Diving Baggerlöcher Quarries (Rhine Valley)

Site Overview

Baggerlöcher Quarries (Rhine Valley) is a quarry lake dive site in Vorarlberg, Austria, set among the country’s varied freshwater landscapes. The Baggerlöcher are warm quarry lakes in the Rhine valley, handy training sites close to the towns. Sunken objects and platforms give divers structured things to navigate and practise skills on. They are shallow and accessible, making them popular with courses and refresher dives. Perch, roach and the occasional pike use the structures, and the clear shallows suit macro. A wetsuit is usually enough in summer, though the thermocline still brings cold deeper down. They are practical, no-fuss city-quarry dives for building skills. Conditions are typical of Austrian inland water: visibility generally runs from 4 to 12 metres, the current is low and the water temperature ranges between 6 and 22 degrees Celsius depending on season and depth. The marine life is freshwater and centred on european perch, roach, northern pike, with the full community described below for those planning a dive. Because of its beginner rating and the need for Open Water certification, Baggerlöcher Quarries (Rhine Valley) is best approached with the right thermal protection and, where relevant, altitude or overhead training. It is a representative example of why Austrian lake diving, with its cold clarity, submerged forests and wrecks, attracts divers who want something different from tropical reefs.