Alberta's dive sites sit in glacial lakes across the Canadian Rockies and surrounding foothills, with sites near Banff, Jasper, Waterton Park, and Bragg Creek. The water is cold year-round, and altitude affects decompression calculations, so divers need to adjust their dive tables or computers accordingly. A drysuit is strongly advisable; even summer temperatures in glacier-fed lakes can be well below ten degrees Celsius. Sites range from the submerged townsite of Minnewanka Landing at Lake Minnewanka to deliberately placed artificial reefs and a wooden barge at Patricia Lake, suiting beginners through to intermediate divers. Freshwater species including lake trout, pike, burbot, and sturgeon are present across the region.
4 areas
3High-altitude cold-water lakes in Banff National Park, including the flooded historical townsite of Minnewanka Landing.
2Alpine lake diving in Jasper National Park, with a sunken wooden barge at Patricia Lake and a warmer shallow site at Edith Lake.
2Cold freshwater lake diving in a national park setting, with a wreck, walls, and drop-offs suited to intermediate divers.
211 operators
Fin maps 9 sites in Alberta (9 scuba diving sites), organised into 4 areas.
Across Alberta's dive sites, June, July, August and September are most often reported as the best months to visit.
Rocky Mountain freshwater diving in Kananaskis, from the calm shallow artificial reef at Forget-Me-Not Pond to the glacier-fed Upper Kananaskis Lake.
