Haigh Quarry, Kankakee, Illinois

Posted: Jul 13 in Dive Blog tagged Illinois Diving by Jan

Located in Kankakee, Illinois, two hours from Peoria, Haigh Quarry is one of our favorite dive destinations in the Midwest.  Haigh is an old limestone quarry with sheer rock walls, rock piles depths of up to 85 feet,  and a healthy and diverse fish population that include sunfish, bass, northern pike, catfish, & spoon bill catfish.  The north end of the lake is relatively shallow with depths of between 20 – 30 feet deep, and is a favorite location for northern Illinois dive stores to conduct their training dives.

This area contains a number of dive platforms and mining equipment.  The southern portion of the quarry is around 40 – 60 feet deep with the south east corner having a “deep hole” at 85 feet.  A number of man made objects have been sunk in this portion of the lake for the enjoyment of divers, including .   A fun dive is to cruise along the wall in the deeper portion of the lake at depths between 20 – 25 feet.  Two docks make diving the southern portion of the lake quite easy.

Above water amenities include a snack shack, changing rooms, and a stone pavilion with fire place.   Equipment rentals and air fills are available on site.  C card required.  Daily entrance fee is $25