Review...Blue Lake, UT
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:38 am
I went to Boise to complete my IDC Staff training with our course director. She was offering an IDC out of Dive Magic in Boise. Great group of people and had an incredible week. We finished up our training at Blue Lake, UT, about 30 minutes south of Wendover.
If you haven't been to that part of the country, it is beautiful. Wendover is on I-80 and is on the Nevada/Utah border, about 5 hour drive southeast of Boise. It is in the high desert and 3 hours west of Salt Lake City. It warms up to about 35 degrees during the day in Feb. So...what is special about Blue Lake? It is a warm springs and the water is 70 degrees.
The lake is more of a marsh, and sits in the middle of a bombing range. There are no facilities and there is a gravel road that leads to the lake. It sits in the middle of the desert. There is a very fine silt that is mud when it is wet around the lake. There is a boardwalk that diver built that you walk on to the lake.
I brought my drysuit because it was so cold outside. However, no gloves and not hood. You jump off the dock and it is like being in a hottub in the winter.
Diving in the lake was very cool. Divers have constructed platforms for teaching on and there is a navigation course underwater. There are little Blue Gill fish swimming around, and they are very pretty. The coolest part is diving down to the bottom and watching the hot springs bubble up from the earth. You can put your hand in the bubbles and the water is about 80-85 degrees. It is freshwater, but the mud and silt gets into your gear worse than sand. Vis is about 10-15 feet. The deepest part of the lake is about 55 feet.
The lake is at 4600 feet so I got in some cool altitude diving as well!
I asked about diving the lake in the summer. Kelly (my course director) told me that the mosquitos, flies, bugs, etc are horrible between late April and September. She said October and March are good, and when the wind blows, it is miserable. She also said that it is common for temperatures to reach 120 degrees in the summer.
So, if you are driving I-80 and looking to do some diving, this is an interesting place to try out.
If you haven't been to that part of the country, it is beautiful. Wendover is on I-80 and is on the Nevada/Utah border, about 5 hour drive southeast of Boise. It is in the high desert and 3 hours west of Salt Lake City. It warms up to about 35 degrees during the day in Feb. So...what is special about Blue Lake? It is a warm springs and the water is 70 degrees.
The lake is more of a marsh, and sits in the middle of a bombing range. There are no facilities and there is a gravel road that leads to the lake. It sits in the middle of the desert. There is a very fine silt that is mud when it is wet around the lake. There is a boardwalk that diver built that you walk on to the lake.
I brought my drysuit because it was so cold outside. However, no gloves and not hood. You jump off the dock and it is like being in a hottub in the winter.
Diving in the lake was very cool. Divers have constructed platforms for teaching on and there is a navigation course underwater. There are little Blue Gill fish swimming around, and they are very pretty. The coolest part is diving down to the bottom and watching the hot springs bubble up from the earth. You can put your hand in the bubbles and the water is about 80-85 degrees. It is freshwater, but the mud and silt gets into your gear worse than sand. Vis is about 10-15 feet. The deepest part of the lake is about 55 feet.
The lake is at 4600 feet so I got in some cool altitude diving as well!
I asked about diving the lake in the summer. Kelly (my course director) told me that the mosquitos, flies, bugs, etc are horrible between late April and September. She said October and March are good, and when the wind blows, it is miserable. She also said that it is common for temperatures to reach 120 degrees in the summer.
So, if you are driving I-80 and looking to do some diving, this is an interesting place to try out.