Halifax & St Margaret's Bay · Canada · Sand slope
The Dingle
Old bottles on the bottom of the Northwest Arm
The Dingle is the beach at Sir Sandford Fleming Park on Halifax's Northwest Arm, a short walk from the public parking lot. Entry and exit are very easy and the water never passes 18 m (60 ft), which makes it a good site for novice divers looking for sea stars, rock crabs, lobsters and old bottles.
Also known as Dingle Cove, Sir Sandford Fleming Park, Sir Sandford Fleming Memorial Park.
Where it is and how deep
44.6303° N, 63.5973° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
From the beach the bottom drops off to about 11 m (35 ft) and then to 17 m (55 ft) in the middle of the Northwest Arm, before rising again toward the opposite shore and the public boat launch at the end of South Street. Common sea stars, anemones, Atlantic rock crabs and lobsters live along the way, and old bottles lie on the bottom.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Halifax & St Margaret's Bay: Late August and September bring the warmest water and the odd seahorse; winter, free of rain runoff, brings clear water.
Know before you go
- Boats use the Northwest Arm, so the site has boat traffic overhead.
Sources
- Sir Sandford Fleming Park Dive Site — East Coast Scuba
- Canada Shore Diving in Halifax, Nova Scotia — Dive Buddies 4 Life
More dive sites in Halifax & St Margaret's Bay
Wall
An Atlantic wolffish living under a concrete slab at 18 m (60 ft)
Reef
Three routes from one beach, including a ledge at 27 m (90 ft)
Reef
A sheltered cove where Open Water students train
Muck & macro
Nudibranchs and hermit crabs between a pier and a breakwater
A training block on a 330-degree bearing from the beach
Wall
Large lobsters and old bottles along the Black Rock Beach wall
Similar dives elsewhere
Sand slope
Krugglö
Koster Islands & Kosterhavet · Sweden
A sound between two islets that works well in hard wind
Sand slope
Carrick Castle
Loch Fyne & Loch Long · United Kingdom
Rocky outcrops on a shingle slope below a castle
Gravel slopes with turbot and hermit crabs in the Little Belt
Sand flats east of Herrvik crowded with flounder and turbot


