Devil's Lake
This was our first dive of the year! We had previously dived in Devil's Lake several times before. In fact, this was where we completed our check-out dives for our Open Water certification back in May of 2021. It's only an hour drive from our house and we are familiar with the lake, so we thought it would be a great first place to go for the season and to practice with our relatively new dry suits.
Devil's Lake is located within Devil's Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin. This is one of the most (if not THE most) popular state parks in the state, and maybe even the region. It's most well-known for its bluffs which are fantastic to hike and offer phenomenal views of the lake 500 feet below. In fact, Eric and I spent our first date hiking the West Bluff Trail. 😊
The lake is a nice place to learn how to dive, since it's relatively shallow with a maximum depth of 47 feet and an average depth of 30 feet. In addition, the lake is designated as slow-no-wake. The only boats you will probably see are canoes, kayaks, and small fishing boats. You do have to pay a fee in order to enter the park; we always buy a 12-month state parks pass since we like to hike and camp at various state parks throughout the year.
The most common place to enter the lake for diving is along the east side. This is where we had always previously entered. However, it is very rocky here and you have to walk a bit of a distance from the parking lot. We decided to enter along the south shore this time, which still involved us hauling our gear from the parking lot to the picnic table along the shore, which is where we kitted up.
We anticipated great visibility; in fact, that is one of the main reasons we decided to try diving there as early as March. The earlier in spring, the better the visibility, right? Wrong. The visibility was quite poor, only five feet or so. Most of the dive was along the flat, mucky bottom with no sightings of fish. What did we see? A beer can, a beer bottle, two dead fish, and a golf ball. I guess we dove there too early in the season before the lake completely settled. It was also very cold, about 38 ℉. Our bodies stayed warm with our dry suits and thermal undersuits; it was our hands that froze. 5 mm wet gloves just didn't cut it! I lost feeling in my fingers after about 15 minutes in the water. Definitely need thicker gloves next time!
Since this was our first dive of the year, we were out of practice with our dry suits. We had trouble sinking and struggled with our buoyancy throughout the dive, and we didn't realize until AFTER we finished the dive that our dry suit over-pressure valves were completely closed. This was definitely a face-palm, rookie moment. We can't believe we didn't notice our suits were filled up with air like a balloon; no wonder we couldn't sink! At least we won't make this mistake a second time, and this dive was meant for practice with the dry suits anyway.
After the dive, we refueled at Little Village Cafe in downtown Baraboo on the square. The zucchini asiago soup hit just right! We also highly recommend their chocolate malts. 😋
Site Overview
Devil's Lake is located within Devil's Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin. This is one of the most (if not THE most) popular state parks in the state, and maybe even the region. It's most well-known for its bluffs which are fantastic to hike and offer phenomenal views of the lake 500 feet below. In fact, Eric and I spent our first date hiking the West Bluff Trail. 😊
The lake is a nice place to learn how to dive, since it's relatively shallow with a maximum depth of 47 feet and an average depth of 30 feet. In addition, the lake is designated as slow-no-wake. The only boats you will probably see are canoes, kayaks, and small fishing boats. You do have to pay a fee in order to enter the park; we always buy a 12-month state parks pass since we like to hike and camp at various state parks throughout the year.
The most common place to enter the lake for diving is along the east side. This is where we had always previously entered. However, it is very rocky here and you have to walk a bit of a distance from the parking lot. We decided to enter along the south shore this time, which still involved us hauling our gear from the parking lot to the picnic table along the shore, which is where we kitted up.
Location: Baraboo, WisconsinFish Observed: Panfish, BassMax Lake Depth: 47 feet (14 meters)Average Lake Depth: 30 feet (9 meters)Fee: [WI Resident - Daily $13, 12-mo. $28] [Out-of-State - Daily $16, 12-mo. $38]
Dive Log