Florida Spring Diving

The three of us began diving in June of 2011 and since then have dove nearly every weekend.  From the east to the west coast of Florida, in springs and in the ocean, we love every minute we can spend underwater.  Descending beneath the surface of the ocean or deep down into a freshwater spring, life is surreal. You’re totally weightless, time stands still, and all you have is the peace and tranquility around you to guide your thoughts.  It’s like nothing I’ve ever done before and I actually crave it when I go without!

We enjoy underwater photography and videography, so we’d like to share our diving experiences with those of you who may have an interest in a particular dive site and need more information about it.  Please understand that these are our experiences and we may have knowledge, guidance, or training that enables us to dive these sites safely. You should always dive within the limits of your training and at your own comfort level.  There are many extraordinary sites to dive in Florida, varying from beginner level to those technically trained for specialty areas of diving. No dive is worth the risk if you aren’t trained to venture into it.  Dive safely and enjoy the beauty that underwater Florida has to offer!

Remember – Plan your dive and dive your plan!

Alexander Springs – Altoona, FL (Spring 2012) – This is a beautiful spring with visibility up to 100 feet. We only suggest it for diving if you hit it on the off season months because it is overly crowded with swimmers during the summer. Between about October and the March/April time-frame, you’re likely to have it all to yourself. It’s an excellent spot to reacquaint yourself with diving if it’s been awhile. Max depth is 28′. The cost to dive here $6 per diver.

Blue Grotto, Williston FL (Summer 2012) – Blue Grotto is as beautiful a spring in Florida as you could possibly imagine. As you descend down to a depth of 100 feet, you’ll follow a lead line down around the cavern where at times you are in a completely overhead environment and at other times you get glimpses of the ambient light overhead that allows that beautiful cobalt blue color to shine through. You can enter the overhead environment if comfortable, but if not, the spring is beautiful down to the open basin area at 60′. Visibility is around 40′ in the basin and varies throughout the cavern due to the contour changes and darkness. The cost to dive here is $35.

Devil’s Den, Williston FL (Winter 2014) Devil’s Den is an amazing natural phenomenon in Williston, FL.  It’s a 72 degree crystal clear fresh water spring inside a dry cave with rock formations over 33 million years old.  The remains of many extinct animals and even early humans have been found here dating back to the Pleistocene Age.  It’s a unique site and definitely worth adding to your diving wish list.  They also have campgrounds onsite, so if you want to make a trip out of it, camp out and dive this and Blue Grotto as they are only about 10 minutes down the road from each other.  The cost to dive here is currently $38 and if you’re military, they offer a nice discount as a way of saying thanks!

King Spring – Crystal River, FL (Winter 2013) Diving windows are narrowed during the winter, but the spring isn’t completely blocked off. The manatees have to leave the spring to feed, so most days, they will hover over the spring in the morning and then return in the evening. Unless it’s a very cold day and they decide to stick close to the spring longer than usual, you can expect the spring to be free by about Noon. There are a couple of boat ramps nearby King’s Spring and the one we used, The Port Hotel & Marina is just a stone’s throw away. We launched canoes and kayaks and paddled over to the spring, but you could launch a larger boat as well. Just keep in mind, the entire area is an “idle speed” zone, for the protection of the manatees. I was glad we opted for canoes and kayaks, because the distance to travel to the spring simply wasn’t worth towing our boat over to the West Coast. We literally could have swam over to the spring from the boat ramp.

The water surrounding the spring is about 4’ deep in most places. Pay close attention to the buoys in the area and stay out of the manatee sanctuary all together. This is the area that borders the spring and you’re not even allowed to swim in the sanctuary. As you enter the water, it is quite cold in the winter time, but as you make your way over to the spring, it warms up considerably. As we first began our descent, the visibility was horrible! It was like pea soup! As we continued our descent, we came to what looked like an opening. This was it! There was more to see here! Good thing, because I was thinking “WTF, This is it?” “What is all the rave about for 30’ of pea soup?” As soon as we entered the cavern opening, we began to see light! The visibility was unbelievable…like 75’. You are immediately hit with warm water as you leave the river and enter the cavern. It was incredible! Now, you can continue the decent into the cavern and as you explore, you’ll notice there are two openings that you’ll continually make your way back to with views of the sunlight shining down and bouncing off the walls. The fish that hover above the spring are plentiful and welcome you to share the warm water with them!

This is primarily a cavern dive, but by definition, in parts where you lose sight of ambient light it becomes a cave and should only be entered by those trained and equipped for cave diving. Dive within the limits of your comfort zone. I recommend that you make this dive with someone who has made it before, simply because, I’m not sure how long we would have stumbled around in that pea soup viz water before we found the opening, had we not had a veteran diver with us. However, that being said, it isn’t a show stopper as long as you are comfortable finding your way around with very limited visibility. Just know, it’s there. It’s kinda like a treasure hunt. When you see what looks like a large opening, follow it and when you feel the warm water and begin to see again, you’ll know you’re there!

Manatee Springs, Chiefland FL (Fall 2012) – Manatee Spring State Park is absolutely beautiful any time of year and it only costs $6 per vehicle. The main headspring and the sink at Catfish Hotel both offer nice dives for open water divers, however, you should be cave/cavern certified to enter the cave system. The cave system at Manatee Springs extends over a mile connected by various sinks that make for good entry and exit points within the system to map out unique dives. We like to enter at Catfish Hotel, a 58’ sink covered in duckweed which leads downstream to Manatee Spring on the left or upstream to Sue’s Sink on the right. It is possible to get turned around in this cave system and should not be taken lightly or explored by those not properly trained in cave diving. Heading left, you can explore the 467 foot passageway from Catfish to Manatee which ends with a very strong current pushing you out of the cave and into the spring. Heading right, you’ll enter swiss cheese city as shown in the video below. This is an awesome dive, but I cannot stress enough, that it should only be dived by those experienced with cave diving.

Paradise Springs, Ocala FL (Fall 2012) – Paradise Springs is located in Ocala right off of US27/441, down a little dirt drive marked by a dive flag on the owner’s mailbox. It’s kind of tucked away and you have to know what you’re looking for to find it. The owner lives on the property and has made it available to divers, providing picnic tables, a bath house, easy access to the spring, and I believe they offer air fills too. The cost to dive here is $30 and in my opinion is well worth it. The path leading down to the spring is made of natural stone creating a gently sloping stairway meandering through lush tropical ferns and other native plants. The spring is only about 20 feet in diameter at the surface and is like a small drop of cobalt blue liquid amidst all the tropical plants and trees surrounding it. Upon entering the water, it immediately opens up into two large cavern rooms. You should descend facing the stairs to find the whale bone in the wall. There are numerous fossils, sand dollars, and other bones embedded in the walls and ceiling and you could spend hours just exploring the cavern walls. The cavern room to the north extends to a depth of about 60’ and then closes off. It is very wide, the flow is gentle, and there is plenty of room to explore. The cavern room to the south extends to about 45’ wide open and then starts to enter an overhead environment, slowly losing sight of ambient light as you descend further into the depth of the cavern. At about 80’, it starts to narrow considerably and is very dark without the use of artificial light. You’ll be able to go to 100’ before you come across the Grim Reaper sign warning divers not to go any further without cave training. At this point, there is a very narrow cave entrance and a tombstone sits about another 10 feet below marking the site where a diver lost his life years ago. Only experienced cave divers should venture any further than the Grim Reaper sign.

Troy Springs – Branford, FL (Winter 2011) – This is a very cool spring with a max depth of 70′. The visibility is about 50′ or so. Take your time descending slowly and observing the rocky edges of the spring. There are some interesting fossils along the walls. This is one of our favorite spring dives in Florida. The cost to dive here is $6 per vehicle.