Shotline Diving – Shore Dives & Access Points
Shore Diving the Great Lakes & Rivers
The region’s many lakes, rivers, and bays give divers a near-unlimited resource for training, practice, gear checks, or simply getting underwater for fun. From quiet inland lakes to river shore entries with steady current, shore diving is often the easiest way to stay active between charter trips and big expeditions.
Sites range from beginner-friendly, shallow entries to advanced dives with current, depth, or navigation challenges. Many are shared spaces — boat launches, public parks, cottage lanes, and waterfront communities — so we treat every site as if we are guests, both above and below the waterline.
Shore dive catalogue
Ongoing project: known shore dives are published as dive-sites and expanded over time.
Search Shore Dive Sites
Start with a site name, town, lake or river, or a well-known landmark. Search will surface any related dive-sites, nearby wrecks, and special sites documented in Shotline.
Quick ideas: “Minet’s Point”, “Hudson Terraplane”, “Jaycee Gardens”, “Wolfe Island shore”, or a local park name.
Why Shore Diving Matters
Shore diving is more than “the thing you do when the boat is full.” It’s a core part of Great Lakes and river diving culture because it allows divers to:
- Maintain skills between charter trips or big expeditions.
- Test and tune equipment after service, upgrades, or configuration changes.
- Introduce new divers to local conditions in a controlled environment.
- Explore history close to home — old wharves, piers, crib work, and near-shore wreckage.
- Build community through club nights, training evenings, and “after work” dives.
Shotline uses shore diving as one of the main ways to document new sites, verify existing records, and encourage low-impact diving practices across the region.
Shore Dive Quick Guide
- Check access: parking, hours, local rules.
- Walk the entry/exit before gearing up.
- Plan navigation for low-viz or featureless bottoms.
- Match the dive to the least-experienced diver in the team.
Guest Behaviour
Most shore entries are shared spaces. Tidy staging, quiet voices, and no-souvenir, no-touch diving go a long way to keeping access open.
Finding Shore Sites in Shotline
Shore-accessible locations are gradually being tagged, verified, and linked through multiple tools in the archive:
- Master Wreck Index: region, depth band, rating, and relationships.
- Wreck & Shore Map: visual overview of wrecks and shore sites; click through to records.
- Dive-Sites CPT: current catalogue of known shore dives in the Shotline system.
- Verified by Mark: field-checked notes on access, parking, and conditions.
Shore Access, Safety & Low-Impact Diving
All access notes in Shotline are planning tools only. Conditions, ownership, and local rules change. Treat every shore entry as someone else’s space and every site as part of the historic record:
- Parking: obey signage, do not block driveways, ramps, or emergency access.
- No souvenir collecting: take photos, video, sketches, and notes — not artifacts.
- Garbage out: the only thing you should remove from a site is trash.
- Underwater behaviour: no touching wrecks, no moving artifacts, careful finning, no tying into fragile structures.
- Dive planning: match the dive to training, experience, gas, and conditions on the day.
Aim to be the diver who “leaves only bubbles, takes only memories” — and whose presence makes sites better, not worse.
Shore Dive Site Directory
Browse documented shore dives below. Each entry links to a dive-site page with access notes, depths, navigation tips, and site-specific etiquette where available.
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Humber Bay Dive Site Project by Zefred Ansaldob & Erich Ortega
Humber Bay Dive Site Project by Zefred Ansaldob & Erich Ortega humber-bay-dive-site-project-by-zefred-ansaldob-andamp-erich-ortega Discover the Underwater Marvels of Humber BayHumber Bay Dive Site Project by Zefred Ansaldob & Erich Ortega Scuba Parkish40ffw 12mMuddy and SiltyA Diver’s ParadiseNestled south of Toronto, Ontario, Humber Bay is a breathtaking bay on Lake Ontario, boasting an array of underwater attractions…
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Humber Bay West
Humber Bay West humber-bay-west Discover the Underwater Marvels of Humber Bay Humber Bay Dive Site Project by Zefred Ansaldob & Erich Ortega A Diver’s Paradise Nestled south of Toronto, Ontario, Humber Bay is a breathtaking bay on Lake Ontario, boasting an array of underwater attractions that are sure to captivate divers of all levels. From…
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Instinct Drift Dive
Instinct Drift Dive instinct-drift-dive Site Overview Location: Sarnia River, Sarnia, Ontario, CanadaCoordinates: Part of the St. Clair River system, connecting Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair. Dive Type: Drift DiveExperience Level: Advanced Divers Highlights Cautions Accessibility Access: Conclusion The Instinct Drift Dive in the Sarnia River offers a one-of-a-kind drift diving experience for advanced divers.…
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Instinct Drift Dive – Sarnia River, Ontario, Canada
Instinct Drift Dive – Sarnia River, Ontario, Canada instinct-drift-dive-sarnia-river-ontario-canada Shore Dive Site Overview: Instinct Drift Dive – Sarnia River, Ontario, Canada Location Details •Location: Sarnia River, part of the St. Clair River system, connecting Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair. •Coordinates: Accessible via boat in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. •Dive Type: Drift Dive. •Experience Level: Advanced…
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Jack Lake, Ontario
Jack Lake, Ontario jack-lake-ontario Shore Dive Overview: Jack Lake, Ontario • Location: Jack Lake, Ontario, Canada • Dive Type: Freshwater Shore Dive • Depth Range: • Minimum: 10 feet (3 meters) • Maximum: 40 feet (12 meters) • Dive Duration: 30-60 minutes (depending on depth and air consumption) Dive Description Jack Lake in Ontario offers a tranquil…
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Jackson’s Point Marine Railway
Jackson’s Point Marine Railway jackson-s-point-marine-railway Identification & Site Overview Dive Site Features Entry Point Visibility Conditions Diving Tips Recommended Equipment Safety Considerations Points of Interest Underwater Railway Tracks. Historical Significance: A rare opportunity to explore a large marine railway used for steamship maintenance, highlighting 19th and early 20th-century engineering. Dive Experience: A unique dive site…
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Johnson Bay, Lake Ontario
Johnson Bay, Lake Ontario johnson-bay-lake-ontario Dive Site Report: Johnson Bay Site Identification & Information Site Description Johnson Bay is a shallow and accessible dive site, ideal for beginner divers, training dives, and equipment check-outs. The bay features a sandy and silt bottom with a gradual slope, making it perfect for skill development and casual underwater…
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Keating Channel Hull
Keating Channel Hull keating-channel-hull Identification & Site Information • Name: Keating Channel Hull (Unofficial) • Type: Submerged Industrial Hull/Derelict Barge • Location: Keating Channel, at the mouth of the Don River, Toronto, Ontario • Coordinates: 43.6512, -79.3405 (View on Google Maps) • Depth: Approx. 7 metres (23 ft) • Access: Shoreline adjacent (industrial zone); access via kayak/diver support team recommended Dive Type…
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Killbear Provincial Park, Lake Huron
Killbear Provincial Park, Lake Huron killbear-provincial-park-lake-huron Site Description Shore Dive Report: Granite Wall Location: Granite Wall, Killbear Provincial Park, Lake Huron DIVE DETAILS • Maximum Depth: 70 ft (23 m) • Visibility: Typically 50+ ft (15+ m); can reduce to 30 ft (9 m) after storms. • Access: Shore entry; $19 entry fee per car for park access.…
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Kingston Psychiatric Hospital Docks (Old Coal Docks)
Kingston Psychiatric Hospital Docks (Old Coal Docks) kingston-psychiatric-hospital-docks-old-coal-docks Identification & Site Information •Dive Site Name: Kingston Psychiatric Hospital Docks (Old Coal Docks) •Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada •GPS Coordinates: Approximate location near the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital shoreline •Depth: 30 feet (9 metres) •Bottom Composition: Silty sediment with early 19th-century debris Site Description The Kingston Psychiatric Hospital…
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Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard
Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard kingston-royal-naval-dockyard Shore Dive Report: Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard – Deadman’s Bay, Kingston, ON Dive Site Overview Site Description Deadman’s Bay is a historically rich and easy-access dive site located within the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard area. The bay gets its name from its past use as a burial site for sailors.…
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Linda Head Dive Site
Linda Head Dive Site linda-head-dive-site Identification & Site Information: Dive Site Name: Linda Head Dive Site Dive Site Description: The Linda Head Dive Site is a renowned diving spot in the St. Lawrence River, located near the historic town of Clayton, New York, within the picturesque Thousand Islands region. Known for its underwater clarity, strong…
Live Great Lakes & Rivers View
Shore-Accessible Sites on the Shotline Map
Zoom into harbours, bays, and river bends. Markers for wrecks and shore sites will link into Shotline records where available — use this view as your spatial starting point.
Tip
Use layers to focus on one lake, corridor, or region at a time.