Lying under 30 to 40 feet of water, the wreck of the Meridian is accessible via boat entry. She lies just off the south end of Sister Island Shoal in the waters of Green Bay and is marked by a blue-striped white buoy, indicating a mooring maintained by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The wreck of the Meridian comprises three main sections:

Section A

The forward end of the wreck is the deepest portion of the site, with a depth of 39 feet at the base of the stempost . The largest section of wreckage includes an almost intact bow and port side running aft approximately 105 feet. It includes floor timbers, ceiling, knees, part of the rail , portions of the keelson and forward deadwood, and a variety of other architectural features, including scarph joints and an unusual ceiling arch.

The fragments of an inverted ceiling arch, an interesting construction feature, overlie the longitudinal bilge ceiling strakes. The arch runs from just under the clamp in the bow, curves down the side, and rises up again in the stern. The arch is best preserved and most visible on the port side and in the bow. This is a reinforcing arch designed to impede hogging in the bow and stern . The Meridian's arch appears to be a later addition over the existing bilge ceiling, yet was fitted tightly enough to warrant caulking between the arch strakes. This arch may have been added during Meridian's 1862 lengthening and rebuild.

The bow of the Meridian is the best-preserved portion of the wreck and certainly the most dramatic. It is intact from the keel to the top of the forward rail, with sagging portions of the foredeck. The bow is heeled over to one side, with the port cathead partially buried in the sand bottom. When the Meridian was originally discovered in the late 1950s, the bow was in near pristine condition. The bowsprit was intact and in place. One could swim beneath the foredeck and visit the bosun's lockers and ship's stores in the forecastle. Doors were still in place, and blocks and other equipment hung inside. Unfortunately, looters eventually discovered the site and removed the lockers and artifacts and cut off the bowsprit. Reportedly, other artifacts such as a coin and stoneware crockery were also removed.

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