Lake Ouachita

Arkansas, USA Mid
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Difficulty
Unrated
Viz (last reported 67550h ago)
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Unknown

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Lake Ouachita

Lake Ouachita is a 50 year old government power pool not available for commercial or residential development and is therefore (according to the EPA) the 2nd cleanest lake in the US! It is ~ 11 miles wide by ~33 miles long. There are four major (?) resorts that skirt Lake Ouachita, and no further are planned. All are reasonable and clean, not fancy. Dive flags are respected. Literally hundreds of dive sites (pick your own!) are available. Ark. Is one of the few states where spear fishing is legal! Get a fishing license! Viz ranges from "can't see your hand in front of your fact to 20' in summer. Winter the vis has been known to open up below the thermocline to 50-60'. Three dive shops are available. Most are closed in the winter, so seek tank refills/equipment in Hot Springs. Great lake to dive lot of fauna but too much flora! Trying to get the moss under control. From Hot Springs, AR, there are several accesses to Lake Ouachita (pronounced Wash-it-aw). Take US Hwy 270 west for all accesses including Spillway Resort (at the extreme East end of the lake), Brady Mountain Lodge & Marina, Crystal Springs Resort & Marina and Mountain Harbor Resort & Marina (at the extreme west end of the lake). From Little Rock, AR, take I-30 to US70 to Hot Springs then to US270. From I-30 south, take the first Hot Springs exit and go 35 miles on AR Hwy 7 to Hot Springs then to US 270. Lake Ouachita is accessible from Oklahoma by taking US Hwy 270 to the East.
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shore
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Diver Jeff
Diver Jeff
Dec 18, 2003, 12:00 AM
scuba
About the only shore site on Ouacita is at the dam. However, there is much to see. Once at the bottom of the steps, if you go right, there are underwater stair steps from 30 to 120 feet. At about 60 feet you will begin seeing large trees still standing. If you go left along the rocks of the dam your going to see many types of fish. Perch, catfish, bass, crappie, walleye and occasionally alligator gar. The rocks go down to around 40 feet then turns back to mud bottom. A group from Louisiana recently have sunk many boats, a 4 wheeler and other stuff to see. These are connected with cable so you can pull yourself along to see everything. Diving the dam offers good diving conditions for the novice and experienced. Night diving offers many larger catfish coming up for a quick meal of perch or crawfish. The water temperature in the fall (Sept-Oct) is 75 degrees. Vis is usually very good for a fresh water lake. You can rent a boat at the Lake Ouachita State Park. If you do, e-mail me for some unbelievable dive sites only a few minutes away from the park by boat. I have dove this lake for 12 years. It's the best lake in Arkansas by far. Safety & blue skies…
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