Artificial Reefs and Diving Locations
Artificial Reefs and dive locations are waiting for you off the coast of Gulf Shores. Made most often from scuttled, decommissioned ships, other manmade objects not originally intended for underwater exploration may also be used. Artificial reefs don't take nearly as long to get established and can usually hold up better to tourism.
“The artificial reef program in Alabama is the best in the world. The collection of inshore reefs, near shore reefs and offshore reefs is unmatched anywhere else in the world. Artificial reefs provide great recreational fishing and diving opportunities. They provide material benefits to the marine ecosystem. It’s a win-win.”- Alabama Wildlife Federation Executive Director Tim Gothard
Don't just take our words for it. Come on down and venture out among 1094 square miles of water bottoms authorized as sites for our gulf coast's artifical reef system.
The Fairfield New Venture
The Fairfield New Venture is a 250-foot long former research vessel sunk in 2018 about 20 miles off the coast of Orange Beach. The ship’s wheelhouse rests at about 60 feet, with a depth around 125 feet. Holes in the sides of the vessel create pass-throughs for open water and advanced divers.
Less than 20 miles offshore from Orange Beach, The LuLu is a 271-foot intact freighter sunk in 2013. With the wheelhouse starting at 60 feet and a bottom depth of approximately 115 feet, there’s plenty of structure to explore, offering an exciting wreck diving opportunity to everyone from novice to experienced divers.
Poseidon's Playground is located 3.5 miles offshore of Perdido Pass at Orange Beach. The depths are 35-40 feet. It's another exciting site created as a virtual playground underwater to include statues and structures that are strategically placed in a permitted area for recreational diving. These shallow depths allow for young divers, novice divers and training divers to enjoy our underwater wonders.
Divers can find this dive site at Lat. 29:59.563 and Long. 87:33.371
Allen Reef
This dive site can be found at Lat. 30:07.835 Long. 87:31.790
Wallace Reef
The coordinates are Lat. 30:05.235 Long. 87:34.636
The Whiskey is a shore accessible salt water dive site, located at 601 West Beach Boulevard, Gulf Shores, AL 36547. This dive site has an average rating of 3.78 out of 5 from 9 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 16-20ft/5-6m. The average visibility is 11-15ft/3-5m. An old Spanish Rum Runner, all that is left is about 3 foot high wall of the hull. Neat dive though. Out from west beach in Gulf Shores, AL. Due south 150 yards from entry, directly in front of Bahama Bob’s. This 200’ rum runner is located in 15 to 25 feet of water. It covers approximately 300 square yards. This wreck lies just beyond the sand bar, making it an ideal beach diving opportunity. Night diving on the Whiskey proves to be a very rewarding experience as you can almost always see things that go unnoticed during daylight hours.
Artiicial reefs and dive locations are ready for your scuba adventures and more are on the way. Dive into Coastal View Vacations' collection of premium vacation rentals and let us help you plan your stays and dives!
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