Ohio: Gilboa Quarry - The Great Return
3763 Old State Rte 224, Ottawa, OH 45875
August 1st – 3rd, 2025
It's been 84 years, and I can still smell the fresh paint. The wrecks had never been dove. The buoys had never been cleaned. Gilboa Quarry was called the Quarry of Drea-, oh shit...That’s was the Titanic. This was very much not that, but we did have frigid temps and a hunt for the angry squirrel.
The updated management has continued to make improvements since the last visit three long years ago. A small coffee food truck operates on the weekends and with digital entry forms check in is quick and easy. Weekend wrists bands makes repeated entry into the quarry easy and allows you to avoid long lines of everyone else checking in for the first time. Instructors still require parking passes to park near the water however there is a large convoy of carts that can be used to schlep gear and tanks from the front office and parking lot down to the shallow docks.
There are three docks (4, 5, and 6) that are located on the shallow side, in about 40’ of water. The instructor parking area still has tables to gear up on and several aged porta potties and a couple changing huts. Not much has changed in the water since last visit. Visibility is still very nice, even when someone hits the bottom and the wrecks are still in good condition. Navigation via the lines is easy and accessible to see all the major attractions. It is rumored that the sturgeon has died and there is no longer one in the water.
Thankfully, the angry squirrel has been found! It moved to the lower ledge of the wall, near the forest and after making a turtle friend is much less angry. While care should always be given while diving, murder is less in the water and the squirrel is no longer out for blood.
