Great Excursions Home May 10, 2008
Here are some unconventional scuba diving trips in Canada - hungry mind style: a few artificial reefs, cold water diving, underwater navigation courses, mountain lakes, underwater life viewing while altitude diving. How about some lake bottom exploration in Saskatchewan, Alberta or Manitoba? Perhaps some search and rescue, navigation or deep water training? Diving at hydroelectric dam sites can also be quite a thrill.

 

Banff's Lake Minnewanka (Alberta), tour, packing trip, hiking

5 days / 4 nights

Lake Minnewanka is Banff National Park's largest lake. Minnewanka means "Water Spirit". There is a certain decadence to diving in the heart of the rockies. Big horn sheep, deer and even bears are frequently discovered. Venture to a place where nature has taken countless eons to carve a masterpiece: Devil's Gap.

 

Canada's Pacific Northwest Discovery Tour

7 to 10 days

Frankly, this is the best cold water diving in the World. Take your pick: giant octopuses, sharks, wolf-eels, salmons, marine invertebrates, and nudibranchs, artificial reefs such as breakwaters and sunken destroyers. We put together world-class seasonal excursions and liveaboard packages.

 

Canada's Waterton Lakes (Alberta-BC)

5 days / 4 nights

Rugged, windswept mountains rise abruptly out of gentle prairie grassland in spectacular Waterton Lakes National Park. At the centre of all this beauty lies Upper Waterton Lake, the deepest lake in the Canadian Rockies. Underwater cliffs and fish abound. The hull of an old steam boat lies in a shallow bay.

 

Coteau Creek Odyssey (Saskatchewan), Southern Saskatchewan Diving

1 day

This is likely the best scuba diving experience in Saskatchewan. Located on the downstream side of Gardiner Dam on Lake Diefenbaker, this is a popular dive site year round. Because of the moving water, the creek never freezes over. Swift water diving is one of the most exciting aspects of the sport. Yet it requires minimal swimming effort and provides 20'-30' visibility year round. The bottom topography has been shaped by turbulence resulting from currents of water exiting the turbines and the fish congregate in the midst of it all.

 

Duck Mountain's East Blue Lake (Manitoba, Canada)

3 days / 2 nights

Duck Mountain's rolling terrain, of woodland, wetlands and valley meadows, is home to a lake with legendary visibility. East Blue is 200 ft. deep. It oozes with life. Swimming through a school of baby perch as the sun illuminates the scene can be breathtaking. Observe the elegance of rainbow trout at day or night. Explore a beaver hut turned habitat to fish.

 

Fort Peck Dam Adventure into Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal Program (Montana)

4 days / 3 nights

Fort Peck Dam was constructed on the upper Missouri River between 1933 and 1940. It is the largest hydraulically filled dam and creates the 5th largest man-made reservoir in the United States. The dam measures approximately 4 miles in length with a maximum height of 250 feet. The lake, which lies within the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, is 134 miles long, has 1520 miles of shoreline, and has a maximum depth of 220 feet.

 

Gordon Lake of the Canadian Shield (Ontario)

5 days / 4 nights

Canadian Shield diving is rewarding for the landscape it offers above and below the surface. As you survey the boulders and rock faces that adorn the bottom you will encounter numerous trouts, especially at night. The peace of mind one achieves during these dives is almost therapeutic. The blend of rustic camping and diving may be the clear break you need from the daily grind.

 

Ice Diving in the Great Plains Adventure (Canada)

1 day

If you crave unique diving experiences, this one may be up your alley. Ice Diving is a specialty that requires proper care and training. We can get you the training and take you under 2 feet of ice. Once you get past the chilling thoughts and focus on the experience itself, you will see its appeal. A proper suit and insulation definitely help.

 

Lovering Lake: The Perfect Open Water Diving Location for Beginners (Saskatchewan)

1 day

This is our 'meat and potato destination'. A small lake on the northern plains, it offers good technical diving training opportunities. Fish species include walleye, northern pike. The floor is home to countless crayfish.

 

West Edmonton Mall (Alberta, Canada) -- an urban scuba diving destination in Edmonton

4 days / 3 nights

At 5.3 million square feet, West Edmonton Mall is the largest, most comprehensive indoor shopping and entertainment complex in the world. And yes, it is also a diving destination. It is home to the world's largest indoor man-made lake, dolphin shows, an exact replica of the Santa Maria ship and it operates 4 seaworthy submarines. You have to see it to believe it.