Northwest Dive Club

So, I'm moving down to the Portland / Vancouver area.

Wondering if anyone has pointers on diving options / clubs down that way. I still hope to make it out to some dives here in the sound but ThThTh isn't going to be happening for me anymore after I move at the end of the month

Sad but exciting. I hope you have fun down there. We will miss you at ThThTh!

Diving near Portland is pretty non-existent. Most people do weekend trips up to the sound. The closest place to just get wet is Klineline Pond or Battleground Lake in Vancouver or Lake Merwin east of Woodland, WA. The closest salt water is in Garibaldi out on the coast about an hour and 45 minutes away. The diving there can be a bit intense with ripping current and rocky entries. You have to plan your dives around tides and weather but it can be rewarding. I've done some beautiful dives on the Tillamook Bay jetty and some rather dark, scary ones.
The open ocean offers some good diving, mainly in summer with places like Cape Lookout, Three Arch Rocks and Cape Falcon but a boat (live in most situations) is required and the ocean itself can be a bit tempermental. There are also Pinnacles and rock walls in the ocean down by Newport and Depoe Bay but I have never dove down there. And last but not least, there's Netarts Bay. Boring but not a bad way to spend a day.

There is one spot in the Columbia I've been thinking about for years out by Rooster Rock but have never done it. Maybe its time now?

Thanks for the info @ORDiver!

I did look into dive shops in the area too so I may just have to get myself into one and talk to them about options.

I enjoy Netarts Bay even if it is only 30 feet deep and you have to watch out for crabbers and boats all the time.
I've seen octopus, Grunt Sculpins, tons and tons of Nudibranches, and the famous monkey face prickle backs.

Thinking of .. Man its been a long time since I dove there and the winter is the best -- Less boaters.
I'll have to check the tides and take a run.

You do need to watch the tides as it can rip.

Yes! One thing you'll see down here that you don't see in Puget Sound is monkeyface prickelbacks. Should be the official fish of Oregon.

i enjoy Netarts bay as much as I can. I have a vacation home 200 ft from the entry so it is kind of a no brainer. Sometimes I go crabbing, sometimes pictures, sometimes just for the heck of it. Anything to stay wet and keep the gills from growing over. On a good day you will find monkeyface pricklebacks, octopus, nudi's, ling cod, schools of perch, and juvi rock fish. On a bad day you will see nothin.
Doug