Is Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves good for beginner divers?

Yes, partly: 3 of the 12 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including General Butler, Champlain II and Pot Ash Point Canal Boat. The others need more experience or a higher certification.

What is the water temperature in Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves?

The water is usually between 10 °C and 21 °C over the year.

Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves

Diving in United States

12 documented dive sites, 3 of them for Open Water divers.

Best months: Jul–Sep
Water: 10–21 °C
Levels: Open Water, Advanced, Experienced
Nearest airport: BTV
One dive: €56–72

When to go

Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.

Pick a month

Best
Good
Possible
Closed
Not documented yet

Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves in November

Possible

Air: 8 °C; 3 °C at night
Rain: 90 mm; average for the year
Wind: 16 km/h; on average

Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.

Compare with another destination

The underwater preserves are open May–October. Best Jul–Sep: water is in the low 50s °F in June but can reach the low 70s °F by August. Parts of the lake freeze each winter.

Source: lcmm.org

Dive sites in Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves

From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.

Free registration is required before diving the underwater historic preserves.

Open Water friendly

usual dive down to 18 m3 sites

Wreck

down to 12 m

General Butler

An 1862 sailing canal boat resting intact in 12 m beside the Burlington breakwater, rated a beginner dive by the Maritime Museum.

Open Water

Wreck

down to 11 m

Champlain II

Open Water

Wreck

down to 11 m

Pot Ash Point Canal Boat

A pre-1862 stone-carrying canal boat in 11 m at the south end of the lake, described as accessible to all levels of divers.

Open Water

For Advanced divers

usual dive down to 30 m5 sites

Wreck

down to 6 m

Diamond Island Stone Boat

A wooden canal boat still loaded with quarried stone, lying in 4–6 m off the southeast side of Diamond Island.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 27 m

Sloop Island Canal Boat

An unnamed canal boat that sank around 1915, its hold still full of Pennsylvania coal, at 27 m north of Sloop Island.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 15 m

Burlington Bay Horse Ferry

The only remaining example of a once-popular boat design, the horse ferry rests in 15 m of Burlington Bay.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 15 m

Sunken Fleet of 1758 (Lake George)

Seven bateaux sunk in 1758 to keep them from French forces, lying in 8–15 m about a mile north of Lake George Beach.

Advanced

Wreck

down to 24 m

Coal Barge (A.R. Noyes?)

Advanced

For experienced divers

usual dive down to 40 m4 sites

Wreck

down to 27 m

Water Witch

An 1832 steamboat turned schooner that foundered in a gale with a load of iron ore, lying at 27 m south of Diamond Island.

Experienced

Wreck

down to 33 m

Land Tortoise Radeau (Lake George)

A 1758 French and Indian War gunboat, the only surviving example of her class, resting at 33 m in Lake George.

Experienced

Wreck

down to 34 m

Steamboat Phoenix

The burned hull of an 1815 steamboat lost to fire in 1819, lying on a steep slope from 18 to 34 m off Colchester Shoal.

Experienced

Wreck

down to 20 m

O.J. Walker

Experienced

Marine life

When the big encounters happen, month by month.

Reported here, season not documented yet:

Freshwater fish

What diving costs here

Here a dive costs between €56 and €72, a try dive €67 and an Open Water course €761, depending on the dive centres we checked.

One dive (certified diver)packages counted per dive: €56–721 centre
Try dive: €671 centre
Open Water course: €7611 centre

The cheapest and the most expensive of the dive centres we checked, from the prices on their own websites in October 2026. Prices change: confirm with the centre before booking.

Converted to euros at the ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026; for currencies the ECB does not publish, the official rate of the country's central bank.

Sources (3)

Where is Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves?

View on OpenStreetMapLocation: Lake Champlain (Wikipedia)Map: Natural Earth

Nearest airport: BTV

Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves: frequently asked questions

When is the best time to dive Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves?: The best months to dive Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves are Jul–Sep. The underwater preserves are open May–October. Best Jul–Sep: water is in the low 50s °F in June but can reach the low 70s °F by August. Parts of the lake freeze each winter.
Is Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves good for beginner divers?: Yes, partly: 3 of the 12 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including General Butler, Champlain II and Pot Ash Point Canal Boat. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
What is the water temperature in Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves?: The water is usually between 10 °C and 21 °C over the year.
How do you dive Lake Champlain shipwreck preserves?: The nearest airport is BTV.

About this page

Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.

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Photo: Sarah Lee on Unsplash

Photo credits

Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash