Flower Garden Banks~100 miles off the TX/LA coast

Visibility is an estimate — wind, rain, tide & water alerts.

Getting in

Boat access only

Depth

55 to 60 ft

Who it suits

Experienced water people only

Snorkeling

Not a shore snorkel; reached by boat

Getting through the gate

Boat access only. Commercial dive charters run trips to the banks, which sit about 80 to 125 miles off the Texas and Louisiana coast.

Protection

NOAA national marine sanctuary. Anchoring any vessel is prohibited, as is injuring or removing any coral or other bottom formation; fishing is limited to conventional hook and line gear, and vessels over 100 feet in registered length may not use the sanctuary mooring buoys. A 2021 final rule expanded the sanctuary from 56 to 160 square miles and added 14 more banks.

Watch for

Currents that run different directions and speeds at different depths and can shift during a dive, Wave height and frequency that can make climbing back aboard the boat hard, More than a hundred miles of open water between the banks and the nearest hospital, Venomous invasive lionfish, whose fin spines sting on contact

Checked 2026-07-21. Sources: NOAA Flower Garden Banks: frequently asked questions, NOAA Flower Garden Banks: regulations, NOAA Flower Garden Banks: sanctuary expansion, NOAA Flower Garden Banks: trip preparation.