What are your recommended dive trips within the US?  It seems that everyone recommends Cozumel and other exotic blue water locations. While I'd like to see those places someday, the US has three coasts and thousands of lakes. What have your favorite trips been that didn't involve stamping a passport?

While my advice is specific to certified cave divers, Madison Blue spring and Little River were my most memorable dives.

Caves seem really interesting, but I'm a fresh OW with secondhand everything.

I've had great dives in the Channel Islands off CA; Puget Sound in WA; gravel pits in AK; coal mines in IL and IN; springs in FL and the Blue Hole in NM.

Just about anywhere you can dive can be memorable.

Straits of Mackinac for Great Lakes shipwreck diving. But you usually just can’t make walk on reservations like you can with FL, for example. It’s cold water (45F at bottom quite often), and there’s no pretty fishies or coral. It’s all shipwrecks - that look like shipwrecks.

Not easy to get to either.

You don’t cave dive with OW gear anyway. You have to do doubles, sidemount, or rebreather.

I did Key West for my checkout dives. Most were 30’ dives with little to no surge. Spotted Eagle rays, a nurse shark (I didn’t get to see it), barracuda, giant grouper, a bunch of the little fish. Joe’s tug had just been destroyed by a hurricane. Cayman salvager was meh, but I did see a little octopus.

I haven’t done it, but I have dreams to do the Texas Flower Gardens. Live-aboard trip into the gulf where whale sharks are commonplace.

I had wanted to do the Oriskany, but that’s deeper than I’m interested in.

The Gallery in the Devils' system at Ginnie Springs (beautiful passage)

Ana Cecilia (West Palm)

SS Copenhagen (only a favorite because of the shenanigans that accompanied that dive, on that trip - but I'd absolutely do it again even though there's really nothing left to see of it except the anchor and a plaque)

Buford Sink (favorite)

Eagle's Nest


Hopefully going to Catalina Island in February, followed by Lake Mead/Lake Mohave (again). It's sort of surreal popping up from a dive and being in the middle of some mountains in the desert.

Mentioning the Nest in a post by a newbie OW diver?


LOL

On the bright side, I'd probably get to meet Edd Sorenson!

Wasn't so long ago that you were one...

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I have been spending a lot of time around the North Carolina coast, around Morehead City. There are a number of close-to-shore wrecks bottoming out around 80' (they call them "inshore"), both as naturally occurring wrecks and artificial reefs, with lots of fish, lots of sharks (all flavors too, from bull to sand tiger), shark teeth to collect, the odd loggerhead turtle and odd octopus, and barracuda to have staring contests with at your 15' safety stop. March-September the water is a gross kind of warm, like 70's at the surface, high 50's down to 60 or so. Visibility is pretty random, some days its great, some days not so much, and others it changes every 10 minutes.

There is more stuff a little further South, by the SC border, but there are fun dives all over the place.

If you're new and want get in some fun dives with generally fun people, see if local dive shops have evening or afternoon shore dives. I you have your own gear, you just pay for air if you need it, and some places go all out with a grill going and stuff.

I spent many hours underwater in Morehead City and Atlantic Beach. In fact, one of the sub wrecks (U285 maybe? Been a minute or 2 ) was my 1st ever saltwater dive AND shark encounter.

Florida is a popular dive destination for a reason.

Yeah there is fresh water diving..but its meh at best (I transplated from South FL to North FL).  I started diving in the Puget Sound.  Done the quarry and spring thing too.

Gulf side is cool in winter and no real structure compared to FL East coast.

There is awesome diving from Martin County all the way down to the Keys.
You will find a corresponding amount of dive shops, charters, hotels to meet the demand.
Conditions vary starting up North in Martin and generally get better as you head South.  A lot more sharky at the North end of what I am describing.
Palm Beach County has exceptional dift diving.  My fav here is the wreck trek..you can (I have) hit 4 wrecks in one dive if the current cooperates and you can make a tank last.  Fun to go in the Ana Cecelia then hit the rest.
There are many more spots to hit there and Jupiter.  Phil Foster Park (aka Blue Heron Bridge) is a handy and cheap spot to dive if you have the time or your charter gets blown out.

Broward County has ~30 wrecks (artificial reefs) with charters hitting all of them with some sites frequented more than others.  There is an easy wreck trek here too.. Tracy, Mercy Jesus, and the Jay Scutti.
Broward has phenonemal shore diving as well.   Reefs are parallel to the shore start at about 50 yrds.  The 3rd reef is out there but doable (mooring balls).  Lauderdale By The Sea is great place to start for shore diving.
And then there is the Keys.  Good diving...but no beach and very expensive.  Its been a while since I have been down there because of the expense involved.
Water temps will vary depending on time of year/depth/location but will be 84-65f. Visibility can be 2'-100+, but mostly on the better side.
Plenty of critters to see..Goliath Groupers, big ass turtles, butt load of shark species, Manta Ray, Dolphin, blah blah, oh and fish.  And if you want to shoot the fish, you can.  A lot of local restaurants will grill your catch (handy if you aren't local and don't have the equipment to do so).
So, Florida


And Merry Christmas to all!

BAP.. Is correct in my experience and opinion. West Palm was good drift diving. In past I would take off to go diving there as often as I could. Then maybe hit up a few of the springs on way back to Georgia. That would flush the salt and alot of crud from gear.  But do remember that cold soak effects from multiple dives in a day I hit a hypothermia wall on 3 days of dives. That was in February time. Got made fun of diving with drysuit in February until second dive and wind kicked up heading to second drift dive site.