Scuba Diving

 

Isle Royale is home to the National Park Service's most intact collection of shipwrecks.

NPS Photo

Isle Royale's ten major shipwrecks span seventy years and showcase the evolution of Great Lakes maritime transportation - from wooden side-paddle steamers to massive steel freighters. Protected by the National Park Service, these vessels can be explored by experienced divers.

Diving Conditions

Lake Superior is cold. At the surface, water temperature rarely exceeds 55 degrees Fahrenheit; below 50 feet, 34-37 degrees. Full wetsuit is necessary; a drysuit is recommended.

Dive conservatively. Cold water increases the possibility of decompression problems.

Sunlight may not penetrate to the deeper depths depending on conditions (visibility, angle of sun, and fog or clouds).

Diving is remote, emergency care is not immediately available. Stay within your limits and training.

Portions of some wrecks are at depths of less than 60 feet; many are far deeper. Deep dives require specific equipment and experience.

 

Safety

Weather: Lake Superior's changeable weather is well-known. Follow marine forecasts and keep at least one person aboard your boat whenever divers are in the water.

Diving-related illnesses, especially those requiring a recompression chamber, pose a severe threat to life. The closest recompression chambers are in Minneapolis and Milwaukee.

Know CPR and emergency procedures for accidents. Carry an adequate first-aid kit including an oxygen delivery system and know how to use them.

Emergencies: At the first indication of a diving illness, contact park rangers or US Coast Guard on marine radio (channel 16), or the park's emergency dispatch at [phone].

 

Descend from the surface, and enter another century.

Susanna Pershern

Regulations

• Leave What You Find: Federal law prohibits the removal or disturbance of shipwreck sites and associated artifacts.
• Prevent the Spread of Invasive Species: Wash all dive gear in warm chlorinated tap water; and dry all dive gear and wetsuit for seven days prior to diving in the park.
• Dive Permits: Each diver must register at the Rock Harbor, Windigo, or Houghton Visitor Center before diving, and return completed permit after the trip.
• Dive Flags: Dive sites or boats must be marked with the standard diver down flag whenever divers are in the water. When at the surface, divers must be within 100 feet of the flag. When dives take place between sunset and sunrise, the flag must be illuminated.
• Closures: All interior lakes and the Passage Island small boat cove are closed to diving to preserve fragile resources.
  • America is closed to diving between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. eastern time, to allow ferry passengers to view the wreck.
• Air/Gas Fills: There are no facilities for filling dive cylinders at Isle Royale. Personal compressor use is limited to designated times and locations as indicated on your dive permit.

For additional regulations, consult your dive permit.

 

Use extreme caution if penetrating shipwrecks.

NPS Photo

Exploring Shipwrecks

Preserve the stories of Isle Royale's shipwrecks by leaving them as you found them. If you discover any artifacts, leave them in place.

Some wrecks are broken up and scattered across the bottom, but some remain more intact. Divers penetrating wrecks can become lost in a maze of confined passages or entangled in debris, wire, or line. Darkness and silt can reduce visibility to zero.

Moorings

• Most shipwreck sites are buoyed to provide safe mooring and protect wrecks from anchor and tie-off damage. Moorings are marked by a white buoy with a blue stripe.
• See dive permit for mooring regulations.
• America has a two-point mooring with a buoy on a sinker in 20 feet of water and a marker buoy on the bow at two feet. Vessels should tie off, bow and stern, using the line between the two buoys.

 

Shipwreck Buoys

A table showing Isle Royale dive sites and their buoy location information.

Dive Site	Vessel Type	Buoy GPS Coordinates	Buoy On? (Y/N)	Depth Min/Max in Feet	Buoy Attachment

Download This Dataset

 

Shipwreck Profiles