Heaven in the hills.
Tenkiller State Park boasts abundant beauty and fun to water enthusiasts both above and below the water's surface. Home to Nautical Adventure's second location called The Dive Hut, which offers convenient services to scuba divers and park visitors alike, Tenkiller State Park is a popular destination featuring a widely sought after scuba diver's playground. With three locations to explore, there is something for diver's of every certification level.
Dive Park
The Dive Park is the main attraction for scuba divers at Tenkiller State Park. Featuring a multitude of sunken vessels, artifacts, monuments, treasures, trinkets and lots of fish, the dive park is one of the best dive sites found in Lake Tenkiller. From boats, a bus, a plane and even a United States Coast Guard helicopter, divers can explore and even swim through vehicles, providing an experience similar to wreck diving. Established in 2005, Tim Knight of Nautical Adventures worked closely with the Army Corpse of Engineers and Tenkiller State Park to provide an attraction for scuba divers to experience the joy of lake diving.
Map of the Dive Park provided below.
Bluff View
South of the Dive Park is an area accessible by the Bluff View picnic and camping areas. This location has been a popular training area for Open Water students from around the tristate area. Divers can follow the rocky slopes from one training platform to another before reaching spectacular bluffs near Crappie Point. The bluffs span an area larger than 50 feet across with overhangs as deep as 20 feet. See if you can find the infamous "Buddy Phone", and don't forget to ring the bell on your way out!
Map of Bluff View provided below.
Hickory Flats
Located across the channel from Fisherman's Point, Hickory Flats offers a dive experience much different from the other two locations. Here divers can find a gradual slope and patchy areas of white sand sprinkled amongst the rocky floor. The main attraction at Hickory Flats may be the massive boulders that create small canyons, creating the perfect hiding places for flathead catfish.
Dive Park
The Dive Park is the main attraction for scuba divers at Tenkiller State Park. Featuring a multitude of sunken vessels, artifacts, monuments, treasures, trinkets and lots of fish, the dive park is one of the best dive sites found in Lake Tenkiller. From boats, a bus, a plane and even a United States Coast Guard helicopter, divers can explore and even swim through vehicles, providing an experience similar to wreck diving. Established in 2005, Tim Knight of Nautical Adventures worked closely with the Army Corpse of Engineers and Tenkiller State Park to provide an attraction for scuba divers to experience the joy of lake diving.
Map of the Dive Park provided below.
Bluff View
South of the Dive Park is an area accessible by the Bluff View picnic and camping areas. This location has been a popular training area for Open Water students from around the tristate area. Divers can follow the rocky slopes from one training platform to another before reaching spectacular bluffs near Crappie Point. The bluffs span an area larger than 50 feet across with overhangs as deep as 20 feet. See if you can find the infamous "Buddy Phone", and don't forget to ring the bell on your way out!
Map of Bluff View provided below.
Hickory Flats
Located across the channel from Fisherman's Point, Hickory Flats offers a dive experience much different from the other two locations. Here divers can find a gradual slope and patchy areas of white sand sprinkled amongst the rocky floor. The main attraction at Hickory Flats may be the massive boulders that create small canyons, creating the perfect hiding places for flathead catfish.
An honorable monument to the uscg.
The Tenkiller Dive Park is home to a monumental aircraft with a lot of history! Pictured in its hay day, helicopter number 1469 began her career at the USCG station in Brooklyn NY where all of the USCG helicopters spent their first two years in service. The original picture was sent to Tim Knight by Mr. Bill Baswell who was a crew chief on the aircraft for over a year and was kind enough to share a few fascinating stories of rescue missions performed with the aircraft.
1469 spent most of her career in Sitka, Alaska followed up with time in San Diego where she was later decommissioned. In 2007, with the help of Mr. Ron Pomeroy, Nautical Adventures was able to rescue the rescue craft from a wheat field in Kansas where several avionics schools had already salvaged most of the electronics, engine and transmission.
1469 spent most of her career in Sitka, Alaska followed up with time in San Diego where she was later decommissioned. In 2007, with the help of Mr. Ron Pomeroy, Nautical Adventures was able to rescue the rescue craft from a wheat field in Kansas where several avionics schools had already salvaged most of the electronics, engine and transmission.
It took over two years to acquire a permit from the Corps of Engineers to sink the craft in what has been deemed by the men that served on 1469 as her "final resting place". Thanks to the help from several avid scuba divers, the Nautical Adventures team pulled nearly two miles of wiring out of the aircraft along with a couple of the fuel bladders and all of the hydraulics to make the aircraft environmentally safe for Lake Tenkiller and safe for divers of all levels to explore.
our own piece of history.
An excerpt from a book titled United States Coast Guard Ships Planes and Stations, printed by the U.S Government Printing Office in 1972, found in the University of Minnesota library, dated September 28, 1972, showing HH-3F number 1469 in action. Source/Credit: https://books.googleusercontent.com
Map of Lake Tenkiller's Dive park
Dive Park Map coordinates by Jason Junkens. Illustrations by Elizabeth Elliott
map of lake Tenkiller's bluff view
Bluff View Map coordinates by Martin and Josh Briggs. Illustrations by Elizabeth Elliott