Recreating below the surface – Lake Tenkiller’s hidden treasure.

Photo By Tiffany Natividad | 2010 arrival of the USCG helicopter to her final resting place at Tenkiller Dive Park.  

OK, UNITED STATES

08.10.2022

Story by Tiffany Natividad 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District

TULSA, OK- Nestled in the hills of Cookson in eastern Oklahoma, you can find beautiful Tenkiller Ferry Lake. This lake received its name after the Tenkillers, a Cherokee Indian family that operated a ferry service near the site where the dam now stands.

One of the hidden gems on Tenkiller Lake lies just below the surface of the water. Located off Fisherman’s Point in the state park, is Nautical Adventures Dive Park. This park is the only dedicated scuba park in the area and was first opened in 2004. “The only concern we had when planning for the dive park was from the wildlife department, but the comical part is all of these structures have now become great fish habitat” said Tim Knight, owner, and dive instructor of Nautical Adventures in Cookson, OK.

The Dive Park features a multitude of sunken vessels, artifacts, monuments, and treasures and has turned in to prime real-estate for several fish species in the lake including large schools of crappie, largemouth and smallmouth bass.

Working in conjunction with the Oklahoma Tourism Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nautical Adventures was allowed to sink several large items to create this wonderful Dive Park. Most of the larger structures have been donated by various different sources and include several boats, a school bus, a plane, and a Unites States Coast Guard helicopter. These structures give divers the opportunity to explore and swim through the vessels, providing an experience similar to wreck diving.

“This is a great area and a great location for everybody, and we had no idea it was going to be this popular,” said Tim Knight. On average the dive park hosts 60-100 divers daily on a busy summer weekend with a crowd around 15-20 on any other given day. Tenkiller Lake is known for its clear waters at lower depths making it a great area to have this park.

The Dive Park is home to a monumental aircraft with a lot of history and is by far the main attraction. U.S. Coast Guard helicopter 1469 began her career in Brooklyn, NY. From there she spent most of her career in Sitka, AK followed by some time in San Diego, CA where she was decommissioned in 2007. Nautical Adventures was able to rescue the aircraft from a wheat field in Kansas and add her to the Dive Park in 2010.

Nautical Adventures not only offers diving classes but has recently developed a scavenger hunt around the dive park and throughout the lake, where divers can search for treasure bottles. These bottles have a unique QR code that allows divers to scan and learn some of the history of old homesteads in the lake and collect prizes. “This is just another way for us to share the rich history of the lake and get more people involved in diving.” Said Tim Knight. “We plan on making this a yearly thing and have already started working on this winter’s hunt”.

Tenkiller Dive Park is always expanding and is currently working on replacing the school 1950’s school bus with a grain silo and possibly adding more military themed vessels and submerged veteran’s memorial piece.

• Date Taken: 08.10.2022
• Date Posted: 08.16.2022 21:51
• Story ID: 426967
• Location: OK, US