Local Diving
Local diving is usually defined as dive sites that can be driven to within an hour or two. We typically visit these locations as a day trip. There’s no shop cost involved, since there’s no overnight stays (unless for a special occasion), so most of the time the only fee a diver pays is the entry into the park, air fills, and food if they didn’t pack a cooler. We use these sites for training, certifications, and fun-diving days as an excuse to get a group together and blow bubbles and maybe give each other a hard time.
Natural Springs
Natural Springs is a combination dive site and campground located in New Paris, OH, near the border of Indiana near Dayton. Natural Springs is a 12 acre quarry with a large shallow area averaging 20 feet throughout, and a deep trench at the back of the quarry that backs against cliffs and depth reaches 35-40 feet. If you look carefully you can find the spring in the trench that the mining company hit and fills the quarry today. As with most shallow quarries, visibility is affected greatly by the number of divers and swimmers in the water. Conditions may deteriorate rapidly during the day if crowded. This is one of the few diving quarries that allows fishing, but the site limits fisherman to cut down on monofilament line in the water. Most sunken objects are smaller boats and trucks so much of the quarry is in a natural state.
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Average Depth: 20 ft. Maximum depth 35-40 ft.
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Visibility: May vary greatly depending on the number of people in the water but generally drops over the course of the day. Visibility is usually much better towards the back wall where few divers go.
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Wildlife: Bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie, grass carp, freshwater jellyfish in the fall.
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Air fills and food available at camp store.
