Difficulty
Unrated
Viz (last reported 68084h ago)
Max Depth
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.
Access
shore
Nearby Shops
Tide Report
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Brian Xavier
Jan 29, 2006, 12:00 AM
scuba
I've dove Lake Ouachita for a few summers straight now. I dove the dam in '04 and went down to about 80 feet. Then I came back up and followed the rope going off of the rocks on the dam and found a mailbox (with a fish in it), a golf cart with clubs, and some sunken boats. The first time I dove it the viz down deeper was probably about 30 plus feet. It looks real deep and dark below the sunken vehicles. Not much fish life here, but a great freshwater dive. The steps leading down to the dam are nice. Lost a nice mask (clear) and snorkel here. I also like diving across from Mountain Harbor, I believe around island 18. Some nice coves and points there, and with a bass boat you can look for good viz. When I hit 22-25 feet, the water does get cold. Take a 7 mil suit if you plan to dive deep, otherwise a 3 mil would do the job. It gets dark real fast here, so I mostly dove the islands to 25 feet max. Lots of fish life around these islands. I do agree that you need a boat to dive Ouachita. I'd be interested in other spots to dive in this lake.
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