[medicdiver]

Originally Posted by gNats

Navy, I really can't say which I like the best, because each offers something unique the others do not.

I really do believe that WS is by far the prettiest. I love swimming along the rock wall and there is a tree dumping ground I found last Spring with Matt (PvtStash). It look like old Xmas and fallen trees had at one time just been tossed into this one area.

I love Portage's family topside atmosphere. Maybe that is because the few times I have been there, it included camping and a group of people who were making a few days of it. We camped, cooked, had bonfires, and dove. Played frisbee during surface intervals. At Portage, you can enter the water from every rustic campsite. So, literally, pop out of your tent, don your gear, and walk into the water.

Gilboa, well, it's Gilboa. It has this reverence about it. It has lots to see and the fish buzzing around you like shark feeding frenzy is a neat experience. There is camping at Gilboa also, but it "feels" more crowded than at Portage. For some reason, maybe the colder water, maybe the deeper depths (even in the shallow area) Gilboa just feels more challenging.

The management and personnel of each quarry is top notch. They are there to run a business, but they are still very customer driven and if you follow their rules they will demonstrate their customer service ten-fold.

If you can't afford to wreck dive in the Great Lakes and you want to dive in a location where you don't have to tow a flag or worry about boat traffic, these quarries offer a great day or weekend experience.

People in Michigan and OH are very lucky. I didn't realize how fortunate I was in regards to diving options until I started to head down to Missouri and realized how fortunate we are in the upper Midwest to have not just quarries but the Great Lakes and a lot of natural springs and lakes.

This is a very true statement. When I was in Ohio, I had the chance to dive Whitestar and Gilboa. I liked both of them. I was able to dive Gilboa in a 5mm hyperstretch without getting that cold. The shallow side is deeper than 60ft as you go down what I guess was a road. There are some tubes that are placed on top of each other making a pretty cool swim thru. I hope to hit Gilboa again in the future.
As for White star, I dove it April 1st in 2007. It was a cold dive with the temp being around 45 degrees. Visibility was great but I can't remember what it was. It was a good place to scooter as well.