Diving the Oakland Ridges in Fort Lauderdale

Colorful reefs, hundreds of fish, and enough lobster to max out your bag; diving the Oakland Ridges is a trip in itself. Next time you’re in South Florida, put this mooring site on your map as your next dive or snorkel destination.

Diving the Oakland Ridges in Fort Lauderdale:

Diving the Oakland Ridges Overview:

If you dive with a local shop, this will likely be the second dive of the day after the Tracey, Jay Scutti, Robert Edmister, Peter McAllister, or Merci Jesus. (All these wrecks lie just east of the Oakland Ridges.)

The Oakland Ridges are best enjoyed on a drift dive and the local shops who go here will treat the dive as such. This will allow you more bottom time, less air consumption, and more area covered.

Additionally, the dive site can be accessed from your own boat with mooring balls almost always available! The area serves great for fishing, lobstering, spearfishing, and hunting lionfish.

The buoys are even within striking distance from a few popular beaches if you take your own kayak. Loggerhead Park in Fort Lauderdale has a parking lot just steps away from the beach. It’s the easiest spot to launch your kayak! If the parking lot is full, turn just down the street to Vista Park. Just don’t forget your dive flag!

Navigation and Layout of the Dive Site:

The Oakland Ridges (and every other reef tract in South Florida) runs parallel to the shore on a north and south axis. This axis is, as the name would suggest, a series of ridges that takes you along beautiful ledges, reef structures, and small caves.

However, this reef is known to break into “finger-like” structures that jet out from the ridge. This means you may find yourself in some sand spots between these finger ledges. Ultimately, if you’re traveling a general northern or southern direction, you shouldn’t get lost while exploring the vibrant coral reef.

The same cannot be said if you go east or west. If you go too far west, you’ll end up in 15 feet of water seeing nothing but sand. If you go too far east, you’ll be in 30 + feet of water with nothing but sand.

Stick to the ledge and you won’t have any trouble!

What you may see while scuba diving the Oakland Ridges:

The possibilities are endless! Overall, South Florida offers a wide array of marine life. This is the best site in the area for finding lobster and I’ve even seen, quite possibly, the largest one in my life tucked away in a small cave.

• The 11 Coolest Ocean Animals in Florida
• Common Sharks Seen While Diving in Florida
• Sea Turtles of Florida

Resources for Diving in Fort Lauderdale:

When available, we highly recommend Reef Smart Cards for any dive. They create beautiful waterproof cards that play a critical role in your dive plan. Their book (shown below) is a great reference for most dive sites in the Fort Lauderdale area.

What Dive Shops go to the Oakland Ridges?

• American Dream Dive Charters behind the Hilton on 17th Avenue just south of downtown. They run a great, clean, and basic operation aboard their Newton Dive Boat. Don’t hesitate to book with their crew!
• Sea Experience in Bahia Mar Marina on Fort Lauderdale Beach. This is a full dive shop with classes, charters, retail, and guides. If you’re a new open water diver, we suggest you book with Sea Experience to ensure everything is taken care of. If you want a dive guide, call and request for either of us (Andrew or Laura) and tell them we sent you!

For More: Dive Shops in Fort Lauderdale

Help Protect the Coral Reef During Your Dive

Sunscreen! Shocking, I know! In fact, many popular sunscreen brands contain extremely harmful chemicals to our coral! Specifically, oxybenzone and octinoxate.

Because of this, we’ve partnered with our favorite brand of reef safe sunscreen, Stream2Sea! We want to get YOU discounts so you can help save our coral reefs with reef safe sunscreen!