Prowling the South: Alabama and Tennesee
September 25th – 30th, 2025
After returning back from the last Florida adventure, one would think that, that would have been enough. That, as per tradition, it would be another six or so months before those bad choices were once again made. However, they would be wrong and this time, an even worse idea was planned; flying into Florida, and then driving back to Chicago. The saving grace being we to knock out diving in Alabama and Tennessee along the way.
Blue Water Park
100 Industrial Park Dr, Pelham, AL 35124
An active limestone quarry opening sometime in the 1950’s was active until the late 1990s, when the pumps were shut off and the quarry slowly filled up. It was bought by Alabama Blue Water Adventures in 2001 and opened for SCUBA diving. Later, they changed its name to Dive Alabama. Most recently it was under new ownership as Blue Water Park in 2018.
The Park is approximately 26 acres with a maximum depth of around 140’ deep. Getting down to the water requires a walk down a steepish paved walkway down to the entry platforms. Each side of the quarry has an entry platform with steps that lead to a small holding area of shallow water to stand and adjust gear before swimming out into the quarry. Directly below the shallow dock a couple of lines lead to a platform and presumably off to the sailboat. However, deeper than about 50’ visibility went to zero and it got too dark to continue.
The site is what you would expect to see for an inland quarry. The western corner was easier to navigate and had more things to look at in a more condensed area. On the eastern side, without lines connecting the objects side is a lot of swimming along and hoping to stumble into something.
The shop offers rentals, air fills and anything else you’d need from a dive site shop. A fine enough dive location, and something different in the middle of Alabama, but not one that would require a rushing back for a revisit anytime soon.
ScubaDive 65
24076 Pleasant Hill Rd, Ardmore, TN 38449
From Alabama continued up north, and visited Scuba Dive 65, another privately owned quarry in the back roads of Tennessee. The quarry is newer, having only been opened since 2021, however even in this short time it is a very interesting and well stocked with plenty of different fish and things to see. Different from most sites, freshwater jellyfish were in bloom and provided something that hadn’t been seen before.
ScubaDive 65 is a smaller quarry, only about 3 million gallons but is jam packed with artifacts, skeletons and all the “typical” things you find in a quarry. However, what makes this different is the placement of the objects around the quarry. The sailboat is floating upside down with pirate skeletons clambering along the masts. Another boat is mounted vertically, along with a 45’ long shipping container that’s tilted on its side. Several of the objects are marked with decoy ducks on the surface instead of the typical buoy balls which adds to the ambiance and has helped bring two actual ducks, Donald and Daisy as residents. Underwater lines connect training platforms with the different objects making it easy to navigate around without having to rely on a compass.
The owner, David, has spent a lot of time and energy making sure that the quarry is healthy and doing what he can do to keep visibility above average. Bubblers help oxygenate the water, and cycles the water to ensure there aren’t dead spots and keeps the thermocline low. He is actively adding more to the quarry and while it already seems full of things to see doesn’t feel overcrowded or stuffy.
An added bonus that other quarries don’t have, is an onsite sleeping quarters. They offer a small cabin that has two double beds and a single bed with a shared kitchenet. This was a very interesting dive site to and will be revisiting in the future to see what else he’s added and further develops an already enjoyable dive site.
