"Local" means less than a day of driving to me. Generally if I can wake up at dark-thirty, drive and dive in the same day, it's local.

Just because a site is here, doesn't imply I recommend it. Some are just too murky, muddy and generally miserable for use other than training.

Bainbridge is a large quarry that has a lot platforms and submerged items in the training areas. The staff are courteous and helpful.

The shop provides rental gear, air fills (no Nitrox), and some sales. There are restrooms and showers near the shop. Adjacent the water there are port-a-johns.

It is however COLD all year round below the thermocline. Drysuits are recommended for exposure longer than 20 minutes below the thermocline. At the very least wear a 7mil farmer john/jane with hood and gloves.

Expect poor visibility when OW classes are training. This can clear up down deep, but then heavy bottom silt becomes an issue. Take care and use the frog kick when near the bottom.

Depths reach to 120'. A deep boat at 90' is marked with a bouy so you can teach advanced and deep courses here.

Bainbridge is not open to swimmers.

Willow Springs is a bit further North from me and almost doesn't qualify as a "Local" site.

It is shallow (less than 60') but covers a large area. The staff are courteous and helpful.

The shop provides rentals, gear, air and Nitrox fills There are showers, a snackbar and restrooms. The snackbar is opened during the Summer only.

It has plenty of items on the bottom and they are connected by lines for easy location. This is important because the visibility is generally poor. I have encountered conditions that required touch contact diving. The water is COLD and the thermocline is usually not very deep. Drysuits or a 7mil farmer john/jane with hood and gloves are strongly recommended.

Willow Springs is swimmer friendly in the Summer. You can bring the whole family and dive while others enjoy the Park ammenities.

This is not a recommended dive site. Local shops use it as a training site for convenience, but I think the short drive doesn't justify the poor conditions.

The quarry has port-a-johns only, no shop, or showers. It is muddy and often has heavy algae. I make a trip there every few years only because I am an optimist and hope it improves. This has yet to occur. Zebra mussels did take hold there and that offered the quarry a chance, but the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries or such killed them. Here is a link to the article on the eradication of zebra mussels. This was a real pity for divers because it was a chance for Millbrook to become a decent dive site. Millbrook is not a natural lake. I would argue that the zebra were doing no harm in Millbrook. If you track the spread of zebra mussels in the USA, you will see that any local effort to stop them is a delaying tactic at best. This was a waste of tax payer money.

However, if murk and cold don't bother you, it might be for you. This quarry goes to 80'. It does have a few items sunk in it.

While not recommended, Millbrook is worth mentioning because of the sheer number of students that train there.

While it is a long drive from Maryland, Dutch Springs has a lot to offer. It is a large quarry with a lot of facilities. In fact, I am too lazy to recount them here. Go to the Dutch Springs Home Page for full details.

In summary, it is 50 acre lake with a strong zebra mussel population. This creates excellent visibility for a quarry. There are lots of things to fiind sunk on the bottom.

It has showers, restrooms, a nice snackbar, and fill station for air and Nitrox. It is swimmer friendly. On the downside Dutch can get crowded.

I will say I have encountered rude staff on one occasion. I am not sure what was up that day, but I think the guys in question really needed to mellow out. It seemed like they were there to harrass the divers. The 'Dive Police' left such a bad impression it was three years before I went back. My subsequent trip was much better.

Of the dive sites mentioned, Dutch does have the best night life after diving. The restaurants and pubs nearby are excellent.

Lake Rawlings is a gem of a quarry located on I-85 in Virginia 36 miles North of the North Carolina border.

It has excellent visibility when the OW students are not training. I've had over 40' in the Summer during a weekday visit. Temperature is usually 50 degrees or higher below the thermocline and in the Summer it reaches 80 degrees or more above the 30' thermocline.

There are restrooms and hot showers, rental cabins, camp sites and a dive shop on site. The shop sells and rents gear as well as provides Nitrox and Air fills.

The manager, Kevin, is an on-site instructor. I recommend him highly for people in the area.

Unfortunately Lake Rawlings only reaches 60' so deep training is not an option there.

Visit the Lake Rawlings website for a more complete description of this great facility.

Lake Rawlings is swimmer friendly in the Summer with the caveat that divers have precedence. Please stay clear of them.

Guppy is located in Cardiff Maryland just across the border from Delta Pennsylvania. I recall it was relatively small, murky and cold. I don't go there because the drive to Bainbridge takes as long, and that is a much larger, deeper facility.

In all fairness it has been a while since I visited and improvements were underway. I should visit there again to see how it is shaping up.

If you are a fan of Guppy, please email me and tell me why. I'd be happy to revise my entry for it.

Fantasy Lake SCUBA Park is located in Wake Forest NC just North of Raleigh-Durham. It barely qualifies as local. I went to this one in hopes of finding better 'night-life' for evenings after diving. I will say the area did not disappoint me.

The features are described on on the Fantasy Lake SCUBA Park web site. I wont repeat them other than to say it beats Willow Springs and Guppy Gulch for visibility and temperature. Lake Rawlings has better viz and the temps are too close to call.

Does the lake justify the extra distance for the drive? I am hard pressed to answer that. I will say the atmosphere there is very laid back. Other divers seemed less concerned with the clock than they do at Lake Rawlings. I attribute this to the sheer volume of divers that certify each weekend at Rawlings, and its very congested entry point. There are at least two entries at Fantasy. We did not have to compete for space at the water's edge. Caveat: We went in May so it was not peak season.

The Carolina Dive Center is less than 15 minutes away so getting Nitrox should not be a problem.

Soooo... the jury is out on Fantasy. I recommend if you normally go to Lake Rawlings, this is a nice alternative for something different. Be prepared for an extra hour plus on the road and take a few extra dollars so you can enjoy the great restaurants nearby.

Fantasy Lake SCUBA Park is not open to swimmers.