The Titan I missile silo is located near Royal City, about a 3-4 hour drive from Seattle. The landscape is beautiful and varied, with views of the mountains and central Washington farmland. As long as there isn’t any snow or ice, most cars can make the trip; just don’t bring your super low-clearance vehicle, and you’ll be fine.

Let’s talk about packing for this trip. I recommend taking plenty of water and electrolytes for the day, sunscreen for your surface interval, snacks, and comfortable shoes for the dry side tour after the dives. Also, consider the time of year for your visit. Summer gets insanely hot out here, and you’ll probably want a dry suit for the dive, so lots of hydration is key… but also be mindful about your liquid intake. There are portapotties at the dive site, but there is a decent amount of walking once you’re kitted up to even reach the dive site. I have heard of someone accidentally peeing their dry suit on this dive, but we won’t be naming names around here.

Originally constructed in the early 1960s during the Cold War, the Titan I missile silo was designed to house missiles capable of being launched in the event of nuclear conflict. Like many other silos, it was decommissioned just a few years after becoming operational, due in part to the rapid advancement of missile technology. It sat dormant and abandoned for years, allowing the silos to fill with groundwater, creating deep, flooded vertical structures that now draw in adventurous divers like us. Access to the site is on private land, so you can only do this dive with the dive shop, UnderSea Adventures.

This dive is for advanced recreational divers with good buoyancy control and comfort in dark, overhead environments. You must bring a light (a backup is a good idea), a computer, and an appropriate exposure suit. The water temperature is in the low 50s Fahrenheit, even in summer.

The guides act as safety divers, hanging out in the rafters, keeping track of everyone, so be comfortable with dive planning and buddy diving. Also, be conservative with your dive planning because this is a remote dive site, and although we had emergency oxygen, proper care is a long way off, especially if you count the trek through the tunnels from the dive site to the cars. 

Several people were nervous about this dive. We knew we were heading into confined spaces with no natural light. It reminded me of, let’s say cave diving ‘lite,’ because even though it was pitch black, and there were tight spaces to swim through, it was actually possible to reach the surface and check out the ceiling of the silo.

Descending into the silo is a surreal experience. It’s a vertical shaft of cold, clear freshwater that stretches over 100 feet deep, lined with ghostly remnants of its military past, including blast doors, elevator shafts, electrical grids, and even an eye-wash station. Visibility is typically excellent, at least until divers get in and start mucking it up. Even if everyone has great buoyancy, the bubbles disturb the sediment.

Although I am an avid sidemount diver, honestly, it wasn’t the tool for this specific dive job. I chose it because my back mount regulators need servicing, but it wasn’t fun to deal with a tank on my side while walking through the partially flooded tunnels. At the very least, I’m glad I did single tank sidemount because two tanks are overkill for the dive. I didn’t need the extra air since dives were only 40-50 minute dives. We weren’t limited to that time frame, but it was a natural dive time, especially because of the aforementioned bathroom availability. I actually think the best tool for this type of dive would be a rebreather. Maybe another time…

After the dives, we explored the dry sections of the site—a labyrinth of corridors, machinery rooms, and storage facilities. The dry side tour ended up being just as interesting as the dives, and for me, actually a heck of a lot creepier. Horror movie scenes kept flashing through my mind as we walked down pitch black tunnels. For some reason, I just feel safer with my tank underwater.

Long before scuba divers became frequent visitors, the silo had a local reputation as an eerie, off-limits adventure site. In the years after it was decommissioned and abandoned, local teens turned the area into a secret hangout. Stories circulated of late-night parties, and graffiti began to pop up throughout the chambers deep inside. Though dangerous and strictly unauthorized, these unofficial visits added to the silo’s mystique and embedded it further into regional folklore.

After the silo, we closed the meetup with a mellow coastal dive at Salt Water State Park, a favorite local site in the Puget Sound. While not as dramatic as the silo, the park offered up a classic Puget Sound experience… a night dive in the middle of the day. But the low visibility didn’t get us down.

A couple of divers with scooters were kind enough to run a mini taxi service out to the dive site and we were all grateful to be saved from that long surface swim.

I took limited footage that day, but I have a previous video (with much better visibility) covering more information on how to dive the site and what you can see.

The meetup was a success, and it got me completely fired up for my next event… the Socorro dive expedition.

Sending a big thanks to everyone who joined and helped make the weekend unforgettable. I’m always blown away by how awesome all of you are.

See what trips are coming up. I always give my community first dibs on spots, so you can sign up for Patreon (and get trip discounts) or my email list to be the first to know about new expeditions in the future.