Snowflakes melt instantly upon touching the water of Lake Billy Chinook near Madras. It is February of 2008 and I float in a thick wetsuit shouldering scuba diving gear in 45-degree water. I shiver and feel awe at the thought of living under that water for a moment.
As one might expect, there is not a lot to see under the surface of the reservoir where I am embarking on my final step for PADI Open Water Diver certification with Central Oregon Diving. The lake usually hosts a number of crawfish, kokanee salmon, bass, and trout, but on this winter day I mostly notice the muddy ground, upturned sticks, and snow falling onto the compass before descent. Yet a new exhilaration opens upon the first few intakes and exhales of breath underwater.
Scuba diving will change my life forever. It will shift how I see and exist in the world.
“Diving does provide a lot of relaxation and mental peace,” said Sarah Clark, member of Central Oregon Diving. “It slows your heart rate. It’s quiet, it’s freeing, and relaxing hearing the rhythmic breathing.”
“Anywhere there is water you’ll see people who want to figure out what you can do,” added Jonathan Ingram, PADI Master Instructor and office manager of Central Oregon Diving. He noted that diving is yet another outdoor activity available year-round in this local landscape with so many lakes.
Scuba diving presence started in Central Oregon about 45 years ago when a space opened in a garage and eventually became part of the Powder House, according to Clark. In 2005, three partners purchased the air compressor and scuba diving division to establish Central Oregon Diving.
The dive shop is tucked away on Greenwood Avenue in Bend and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. About 30 PADI courses are offered annually from Open Water Certification to professional levels of education. The shop hosts regional and international dive trips and gathers people together at locations like Lake Billy Chinook, Clear Lake, Elk Lake, and Cultus Lake for different events and cleanup dives.
A few years after that snowy certification day at Lake Billy Chinook, I was welcomed into an adventurous crew of divers from Eugene. We would dive the Central Oregon high mountain lakes and witness images that I never perceived before. I existed in presence with the colorful carnage of spawning kokanee salmon in Crescent Lake and the 3,000-year-old trees preserved in the cold water of Clear Lake.
Eye to eye with such beings opened new ways to participate in life and recognize mathematical patterns of nature inherent in all environments. I became aware of space underwater, and thus above it, too.
An annual Deschutes River cleanup dive, in association with the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, usually covers the stretch of river flowing by Bend’s Old Mill District. Cleanups provide a way to help the environment, be part of community and blow bubbles while finding unexpected treasures. Hundreds of pounds of items lost overboard, such as “beer fish,” sunglasses, and car keys, are found and retrieved from the river.
The events create ways to share awareness about supporting the environment, such as using reef safe sunscreen, and serves as a reminder to not throw trash into the water.
“It is a promotion of safe fun and talking to people about things that impact us in our small area,” Clark said. “That becomes global.”
Diving in Central Oregon also provides time and space to hone skills that can be applied to other locations. Regional sites enable divers to practice navigation in low visibility, become accustomed to colder temps, control buoyancy, feel their own presence in the water, learn about altitude when planning a dive, and generally build confidence.
Plus, you never know what you are going to experience within the underwater terrain of Central Oregon.
“In lake diving, you have to make your own fun,” said Clark. “There are a lot of things to pay attention to underwater.”
That fun can include meeting new dive buddies whose friendships extend beyond diving, helping the environment with cleanups, getting a groove on at underwater dance parties, exploring the fun world of communicating with hand signals, and being a part of life like you may have never imagined before.
This article appears in Source Weekly June 12, 2025.
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