Local Shore Diving

1. Big Rock Pl. Take County C out of Brussels to County CC to Lime Kiln Rd. Claflin Rd. goes right. Go right to Big Rock Pl. to the bay. The rocky entrance is protected from the south. You can get 35′ without trying too hard. Good area for boat anchors. Give fishermen their space. Visibility: 3-25′.

2. Little Sturgeon Increase Claflin Monument at the end of Claflin Rd. Take CC of C coming from Brussels. CC ends a Claflin Road. Take a right. Go to the end. Obey parking signs. Plenty of room to park here without blocking any driveways. There is a wreck approximately 175′ long. Beam of 25′. The wreck is approximately 100 yars south of entry point at Memorial Rock. It starts close to shore, out to approximately 15′ depth. Remains of old dock are in the area also. This is an interesting dive site, even if you don’t find the wreck. Another option is to go north from the same entry point. Remains of the piers and some interesting rock structure. This is a good place to find boat anchors and fishing tackle. Again, give fishermen wide berth.

3. Vacant lot off Sherwood Point Rd. Take C out of Brussels, approximately 12 miles, to County M. Go left about 5 miles to Sherwood Road, which will veer off to the left. Vacant lot is about 1/2 mile. There is a rocky entry here, but its not too difficult. There is a rocky slope to about 30-35′. This area is protected from the east and south.

4. Cabot Point This spot is an old favorite. Take County M past Sherwood Point Rd. all the way to “T” in road. This is Cabot Point Road. Go left all the way to the end of the road at the water. There is parking along this road. There are private cottages farther down the road. This is another rocky entry. There are some nice rock structures beginning at about 10′ depth. The botom then drops fairly quickly to about 30-35′. Go either east or west along this point. There are a lot of rock bass in the shallows. This area is protected from south wind.

5. Potawatomi State Park Take County PD (Park Drive). Watch for signs off Hwy 57. It is about 4-5 miles south of Sturgeon Bay. Go north on PD past County C. The park entrance is just past the airport. A daily pass must be purchased at park office. There are numerous areas to dive in the park. One favorite is by the shelter building near the camping area. Travel south along the shore and dive from any of the picnic areas. Depths 10-28′.

6. Bull Head Point Take Duluth Street left off 42-57. Duluth St. is at the intersection of S and 42-57 by Lambert’s Lumber. This will take you down to Bull Head Point, which is a popular fishing spot directly across from Cihlar’s Concrete Products. Here you will drive out on a small peninsula where on the south side you will find the “Stone Boats”, the Ida Corning, Oakleaf, and “Empire State”, all of which were once proud schooners plying the waters of the Great Lakes. In later years they were stripped to barges and hauled limestone. the wrecks are shallow and even breaking the surface at times. The maximum depth is about 15′ and gets weedy early in the summer. After exploring the wrecks, explore around the rest of Bull Head Point.

7. Wreck Adriatic Cross Michigan Street Bridge in Sturgeon Bay. Go left on 1st St. This wreck lies in front of Bay Ship. Access can be from the vacant lot just south of Bay Ship at the foot of Jefferson St. This is Bay Ship property so it is more advisable to make this a boat dive and avoid trespassing. The wreck is between the pilings just north of Cyclone Fence that ends at the water’ edge. Shallow Dive, max 25′.

1. Wreck of the Mueller Take 42-57 north of Sturgeon Bay to BB (Gordon Road) by the gas station, convenience mart, restaurant. It is about 3 miles to Cty B which follows the bay north of Sturgeon Bay. Take County B 3-4 miles north to the gravel driveway just before Quarry Co. Park. The wreck of the Mueller lies just off the shore on the south side, parallel to the shore line. Depth drops to about 12-14′ along the side of the wreck.

2. Wreck of the Hurd The next driveway north of the Mueller site is the wreck of the Hurd. This is at Quarry Co. Park. It’s a very nice park with restrooms. Enter at boat launch and go south along the water’s edge to wreck. It’s easy to get to far from shore and miss this one. Watch for fishermen along shore. Wreck is about 200′ south from boat launch. It is only a few yards off shore just before the steel sheathing starts. Wreckage 5-20′ depth.

3. Quarry County Park Boat Launch Instead of going south to the wreck of the Hurd, go north following the rock ledge. This meets the sand at about 15-18′ depth. Deeper out a little farther extending about 100 yards off shore at 5-10′ depth just north of the boat launch. This area is protected from east and northeast winds.

4. Frank E. Murphy County Park Travel north along shoreline on County B about another 10-12 miles to Murphy Park. Enter on north side of pier. Dive along concrete breakwall. This is a flat rocky bottom changing to sand after going out a ways. There are some wagon wheels out at about 23′. Stay clear of fishermen on breakwall. After the dive enjoy the park.

5. Cave Point Take 57 north of Sturgeon Bay about 6-7 miles to Cty WD (Clark’s Lake Road). Go east to Cave Point Drive. Follow signs to Cave Point County Park. This is a very scenic area with a nice park. Equipment must be hauled down a 10′ bluff. A little teamwork works well. This is a very interesting shore line with sea caves and outcroppings. This is a shallow dive but a favorite shore dive of many. This is a shallow dive not deeper than 20′ for a couple hundred yards out.

6. Jacksonport Take Hwy 57 12 miles north of Sturgeon Bay to the town of Jacksonport. There is a park right in town. Entry can be made from either side of the house in the park. Stay clear of private property. The pilings from the old pier as well as the wreck are directly in front of the house. They start in 6-8′ of water. Everything is shallow–if you get out deeper than 13′ you are out too far. This is a very interesting dive with a lot of wreckage to explore. Visibility is usually good; however, any wind from the northeast to south can stir things up in a hurry.

1-7 Egg Harbor Area Follow County G north another 3-4 miles to Sunset Rd, directly across from Alpine Gold Course. There are numerous dives here off the dead ends of Sunset Road, Beachview Road, Green Bay Lane, Shady Lane, Moonlight Lane, Dawn Lane, and Cross Lane. This is a mostly stony area with a gradual slope down to about 30′. This area makes an exceptional night dive with lots of marine life. Be respectful of homeowners in the area and don’t block driveways.

1. Juddville Road Take Hwy 12 north of Egg Harbor 2-3 miles to Juddville Road. Go west 1/2 mile to dead end at water. This is an interesting dive with old pier structure. You can find 25′ depth without going out too far. Bottom is rock in close, to sand out a little deeper. Protection from east wind.

2. Peninsula Player Road Half mile north of Juddville Road is Peninsula Player Road. Follow it down to the parking area on the north side. This area also has old pier structures with some depth. There has been china found here. It is also protected from the east. This area is a little deeper than the Juddville site.

3. Peninsula State Park A park sticker or daily pass will be needed here. After passing by park office watch for Weborg Pier. This will be in the Weborg camping area. Dive on either side of the concrete pier. Enjoy good visibility and chances are you will come up with a few fishing lures. There is a shelter building here with restrooms. Continue along the shore road and you will find other vehicle turn outs and small parking lots for scenic overlooks. These areas provide easy access to the water, and are nice shore dives.

4. Pebble Beach Continue north on 2 from Peninsula State Park to Pebble Beach Road, which is at the bottom of the hill. Follow Pebble Beach Road down to the water. This area is protected from all directions except from the north. Enter water at the dead end and go either east or west. This is a good area to pick up boat anchors and explore the ruins of an old pier which would be west of entry point. 25-35′ max depth.

5. Waters End Road Continue north on Hwy 42 to Waters End Road just north of Sister Bay. Turn left to the dead end at water. There was a huge pier here at one time and there are huge pilings scattered around. This area has generally good visibility and fair amount of marine life. Swim out about 20 yards after the rocky bottom meets the sand to find the timbers. Protection here is from the east. Pilings at 25-30′ depth.

6. Porcupine Bay Road Continue north on Hwy 42 to Porcupine Bay Road. Follow this down to water. Have a vehicle with good brakes. This is a hilly area with steep slopes. This area has a stony beach with some interesting rock structure below the surface with good visibility. Protection here is from the east. Depth of 70′ can be reached from shore.

7. Fleetwing Take 42 north to Ellison Bay. Garrett Bay Road will veer off to the left. Follow this road to the old boat launch. The wreck of the Fleetwing will be east of the old boat launch about 100′ off. Just enter at the boat launch. Go east in 10′ of water. There are some old cribbing in the area. There are 4 sections of wreck in close and north of the wreckage about 20-25′ depth another large section can be found. The Fleetwing was 136′ long. It was a 3-masted schooner. It ran aground in Garrett Bay on Sept. 26, 1888. Usually good visibility can be found here.

8. Gill’s Rock Take Hwy 42 north of Ellison Bay to Gills Rock where Hwy 42 makes a 90 degree turn to the right towards Northport and the car ferry. Go straight to get to the parking lot of the Shoreline Resort. There is a nice shore dive in front of the resort where depths of 70′ can be found not far off shore. Stay clear of the passenger ferry that operates nearby.