Want to explore a Lake Michigan shipwreck? Wisconsin's marine sanctuary just made it easier.

If you ever wanted to scuba dive to a Lake Michigan shipwreck, Wisconsin's national marine sanctuary has the hook up − quite literally.

The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary has hooked up permanent mooring lines with buoys to help divers easily spot 19 shipwrecks they can explore.

With the help of the U.S. Coast Guard and other partners, the buoys were installed this month at the most popular shipwrecks around the sanctuary, upwards of 300 feet deep.

And the buoys have a dual benefit.

"Divers can use them to easily locate the wrecks and dive safely," said Russ Green, superintendent of the sanctuary. "But they also protect the wrecks from anchor damage."

And if diving isn't your thing, there are four buoys closer to the shore near Two Rivers that people can paddle to and snorkel around.

Here's what to know about the new buoys.

Where is Wisconsin's shipwreck sanctuary?

Wisconsin’s shipwreck sanctuary covers 962 square miles, spanning Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties. It’s co-managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the state.

It's the most recent site to receive the designation in the country, which now has 15 marine sanctuaries.

The sanctuary, which had its third anniversary this month, is one of two in the Great Lakes. The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary was designated in 2000, and protects 4,300 square miles of Lake Huron off Michigan’s northeastern coast. NOAA is in the process of designating sites in Lakes Erie and Ontario as well.

More: We know more about the surface of Mars than about the floor of Lake Michigan. But what we do know is remarkable.

What shipwrecks in the sanctuary can you dive to?

There are 36 known shipwrecks within the sanctuary boundaries that sank between 1830 and 1930. It’s believed that there are another 60 that haven't been discovered.

The 19 permanent buoys make it much easier for scuba divers to know where to look. Coordinates for the mooring lines are listed on the Wisconsin shipwreck sanctuary's website.

The state's marine sanctuary includes the geographic coordinates for the 19 shipwrecks that now have permanent mooring lines. Here is a list of those 19 wrecks:

• Advance (1853)
• Algoma (1918)
• America (1873)
• Continental (1882)
• Crawler Crane (unknown, possibly 1990s)
• Floretta (1868)
• Gallinipper (1832)
• Helvetia (1873)
• Henry Gust (1893)
• Home (1843)
• Mahoning (1847)
• Major Anderson (1861)
• Niagara (1845)
• Northerner (1851)
• Pathfinder (1869)
• Robert Pringle (1903)
• Rouse Simmons (1868)
• S.C. Baldwin (1871)
• Selah Chamberlain (1873)
• Silver Lake (1886)
• Tubal Cain (1866)
• Vernon (1886)
• Walter B. Allen (1866)

Can you paddle to any shipwrecks in the sanctuary?

If you want to check out a shipwreck closer to shore, there are four mooring lines that point to shipwrecks that people can paddle to and snorkel at. The shipwrecks are right off Point Beach State Forest in Two Rivers.

As always, follow safe paddling practices as well as Wisconsin and U.S. Coast Guard laws.

And if you don't feel like heading out into the water, people can "visit" shipwrecks through 3D models that sanctuary staff have created.

How many shipwrecks are in Lake Michigan?

It is estimated there are more than 1,700 ships resting at the bottom of Lake Michigan . Most of them haven't been discovered.

In Wisconsin’s side of the lake, there are approximately 780, but only 250 have been identified, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society. Usually only three or four wrecks are discovered and confirmed each year, but in 2023 a record-shattering 13 shipwrecks were found.

So far this year, only one shipwreck has been confirmed in Wisconsin's Lake Michigan waters. Shipwreck hunters found the wreck of the Margaret A. Muir, a 130-foot, three-masted schooner, near Algoma.

Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at clooby@gannett.com or follow her on X @caitlooby .

Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to this reporting effort at jsonline.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Dr, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Want to explore a Lake Michigan shipwreck? Wisconsin's marine sanctuary just made it easier.