From California's kelp forests and the walls of the Northwest to Florida's clear springs, the Midwest's shipwreck graveyards and Texas' Flower Gardens, we give you the best of our home region.

Read more about the best scuba diving in the world: 2014 Reader's Choice Top 100 Awards

Best Beginner Diving

1. Key Largo, Florida

2. Maui, Hawaii

3 Big Island, Hawaii

4. Florida Springs (pictured)

5. Kauai, Hawaii

When most consider Florida’s springs for scuba, cave diving is the first thing that comes to mind. There are certainly world-renowned underwater systems in the subterranean limestone aquifer that challenge those at the top of the dive pyramid. But with near- limitless visibility, soft, shallow sand bottoms and easy access from shore, there are few better places to train new divers.
From public parks such as DeLand’s Blue Springand Chiefland’s Manatee Springs to privatefacilities like Williston’s Blue Grotto and Ocala’sForty Fathom Grotto, these confined-water locations are havens for instructors from all over Florida and many sur-rounding states. In the winter months, manatees migrating to warmer water create an added attraction at many locations (although encounters are snorkel-only). For a truly memorable rookie adventure, the Rainbow River is a shallow, lazy drift dive with amazing visuals.GO NOW /florida

Best Advanced Diving

1. Lake Huron, Michigan (pictured)

2. Morehead City, North Carolina

3. North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii

4. Key Largo, Florida

5. Monterey Bay, California

Michigan’s Presque Isle coastline north of Alpena is a 65-mile stretch with few lighthouses. Here, 1 Lake Huron has claimed 75 ships including a steel steamer, a wooden steamer and three upright, intact schoo- ners. Of these, more than 50 lie within Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Due mainly to the depth and stunted visibility, this playground is made for advanced divers. One of the most prized in Shipwreck Alley, Cornelia B. Windiate lies in 180 feet of water.Three masts remain intact withtattered rigging. The cargo, deck-cabin windows, interior staircases and crew lifeboat are also still preserved. Defiance, another wooden schooner in 185 feet of water, has similarly sailed through time as if untouched. GO NOW /greatlakes

Best Big Animals

1. Morehead City, North Carolina (pictured)

2. Florida Springs

3. Channel Islands, California

4. Flower Garden Banks, Texas

5. South Florida (Miami, Broward and Dade Counties)

North Carolina defends its big-animal title thanks in large partto the Tarheel State’s most valuable player: the sand tiger shark. Affectionately known as “raggies,” the species grows impressively large (up to 8 feet), and its pronounced grill (three gnarly rows) is imposing. But it’s the shark’s mellow attitude and tolerance for bubble-blowing divers that makes it a crowd favorite, as well as an amazing photo subject. Artificial reefs such as the Aeolus, USCG cutter Spar, Papoose, Atlas and Caribsea are well-known hangouts for raggies. And because the Crystal Coast and other Outer Banks territories are bathed by the fertile waters of the Gulf Stream, the sand tigers enjoy a steady supply of prey that encourages them to linger around the region’s world-class wrecks without a need for operators to resort to chumming or other artificial-feeding methods to encourage encounters. GO NOW /northcarolina

Best Macro Diving

1. Monterrey Bay, California (pictured)

2. British Columbia, Canada

3. Channel Islands, California

4. Key Largo, Florida

5. Puget Sound, Washington

True macro fiends don't much fancy the seals and sea lions: They're eager to see the small stuff this area is fame for — No. 1 this year for a thriving macro environment. Small stuff needs sheltering, and Monterey delivers with protected kelp beds, rock outcroppings and man-made structures. Come nighttime, sites like Breakwater Cove become the hunting grounds of nudibranchs taking the world by storm a millimeter at a time. Like an English muffin, this environment is all nooks and crannies, home to a host of eels, shrimp and juvenile fish. GO NOW /california

Best Marine Environment

1. Channel Islands, California

2. British Columbia, Canada

3. Flower Garden Bnaks, Texas (pictured)

4. Key Largo, Florida

5. Puget Sound, Washington

A series of three banks rising in the Gulf of Mexico between 70 and 115 miles off Texas and Louisiana, the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary beckons live-aboard divers for challenging dives on the northernmost portionof America’s coral-reef systems. The remoteness of the banks contributes to their healthy condition. Perhaps the most thrilling is Stetson Bank, which to 170 feet and features an eerie terrain of pinnacles that gives plenty to ogle with its moonscape appearance. Dives on oil platforms in the area often deliver the big boys: whale sharks and mantas. Equally exciting is an event that plays out on a smaller scale here: About a week after the first full moon in August, coral polyps do their magical spawning thing, drawing thousands of hungry mouths to feast on the bounty and lighting up the underwater world like the aurora borealis. GO NOW /flowergarden

Best Shore Diving

1. Maui, Hawaii (pictured)

2. Monterey, California

3. British Columbia, Canada

4. Florida Springs

5. South Florida (Miami, Broward and Dade Counties)

For thousands of years, Maui’s Haleakala volcano poured lava, creating an underwater garden of arches, pinnacles and caverns. As the chaos subsided, life moved in, from hard coral to butterflyfish, frogfish and sea turtles. Ad- venturous island divers began exploring from the beaches — now sites that were “locals only” are open to visitors, putting the Valley Isle at the top of our annual list for Best Shore Diving. Focused on the island’s western shore, sites from La Perouse Bay and Makena Landing in the south to Mala Wharf and Black Rock in the north offer easy access. Thanks to a state law that guarantees shoreline access, there are still dives to discover — if you can get the locals to give up the goods. GO NOW /hawaii

Best Underwater Photography

1. Channel Islands, California (pictured)

2. Monterey Bay, California

3. British Columbia, Canada

4. Maui, Hawaii

5. Big Island, Hawaii

For image-hunting divers, Southern California’s Channel Islands seem purpose-built by Mother Nature. Cold, nutrient- rich currents from the north mix with warm water from the south to create a prolific and biodiverse environment where seasonal visibility is consistent — and a host of quality dive operators cater to photographers. From the northern islandsof San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz,Anacapa and Santa Barbara that make up the Channel Islands National Park tothe southernmost dive mecca of Catalina, diverse imaging opportunities abound. Charismatic pinnipeds such as California sea lions and harbor seals are happy to model, barrel rolling and bubble blowing for the lens. Colorful characters, including a rainbow of nudibranchs and the region’s signature neon-orange garibaldi, add interest to any shot. And the thick, towering kelp forests are tailor-made for atmospheric, wide-angle seascapes and abstract macro artistry. GO NOW /california

Best Visibility

1. Maui, Hawaii

2. Big Island, Hawaii (pictured)

3. Key Largo, Florida

4. Oahu, Hawaii

5. Islamorada and Tavernier, Florida Keys

Our second-ranked destination for Best Visibility benefits from several factors.First, isolation means exposure to currents that carry clear water to the actively volcanic island. Second, with prevailing winds keeping the majority of the rainfall on the east side of the island, the west side (where most of the best dive sites are) remains beautifully unmolested by freshwater intrusion. And third, a small population-to-surface-area ratio equals low development density — in many places none — which minimizes the chance for runoff to spoil the party. Add these factors together to achieve visibility that can stretch as far as the eye can see. The superior conditions make any dive here memorable, from exploring lava formations for rare endemic tropicals to blue-water adventures with big pelagic animals in the 6,100-foot-deep ‘Alenuihaha Channel. GO NOW /hawaii

Best Wall Diving

1. British Columbia, Canada

2. Maui, Hawaii (Molokini)

3. Puget Sound, Washington (pictured)

4. Monterey Bay, California

5. Catalina Island, California

Drive eight minutes from downtown Tacoma, Washington, and you’re ready to put in at one of the country’s most dramatic wall dives. Dead Man’s Wall, a sheer sandstone face, starts at 90 feet and falls to depths best left to technical divers. Aside from inducing vertigo, it’s also habitat to giant Pacific octopuses, skates and lingcod. On the other side of Point Defiance lies Day Island Wall — arguably Puget Sound’s most notable dive, and a huge factorin earning this area the 3 third-place awardfor domestic wall diving. The sitelies close to shore, but the swim can bedangerous if attempted during a ripping tide. That aside, the tidal flow tends toward reliable: Let it carry you alongthe wall and back to your starting point. The reward of a well-timed dive here is a massive incline where wolf eels have taken over. Because some divers feed them, they tend to approach visitors out of curiosity. For those who appreciate the smaller stuff, know that Day Island Wall is also rich in invertebrate life: sunflower stars, kelp crabs and anemones. GO NOW /washington

Best Wreck Diving

1. Key Largo, Florida

2. Lake Huron, Michigan

3. Oahu, Hawaii

4. Morehead City, North Carolina

5. Key West, Florida

Florida’s wealth of artificial reefs — and the destination’s iron grip on the Best Wreck Diving category year after year — is the legacy of entrepreneurs who decided if you sink it, they will come. Along the United States’ southernmost archipelago, a wonderland for metal-heads awaits, with dozens of purpose-sunk behemoths — some measuring well beyond 500 feet — ripe for exploring. Key Largo boasts the Spiegel Grove (510 feet) — a former world’s largest — the Duane (327 feet) and the Eagle (269 feet), placing it in the top spot. But the Middle Keys of Marathon and Islamorada offer the Thunderbolt (188 feet) and the Adolphus Busch Sr. (210 feet), while Key West’s 2009 addition, the Vandenberg, might be the best-prepared artificial reef in any ocean. Luckily for visitors, the per-Key density of wreck-savvy dive operators is greater along the island chain than anywhere else on the planet. GO NOW /floridakeys

1. British Columbia, Canada (pictured)

2. Hawaii

3. Florida

4. California

5. North Carolina

6. Michigan

7. Texas

8. Washington

9. New Jersey

10. Alabama

Yes, the water has a chill factor, but some things are worth upping the rubber or donning a drysuit. Seal and sealion encounters, walls carpeted with luminous anemones, and the chance to ogle giant Pacific octopuses in their rocky lairs are among the very good reasons to plan a dive trip to the pristine waters off British Columbia. The marine life here is as rich as any coral reef’s, and just knowing that orcas are around adds to the rush. If you get to just one spot, make it Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, where spotting Steller sea lions, whimsically patterned nudibranchs, and wolf eels are all in a day’s dive. Kelp forests doing their eerily waving underwater dance and wrecks that materialize like ghost ships fromthe green water add to the adrenalin. On the Sunshine Coast, on the mainland south of Vancouver, it’s all about vertical walls, sponge- encrusted pinnacles and high-speed drift dives through emerald-green water. Cold water was never more worthy of the plunge. GO NOW /canada

Best Overall Destination

1. Hawaii (pictured)

2. California

3. Florida

4. North Carolina

5. British Columbia

6. Texas

7. Michigan

8. Washington

9. Alabama

10. New Jersey

These islands define “paradise” — golden sands, lush rainforests, plunging cliffs.But the attraction for divers lies in the Pacific, with its countless arches, tunnels, canyons and caverns. Hard-coral colonies sport Technicolor pops of tropical-fish species, many rare and endemic. Big animals are common, including humpbacks, monk seals, mantas, dolphins and sharks. Each of the four major islands in this chain — Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai — offers a distinct personality all its own. The Big Island is a sleepy giant with secret places galore. Maui, along with its neighbors Lanai and Molokai, is a waterman’s playground with a wide variety of aquatic diversions. On Oahu, the big city spills into an ocean rich with wrecks. Kauai is the quiet, verdant gem, where turtles nap by the dozens in caverns. And they all boast the rich aloha tradition that makes them a perennial favorite with Scuba Diving readers. GO NOW /hawaii