Each summer, Lake Minnewanka attracts thousands of scuba divers from all over Alberta & even the world. During each & every year, thousands of Alberta's scuba divers and local dive students complete nearly 10,000 dives in Banff National Park. Most come to see the submerged ruins of the 1912 dam, which was flooded out when the current dam (operated by TransAlta Utilities) was build in 1941.
Banff National Park offers some spectacular dive sites, in particular, Lake Minnewanka - sometimes called Alberta's favourite dive site. It's certainly one of the most famous. Please, do your part to help keep it that way!
 Here are some tips for protection both the heritage resources "down under" and your own safety while scuba diving in Banff.
Scuba Divers, heading to Lake Minnewanka? Please remember to prepare for:
- Cold Water
- High Altitude
- Boating Hazards - do not use the boat launch area for entry/exit point, do not leave an empty boat moored to the townsite marker buoy
- Low Visibility
- Deep Dive
- Tow your dive flag buoy or set up a dive flag float & try to stay close when diving at Lake Minnewanka before/after the safety marker buoys go in near the dam site, bridge pilings & adjacent shore area. Also recommended when diving the "Cliff's Dive Site & Town-site Dive area.
 Many dives at Lake Minnewanka are "advanced dives" which require the proper training & equipment. If you are a "novice" diver, it is suggested that you first check out Two Jack Lake, nearby, the home of "The Fish Bowl" and "The Trench". As there is a ban on motorized boating at Two Jack, the use of a dive flag/float is usually a personal choice. Floats can be a useful tool to set a down line to practice descending/ascending. Plus the bigger float/flags can hold extra weights, so you can also work on getting your "weighting" right, etc. Most instructors have a float regardless of the boat traffic potential.
You could also see your local favourite dive centre for a guided dive to orient yourself for diving at Banff. Or contact a local dive club and join them for many "camp & dive opportunities" throughout the season. Or continue your dive training by participating in one of the many advanced dive specialities offered by the area's dive retailers and instructors.
Remember: Don't "Wreck" it........ for all the divers who will follow you by:
- Fastening objects (lawn ornaments, signs, yes even toilets) onto hertitage structures or on the park lake bottoms
- Scraping graffiti messages onto submerged heritage resources
- Carving initials or names into wooden structures
- Tying dive flags to cultural resources
- Removing or damaging underwater artifacts
Be aware that all of the above activites are ILLEGAL in a National Park & make a very bad name for all scuba divers in Alberta!
- Pleas
 e try to control your buoyancy & do not to grab onto & damage the structures
See here for Parks Canada's site for more detailed information about the underwater heritage to be found in Banff's Lake Minnewanka underwater.
Direct Benefits of Membership in the AUC to those enjoying scuba diving in Banff: In the past, the AUC, with the support of many local area divers, instructors & Calgary dive stores, were involved in the development of the stairs/washroom at the "plaque" site at Lake Minnewanka. This included both financial & liason support with AUC, representing the local & Alberta diving community to dialogue & work with Parks Canada. Funds earned from AUC volunteers working at various Casinos, Bingos and also AB Gov. Grants were used back then and recently over 5k was spent by the AUC to purchase & upgrade the "Safety Marker Buoys" that are used at Minnie to enhance the safety & enjoyment of divers participating in pleasure dives or training dives. These marker buoys show the location of the 1912 submerged dam site (and "townsite") and deliniate a "no-power-boating-allowed" area which includes the dam & bridge piling sites and the shoreline adjacent. In just the last few years, area divers & instructors have now been able to safely enjoy their dives and not have to duck & worry about the location of the boat producing the roar of motors & props racing overhead during the popular summer dive season! This is a real boon to divers, dive-masters, instructors and has prevented the potential of a serious or even fatal boater/diver collision. AUC supported divers/volunteers install and remove this system of "safety marker buoys" at Lake Minnewanka each year in the spring and fall, together with air fills - which have been generously donated by Aqua Sport Scuba Centre (Calgary) for several years now.
Volunteer Divers wanted to participate in the annual lake cleanups organized by the Alberta Underwater Council (AUC), local Alberta dive clubs and dive retailers:
Plus in the fall of each year volunteers needed on shore & underwater & paddling in boats for these additional specific lake cleanups in Alberta:
- Banff Lake Cleanup (usually held Sunday after the Labour Day Weekend) - More info to come as details are finalized closer to this years event: Sept 12, 2010
- Sylvan Lake Cleanup (usually held the 3rd Saturday in September each year - since 2003) Divers, Paddlers & Shore support volunteers needed for this big annual cleanup at main beach area of Sylvan Lake beach.
- Wainwright's Pumpkin Carving Dive Event & Clear Lake Cleanup (usually held the last Saturday in September for the better weather, participation & less boat traffic)
- See also local Calgary Dive Centre's for their list of local underwater cleanups, e.g. Lake Chapparel in Calgary
Alberta's Divers - thank you for continuing to pick up all the trash found
during every dive that you make - in our local lakes, provincial park lakes
and in the National Park lakes like Banff & Jasper!
With your help, a combined estimate of over 25 tons (and counting) of garbage has been removed by scuba divers & shore volunteers from all over the province from the lake waters of Alberta since 1975 when awareness of environmental issues started to be enthasiastically embraced by many in Alberta's diving community.
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