BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. (828newsNOW) — “Finding Nemo” taught a generation there’s a whole world under the waves. A local program seeks to help people see that world in person.

“The Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail is a set of established publicly accessible sites on rivers and streams in Western North Carolina,” explained Andrea Leslie, a conservation coordinator for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

The Snorkel Trail offers visitors a chance to appreciate the wonderful wildlife under the waves.

Leslie had the idea for the trail during the COVID pandemic when she and a coworker were unable to visit the rivers they snorkeled in as conservationists.

Leslie wanted to share her love of the colorful fish in our waterways with the community.

“If you love rivers and streams, you should come,” Leslie said. “It doesn’t cost much at all.”

Visitors “just need to invest in a snorkel and mask.”

Gas money is becoming less of a factor for visitors, too, as the operation expands.

The Snorkel Trail offers 10 sites as of now but hopes to open “double by the end of the year,” according to Leslie.

“We never expected this to take off like it did,” Leslie said. “We’re just running with the interest people have right now.”

The expansions are slated to include eight sites in Watauga County and one in the New River Basin.

Three Snorkel Trail spots are open near the Asheville metro area — Black Mountain, Canton and Mills River. Click here to view all 10 locations.

The Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail is funded by the parks that host them, the N.C. Wildlife Federation and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

“It will continue growing because we have the funding for it,” Leslie said.

This weekend in Canton, the Haywood Waterways Association is collaborating with the Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail to bring a free event to locals. For more information on the event, click here.

The Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail is open to the public free of charge whenever the parks that host the trail are open.