Athens Scuba Park is one big exotic lagoon in the Piney Woods of East Texas. From the aerial photographs you can make out the shapes of airplanes, buses, and Clint Eastwood’s film crew’s triple-decker party barge on the bottom of the spring-fed lake.
Of course, those cool obstacles weren’t at the bottom of the lake in 1987 when Calvin and Shannon Wilcher bought the place. Where others saw a dumping ground full of old refrigerators and furniture, Calvin saw a place to go scuba diving.
The eight-acre reservoir is the former quarry for the Athens Brick Company. The company moved to Mineral Wells after the miners hit a spring that filled the pit.
“We like to keep the divers off the bottom of the lake,” says Alex Wilcher, dive shop sales manager and the founders’ son. “You stir up that clay and it creates a big cloud.”
Normally the visibility in the warm water is around 35 feet but exceeds 70 feet on some days. It can take an entire weekend to explore all 15 sunken objects.
Over the years the Wilchers have added two jets, three cabin cruisers, and a cave to the underwater labyrinths. Many divers take advantage of the lakeside campground to add a night dive to their exploration.
Athens Scuba Park is at 500 N. Murchison, just a couple of blocks off TX-31, east of the county courthouse in Athens. The dive shop can be reached at 903/675-5762 or www.athensscubapark.com.
1,263rd in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of “Day Trips,” is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 40312, South Austin, TX 78704.
This article appears in October 9 • 2015.
