Blue Lake
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Blue Lake is a large spring-fed pond out in the wilderness of the
Utah-Nevada border (about 20 miles south of Wendover). Click here
for map. The warm spring water keeps the lake open to diving year-round. Blue Lake is
known for excellent visibility (except on those days when a herd of new divers are at the
lake certifying), friendly fish, and warm water. Altitude is around 4,300 feet. Blue Lake looking south. |
| The water: Blue Lake's water is slightly salty to the
taste and light blue in color. Surface water temperature is around 78 degrees in
mid-summer. Near the bottom, the temperature increases to 83. (Winter surface temperature
is around 69.) There is no thermocline. Depth is 55 feet, with "boiling silt" at
the bottom where water comes up from the springs. Visibility is 15-25 feet. Silt is easily
stirred up by divers on the bottom. Bruce Argyle prepares to
shoot a bluegill. |
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Blue Lake is surrounded by brackish marsh. From the hard-packed parking
area, you'll traverse a boardwalk about 600 feet to the lake. The folks who built the
walkway should be declared saints. The lake has a large area for parking, followed by a fairly long hike to the shore on the plankway. We upgraded Blue Lake's "Access" rating to 2 because of the dive dock (see below). |
| We found three other amenities: (1) carpet on the shore to reduce the
squishiness of the ground for divers preparing their gear, (2) a very nice dock with a
diver step-down, and (3) an off-the-mud underwater platform for scuba instruction and
testing. Blue Lake is a common site for scuba certification classes. It's obvious that a
lot of work has gone into making this site better. Bruce Argyle stands on the dive step of the floating dock, while a couple of coots watch from the lake surface. Photo by Mike Engberson. |
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What to see: Much of the bottom is covered with pond
weed. Deeper down, you can watch the hot water boil up through the silt, and put your arm
into warm "lava-flow" rivers of silt moving around in the springs. And at the
very bottom, you'll find a road sign in case you've gotten lost. (There are other
surprises too, but you'll have to hunt for them!) Blue Lake
bluegill looking for directions. |
| There are plenty of fish in Blue Lake. These are warm-water species like
bass and bluegill. The largemouth bass are a bit more reserved than the bluegill, but are
also fairly tolerant of divers. We saw a couple of largemouth that appeared to be over 16
inches in length. A largemouth bass cruises over the moss. |
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You'll see plenty of friendly bluegill. Just hover for a while, and the
fish will swim right up to you. The bluegill can be hand-fed. They love cubed cheese and
turkey. In August, you should check out the nesting behavior of the bluegill. In about 4-8 feet depth, a bluegill will create a nesting depression, filled with irregular sharp rocks. Each depression is about 18 inches in width by 6 inches depth. The fish tend to space them about 5 feet apart, and will defend them from intruders. These are large fish, about 8 inches in length by 5 inches height. Bluegill with pink nesting colors.. |
| On the bottom, and all over the pond weed, you'll find black snails. The
snails could make good macro photographs. A small bluegill
among snails on the pond weed. |
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Exposure: Most of the year, you'll be comfortable in your
shorty, or just your farmer john. In mid-summer, many divers are comfortable without any
wet suit whatsoever. In the winter, you'll want someplace to warm up and change after the
dive. Mike Engberson tries out a sunken boat. |
| Regulations: Spearfishing is prohibited. Fees: none. Services: There are no services available at the site, not even a bathroom. There's no fresh water. Nearest dive facilities would be Grantsville (Bonneville Seabase) and Salt Lake City. If you're taking a mixed group, we'd suggest that somebody drive a camper to serve as the community bathroom and changing area. Kristen Argyle (age 11) snorkeling at Blue Lake, June 15,
1999. |
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Our recommendation: Blue Lake is definitely worth the
drive. Try to go on a weekday. You'll likely have the lake all to yourself. Although the
setting might be a little "rustic" for some "scuba widows," it's a
nice spot for a family outing if you can bring your own bathroom along. Let the older kids
snorkel and feed salmon eggs to the bluegill. Take a small rubber raft and let the family
paddle around annoying the ducks and coots. Kristen and cousin
Jeremiah paddle the leaky boat. |
| About the bugs: Blue Lake is right in the middle of a marsh. Either take insect repellant or prepare to be bug food. Bruce eyeballs a young bluegill. Picture by Mike Engberson, Sea & Sea MX-10, Sept. 29, 1998 |
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Getting there: Click here for map.
Take I-80 west to Wendover. Take the second exit -- the one after you've gone through the
notch in the mountain. Turn left, then left again onto the main street of Wendover. Drive
a block and turn right (south) on Alt-US-93 (heading towards Ely). Yes, you'll be in
Nevada. Watch for the "Blue Lake" sign about 15 miles later. Take the dirt road
east (left) 7 miles back into Utah and to lovely Blue Lake. Just one of the underwater sculptures at Blue Lake. In addition to this 9-foot scorpion, there's a praying mantiss and a gigantic hammerhead shark. Photo Bruce Argyle, Nikonos V 20 mm, June 15, 1999. |
| (Dirt road notes: When you hit the old paved road at about 1 mile, go right, then exit left on gravel again about 100 yards later. At the next fork in the road at 5.5 miles, go left, then take the next right about a half mile later.) Parking area GPS is N 40° 30.107' W 114° 02.161'. |
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