has been built to cater exclusively to scuba divers and offers full services with equipment rental, tank fills and a snack bar.
Further down the list, but still highly recommended at the right time of year, is Blue Lake outside Wendover. Blue Lake is also fed by warm springs and is used year-round, but it often gets mixed reviews because of the bugs and algae. "The bugs'll pack you away in the summer," Miller said. "But that doesn't mean I won't run out there and make a dive."
Under the water, there's a lot to see in Blue Lake, which has a lot of wildlife, Taylor said. Sunken boats and other fixtures, such as street signs and sculptures, provide natural protection to fish and places for divers to explore. One sunken boat even has an old laptop computer in it, Jared Cornwall added.
Algae in the lake blooms in the spring, too, making visibility drop drastically. But Miller said fall and winter are great times to dive in Blue Lake. The diving is good "if you go in September or October when the visibility is 40 feet and not 40 inches," Miller said.
Bear Lake is bare, Miller said, but it is one of the more popular sites in northern Utah. And with a little more travel time, other options open up, such as Lake Mead, which has a dive park, 50-foot-plus visibility and 70-degree water; Lake Tahoe, in the fall when the glacier-fed water is at its warmest and divers can enjoy 100-foot visibility; and Flaming Gorge, which Taylor said is the best in the state for wildlife.
The crater at Homestead Resort in Midway is another popular site for winter diving. The spring-fed water rises into a volcano-like formation and is warm year-round. The walls of the crater rise to an opening 50 feet above divers' heads, and the 90-degree water drops 55 feet below divers' feet.
A surprising number of possible dive sites is also outlined at www.utahdiving.com, which rates and details many of the state's waters from Tony Grove Lake and Hyrum Reservoir, near Logan, to Burreston Pond near Mona.
When visiting a new dive site, Taylor said, the dive industry recommends going with someone who has been there before. Diving is a safe sport, but it does have its risks, Miller said.
One of those risks, which is unique to Utah, is the high elevation. Because much of Utah is more than a mile above sea level, the atmosphere doesn't exert as much pressure on the body, allowing nitrogen to be released from the blood quicker after diving. When diving in these conditions, special tables must be used to figure dive times to avoid getting the bends.
E-MAIL: jrowley@desnews.com