QUARRY TURNED TRAINING SITE:
Fantasy Lake Scuba Park, North Carolina
Story and photos by
Karen and Ian Stewart
When we think of dive trips we usually consider one of the
many exotic locations. There are those that boast big animals, those that offer
macro and those with warm tropical waters. Most are several airplane hops away.
Even with all these places there is still nothing more fun and indispensable
than your local dive haunt. Ours happens to be just a few miles away at Fantasy
Lake Scuba Park in Rolesville, North Carolina.
Many years ago, in a place far, far away (or at least it seems that way), when
we were first starting out as instructors, we spent a good portion of our summer
weekends taking students on training dives and tours of Fantasy Lake. By the end
of the first few summers we knew every rock, sunken artifact and platform in
that quarry. In fact we knew it so well that I swear we could do it blindfolded.
That old familiarity created what still is one of the most comfortable places
for us to dive. We continue to use this popular North Carolina training site to
refresh our skills before heading out to those more exotic destinations and to
also try out new equipment purchases before we hit the road.
Geography and History
The town of Rolesville is in Wake County in North Carolina just 14 miles (22.5
km) northeast of Raleigh. Rolesville is the second-oldest town in Wake County
and was named for William Roles, a man of many talents, as he was a landowner,
merchant (his store is the present Meeting Hall and Mayor's Office), cotton
broker and cotton gin owner, postmaster, deacon and a trustee of the Baptist
Church. In 1832 he also founded the first local school, the Rolesville Academy.
The stone quarry just outside the Rolesville town limits began operations in the
1800s. Stone from the quarry was used for construction on projects as far away
as the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel as well as for local buildings, elaborate houses
and, of course, gravestones. By 1950 the quarry had grown to cover more than 50
acres (20 hectares). It was then that workers hit a massive underground spring
or aquifer. The quarry began taking on water faster than they could pump it out.
In fact, the flooding was so rapid that the large rock-crushing machine was left
behind. It remains in the center of the quarry.
Geologically, the quarry is formed by the Rolesville Granitic Batholith, also
known as the Rolesville Pluton. This batholith or hard igneous rock extends into
regions north and south of Wake County. The rock resists weathering and the
bedrock formation creates large rocky outcroppings. These outcroppings are
particularly evident at Fantasy Lake along three sides. Here the straight walls
rise to more than 50 feet (15 m) above the water level.
The park also offers the highs and lows of elevation in Wake County. Climb to
the top of Fantasy Lake Mountain and you will be at the highest point. Dive to
one of the deeper sites in the quarry at 80 feet (24 m) and you will be at the
lowest.
A Scuba Park Is Born
 the property, purchased the site and set up the lake as
a scuba training park. Since that time, Sherrill has worked hard at expanding
the facilities. There are now more than 100 acres (40 hectares) of nicely
landscaped property and the flooded portion of the quarry offers a great variety
of freshwater diving opportunities, with depths ranging from 20 to 80 feet (6 to
24 m). The lake provides perfect conditions for training almost every type of
diving and has become the largest dive site of its type on the East Coast.
During the summer months the water temperatures in the lake reach 80 degrees
Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) in the shallow areas and drop to around 60 F (16
C) through a thermocline at depth. In the winter months the thermocline
disappears and the temperatures can drop to 40 F (5 C) from top to bottom.
Visibility varies throughout the year, ranging from 30 to 40-plus feet (9 to
12-plus m) in the cooler months and then to less than 10 feet (3 m) in the
summer during algae blooms.
Fantasy Lake's focus is as a training facility, and this is evident as soon as
you arrive. Areas have been staged around the lake, allowing for a variety of
entrance styles. Divers can easily walk in from the beach or practice giant
strides from the docks. A "Boat Simulator" platform floats out in the lake,
allowing boat diving experiences to be covered during training sessions.
The park is very diver friendly. Visitors can bring their vehicles (and all
their equipment) right onto the property and park in front of their entrance
point. Picnic tables and gazebos are set up around the lake and portable toilets
provide for those sanitary needs after a cold dunk in the lake. Trailer changing
rooms are also available.
The park is open during the day all 365 days a year. Night diving is available
to groups of four or more on weekend nights, as well as other nights when
arranged in advance with park management.
An Underwater Tour
While Fantasy Lake, like many other local dive haunts, is set up for training
courses and checkout dives, it certainly isn't the only reason to show up for a
dive. There are plenty of fun underwater artifacts to explore, and navigating
around the lake without popping to the surface every few minutes can be a
rewarding activity. There is also a great variety of aquatic life to see as you
tour. You can find largemouth bass, striped bass, bream (brim/bluegill), a
growing catfish population and turtles.
Getting into the lake is easy, as there are a number of entry points. We like to
use the dock at the southeast end of the park. This leads to the old sunken
quarry road running almost east/west across the quarry, splitting the dive area
into two and making for a very convenient underwater reference.
Heading northeast, keeping the steep granite wall to your right, brings you to
one of two glass-bottom boats in the lake. There are always a few bream hanging
out here ready to nip at the tops of your ears or tuffs of hair if you aren't
wearing a hood. A quick turn to the west brings you out to the first underwater
drop-off. Follow along the top of the drop-off to the west and you will run
across a line that drops you down to 60 feet (18 m) and brings you to the second
glass-bottom boat. Heading up the line the other way brings you to one of a
number of training platforms around the lake - great for checking out underwater
skills. Continuing west you will find a "Halloween style" graveyard complete
with gravestones, coffins and, of course, an Elvis grave marker. Just south of
the graveyard is a sunken plane. This is an Australian-built Nomad brought in a
couple of years ago. Continue south and you'll eventually cross over the road
and come upon the old rock crusher, which was immersed when the quarry first
flooded. Head back to the road, past an old school bus heading east and you'll
end up where you started.
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