#2245
MDW - 6/07/2022 8:43 PM
Willow is open, and has been all along. I went there (for the first time in like 20 years) in 2020 and 2021, and the land portion of the complex has been transformed into a fancy landscaped wedding venue (except for the small area to the left where diving has traditionally taken place, and still does). From what I have read, in 2022, the owner of Willow has outsourced management of the diving to Lancaster SCUBA, who have put in aerators to help clean up the vis and made some other improvements and upgrades underwater. I look forward to seeing this the next time I get a chance to drive down there.

Bainbridge has, indeed, been closed for many years; Wabank (if you remember that one) has been closed even longer (they closed it "temporarily" for construction on an adjacent property about 20 years ago and it never reopened for diving).

Never heard of DAI.

We have occasionally done some diving at Round Valley Reservoir near Lebanon, NJ. It’s cold, they limit the number of divers per day, you have to be out of the water and back at the Ranger station by 4pm, but it’s still better than staying dry all day.

My go-to spot this summer will be Alexandria Bay, NY (Thousand Islands). There are 3 shore dive sites there, and several boats to take you out to the wrecks. The best part is the water in July - Sept is 70 to 72 degrees from surface to bottom of the channel at 200+ft. We also went ice diving there last Feb and the water was a balmy 39 degrees; I was surprised I was actually warm in that temp water (very cold once out in the 14 degree air, though).

There are also some spots in the Lehigh and Delaware rivers, though I only recommend that to those of us who live right by Dutch. I would not suggest driving any distance to dive these rivers, but maybe you have something similar near you.