Diving in fresh water lakes

There are lots of fresh water lakes in the Netherlands. Many of them are used by divers. Many of the lakes find their origin in the turf or sand industry. The turf or sand was taken, resulting in holes that where filled with water resulting in these lakes. It would fill a book to cover them all, but we will discuss some of the most interesting ones.

The “Reeuwijkse plassen” are in the province of “Zuid-Holland” near a city called Reeuwijk. This lake is very suitable to make a night dive. The lake is also used by a lot of surfers, so be very careful when you come out of the water. There is a small sandy beach from where you can easily enter the water. There is no need to go deeper than ten meters; most of the fishes live in shallow waters. At daytime turf walls are very interesting. Night dives are best to see many of the fishes that live in the lake little rosch, pikes, little bass. Very special in this lake are the fresh water lobsters. Together with the pikes they are the main attraction of a nightly dive.

In the province of Utrecht you will find the “Vinkeveense plassen” These lakes near Vinkeveen are used a lot by divecenters to educate their students. So don’t look strange when you see divers entering the lake covered with trimix tanks. Underwater you fill find a path marked by a steel wire. When you follow the wire you will find an old city bus, a small wreck and other items. The clear water has a yellow color due to the turf. This gives a special atmosphere very suitable for an underwater photographer who is looking for something new. This divesite is also used a lot for technical diving.

One of the nicest fresh water lakes of the Netherlands can be found in one of the most northern provinces, Friesland. The lake near Luinjeberd is very accessible, which makes it ideal for even inexperienced divers. The water of the lake is light brown, this in contrast to many other lakes that have green water. The brown color is due to the turf that still can be found on the bottom. The lake was created due to the excavation of sand. This digging was not done very nicely resulting in turf walls that look a bit like the Grand Canyon. Underwater you can find lots and lots of fresh water lobsters. These animals are very curious. They will come and take a look when you are there.

To find a further description of the fresh water lakes you can best surf the internet for travel instructions. Or contact one of the diveshops in these provinces.