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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Lion’s Head Bridge – Lake Huron
Lion’s Head Bridge – Lake Huron lion-s-head-bridge-lake-huron Shore Dive Report: Lion’s Head Bridge – Across from 239 Isthmus Bay Rd, Lion’s Head, ON Dive Site Overview Site Description This is a scenic shore dive site located near Lion’s Head Bridge, with crystal-clear Georgian Bay waters and a beautiful underwater landscape. The area features rocky shelves,…
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Little Clear Lake, Ontario, Canada
Little Clear Lake, Ontario, Canada little-clear-lake-ontario-canada Site Overview Location: Little Clear Lake, Ontario, CanadaCoordinates: Exact coordinates not provided; located within the picturesque region of Ontario, likely accessible via local roads leading to the shoreline. Lake Dimensions: Dive Type: Shore Dive Dive Site Features Entry Point: Lake Bothttps://shotlinediving.comwp-content/uploads/52895851813_b64678c0f7_c.jpg: Aquatic Life and Vegetation: Visibility Conditions: Additional Tips…
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Lock 21
Lock 21 lock-21 IDENTIFICATION & SITE INFORMATION Site Description Lock 21 was part of the old St. Lawrence Canal system, which was constructed in the 19th century to facilitate navigation on the St. Lawrence River by bypassing rapids and other obstacles. This lock is now submerged due to the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway…
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Lock 23
Lock 23 lock-23 IDENTIFICATION & SITE INFORMATION VESSEL TYPE DESCRIPTION Lock 23 was a key component of the old St. Lawrence Canal system, developed in the 19th century to enable ships to navigate the varying water levels of the St. Lawrence River. This lock system was essential for facilitating the safe and efficient passage of…
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Lock 25
Lock 25 lock-25 IDENTIFICATION & SITE INFORMATION SITE DESCRIPTION: The dive site features the remnants of the Galop Canal’s old and new locks, located near Iroquois, Ontario. These locks were a significant part of the St. Lawrence River’s navigational system before the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The old lock was constructed in 1845,…
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Lorne Street Beach, Muskoka Bay, Gravenhurst, Ontario
Lorne Street Beach, Muskoka Bay, Gravenhurst, Ontario lorne-street-beach-muskoka-bay-gravenhurst-ontario Video Documentation Resources & Links
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MacDonald Lake, Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve, Ontario, Canada
MacDonald Lake, Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve, Ontario, Canada macdonald-lake-haliburton-forest-and-wild-life-reserve-ontario-canada Dive Site Overview •Location: MacDonald Lake, Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve, Ontario, Canada •Dive Type: Freshwater Lake Dive (Shore Entry) •Depth Range: •Minimum: 30 feet (9 meters) •Maximum: 40 feet (12 meters) •Dive Duration: 30-45 minutes (dependent on depth and air consumption) The…
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Marine Museum Kingston ON
Marine Museum Kingston ON marine-museum-kingston-on Site Orientation IDENTIFICATION & SITE INFORMATION Site Name: Marine Museum Dive Site Location: 55 Ontario Street, Kingston, Ontario Coordinates: West St Ramp by KYC, Marine Museum, Kingston, ON •Depth: 40-50 feet (12-15 meters), depending on the distance swum or scootered •Access: Shore dive DESCRIPTION The Marine Museum Dive Site, located…
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Marks Point, Lake Huron
Marks Point, Lake Huron marks-point-lake-huron SHORE DIVE REPORT: Shore Line at Marks Point Location: Marks Point, Lake Huron DIVE DETAILS • Maximum Depth: 100 feet (30 meters) • Bottom Composition: Gradual sandy slope transitioning to deeper areas • Visibility: Typically 50 feet (15 meters); clear water similar to Tobermory ATTRACTIONS 1. Gradual Slope: • The dive begins with…
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Marten River Provincial Park
Marten River Provincial Park marten-river-provincial-park Here is a Shore Dive Report for site N/A5-1516-50 located in the Marten River area of Northern Ontario: Identification & Site Information • Site Code: N/A5-1516-50 • Name: Marten River Dive Site • Location: Marten River, Ontario – a waterway feeding into Lake Temagami • Coordinates: Approximate – actual dive spots vary along river channels and lake inlets • Depth: Shallow…
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McSourley Lake, Stonecliffe Area, Ontario, Canada
McSourley Lake, Stonecliffe Area, Ontario, Canada mcsourley-lake-stonecliffe-area-ontario-canada Site Overview Location: McSourley Lake, Stonecliffe Area, Ontario, CanadaCoordinates: Exact coordinates not provided; the lake is accessible from the Stonecliffe area. Lake Dimensions: Dive Type: Shore Dive Dive Site Features Entry Point: Lake Bothttps://shotlinediving.comwp-content/uploads/52895851813_b64678c0f7_c.jpg: Rock Formations: Visibility Conditions: Additional Tips Equipment: Safety: Points of Interest Underwater Landscape: Tranquil…
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Miner’s Bay Truck
Miner’s Bay Truck miner-s-bay-truck Dive Site Explore the Underwater Relic of a 1935 Hudson Terraplane Immerse yourself in an extraordinary dive experience as you explore the remains of a 1935 Hudson Terraplane, an automotive relic that met its watery fate after falling through the ice. This unique site not only offers a glimpse into the…
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.