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Fantasy Lake Adventure Park - Wake Forest NC


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Fantasy Lake Adventure Park is a shore accessible fresh water dive site, located at 3601 Quarry Road, Wake Forest, NC 27587. This dive site has an average rating of 3.78 out of 5 from 54 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 71-80ft/22-24m. The average visibility is 11-15ft/3-5m. Training platforms are available.

Fantasy Lake Scuba Park was envisioned 25 years ago by owner, Doye Sherrill. His vision was to develop a lake and park to be used and enjoyed by scuba divers only. As of June 2021, that vision has been taken on by a new owner, Dan Cox, who is giving the facilities a highly needed refresh.

July 2021 changes
  • All new picnic tables
  • Permanent steps leading to water in 3 places
  • Main dock entirely replaced
  • Roads graded
  • Astroturf added in walk in areas
  • Grills have been removed (they’d require tetanus shots to use) and new grills are slated to go in.
Some of the scuba diving amenities include:
  • Plenty of parking space
  • 4 Lake access points (2 walk ins, 2 deep water entries)
  • Training Docks at Lake Entrance Points
  • 3 Training and Meeting Shelters
  • Picnic Tables
  • Changing Facilities
  • Porta Johns Restrooms conveniently located
  • 6 Training Platforms underwater
  • Boat simulator on top of water
  • Approximately 88 acres with Lake depths of 20 to 36 feet, 5 acres with Lake depths of 60 feet, and 7 acres of depths of 80 feet
  • Interesting wall diving
  • “Monstrous” rock crusher in 35 feet of water
  • Sunken planes, bus and boats at 20 – 42 feet of water
  • primitive campsites
  • Hiking Trails up to Fantasy Lake Mountain , “highest point in Wake County”
  • Management on site
  • No fishing, swimmers, pets, or children. Scuba Divers and guest only
  • Scuba divers may bring guests for camping, sunbathing and hiking

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Comments
DB_Cooper - 8/18/2024 8:05 PM
I went scuba diving here on 7/14/2024. Average viz: Under 5ft/2m. Water temp: 76-80°F/24-27°C.
Gear fam for myself and our first dive together
DB_Cooper - 8/18/2024 8:04 PM
Rating Added: 5
For training and new divers, it’s pretty hard to beat Fantasy lake
jdmartin76 - 9/06/2021 2:24 AM
Rating Added: 4
First dive for me and my son (12 y/o) after OW certification. Great place to practice skills and get comfortable in the water. Planning more dives in the future.
BrianMullins - 7/05/2021 4:48 PM
Rating Added: 5
Quarry has been taken over by new owners. They are making sorely needed repairs and many, many upgrades. The gravel road has been regraded. Parking areas have been expanded. Walk in are (entrance 1) has rock stairs installed, dock entrance has rock stairs now on both sides, dock is being rebuilt, picnic tables have been replaced. Lots of activity happening to revitalize the quarry.
AquaPig - 10/08/2020 2:05 PM
I went scuba diving here on 4/28/2012. Average viz: 16-20ft/5-6m. Water temp: 56-60°F/13-16°C.
Went here for my deep dive while completely AOW. Not a bad dive. Lots of things to see like an airplane, vehicle, boat, etc. Easy to navigate with the ropes leading you to each article. I’ve been here at least a handful of times. Great place to work on technical skills thanks to the platforms. I suggest going early in the morning when visibility is best. The more divers the lower the visibility. Watch out for the thermal change, it will take your breath away.
sjbyrd - 7/02/2020 9:37 PM
I went scuba diving here on 8/17/1991. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m.
sjbyrd - 7/02/2020 9:32 PM
I went scuba diving here on 8/14/1991. Average viz: 16-20ft/5-6m.
TheGraveyardDiver - 3/12/2019 10:19 PM
Rating Added: 3
GraveyardHunters.com
RandyG - 8/13/2018 10:12 AM
I went scuba diving here on 8/11/2018. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 76-80°F/24-27°C.
Good dive. Visibility was good from 0 - 20 feet. Below 20 visibility reduced down to about 5 feet. There are many things to see. The ropes make it easier to navigate. There is plenty of parking and many entry points.
This is always a great dive.
fletch944t - 9/25/2017 5:37 AM
Rating Added: 3
Did two 1+ hour dives here on 09/09/17 with a group of folks who normally dive with Gypsy Divers out of Raleigh. The maximum surface temperature was 84°F and the lowest temperature we saw below the thermocline was 69°F.

To me, the most notable thing about Fantasy Lake is its sheer size. By far the largest quarry I’ve dived to date. A surface swim across the quarry and back would be difficult at best. And, most folks couldn’t make an across and back transit underwater on one tank of air.

There’s lost of stuff remaining from the days when it was a working quarry. And, the owners have placed a lot of stuff in the quarry to make it more interesting. There’s a bus, a couple of airplanes, cars, etc. It’s all concentrated on the parking area side of the quarry as far as I can tell.

The visibility in quarries and lakes in general isn’t going to be great. However, according to some folks who dive there a lot, the visibility was particularly poor that day. I called it about 10 feet. It did improve dramatically below the thermocline. For me, 10 feet is fairly normal for a quarry dive.

Currently, the fee for Fantasy Lake is $20/day.
Colliam7 - 9/11/2017 9:10 AM
I dove Fantasy Lake on 9/9,10 2017. Visibililty was very poor (4-5 ft). Water temperature was quite comfortable (75 - 80 degrees) above 35 feet (i.e. most / all of the shallow areas), but there was a sharp thermocline at 37 feet. Temperature at 60 feet was 55 degrees.
Colliam7 - 5/19/2017 12:31 PM
Rating Added: 4
FLSP is a good place to dive, and to teach diving. It has a rather extensive shallow to moderate depth ([60ft) area, and there is a lot to see. The lake is a vibrant marine ecosystem - no, you won’t see pellagics, lionfish, eels, etc. but, the bass, brim, catfish are numerous, and they are actively reproducing, so there are lots of fish to see. Vis is variable. In the late summer / early fall of 2016, there was a 6 week period when the water went remarkably clear (40+ft) at a time when the algae bloom should have been obscuring everything. Yet, in early 2017, when the cold water should have been killing off the algae, the vis has been 15ft. Go figure. :)

There is no air, the facilities are rudimentary (and not in particularly great repair, except where users have pitched in to fix things up). But, it is a great site for a dive outing, you can camp there overnight, have cook-outs, etc. Worth a visit.
jimenycricket - 2/13/2017 8:15 PM
Rating Added: 4
Great quarry for maintaining skills.
cwilson - 1/09/2017 2:18 PM
Rating Added: 3
Went here to knock out a deep dive for my advanced cert. Vis was horrible that day, maybe 10 feet tops. Seems like a nice place though.
Coptrainer - 9/04/2016 11:17 AM
I went scuba diving here on 7/2/2016. Average viz: 31-35ft/9-11m. Water temp: 76-80°F/24-27°C.
Coptrainer - 9/04/2016 11:14 AM
I went scuba diving here on 7/7/2016. Average viz: 21-25ft/6-8m. Water temp: 81-85°F/27-29°C.
Coptrainer - 9/04/2016 11:11 AM
I went scuba diving here on 7/23/2016. Average viz: 16-20ft/5-6m. Water temp: 81-85°F/27-29°C.
Knobee - 8/30/2016 5:14 PM
I went scuba diving here on 8/28/2016. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: Over 85°F/29°C.
My first two "just for fun" dives as a PADI certified open water diver.
Knobee - 8/30/2016 5:05 PM
I went scuba diving here on 8/27/2016. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 81-85°F/27-29°C.
Dives #3 & 4 for my PADI Open Water Certification. The viz may not have been great, but to get my last 2 certification dives finished was fantastic.
alko - 6/02/2016 4:05 PM
I went scuba diving here on 5/28/2016. Average viz: 16-20ft/5-6m. Water temp: 66-70°F/19-21°C.
Many bream on the beds by the beach and Entry 2 dock. Bream and bass are territorial now and will go after reflections on dive masks and camera lenses.