Florida Springs Dive Sites - My Curated List

[CaveSloth]

I have been working on a list of spring diving sites with the following criteria:

• Open to the public. Not requiring a difficult to obtain permit.
• No salt water.
• No sulfur.
• Difficult to silt out / good to great average visibility.
• Not requiring to spend lots of time deeper than 100ft.
• Not requiring sidemount, nomount or passing through restrictions.
• Allow / doable in backmount doubles.
• Doable using air or nitrox.
• Best of the best locations for those with up to Cave 1 level of certification.

Here is my current list:

• Alexander Spring (Altoona)
• Blue Grotto (Williston)
• Blue Spring (Orange City)
• Bozel Spring (Marianna)
• Buford Spring (Weekie Wachee)
• Cypress Spring (Vernon)
• Fanning Spring (Fanning Springs)
• Ginnie (Ballroom) (High Springs)
• Ginnie (Devil's Ear) (High Springs)
• Ginnie (Devil's Eye) (High Springs)
• Hole in the Wall (Marianna)
• Ichetucknee (Blue Spring / Jug Hole) (Fort White)
• Jackson Blue (Marianna)
• Little River (Branford)
• Madison (Main) (Lee)
• Manatee (Catfish Hotel) (Chiefland)
• Manatee (Main) (Chiefland)
• Morrison (Defuniak Springs)
• Paradise Spring (Ocala)
• Peacock (Main) (Mayo)
• Peacock (Orange Grove) (Mayo)
• Rainbow River (KP Hole) (Dunneleon)
• Telford (Mayo)
• Troy Spring (Branford)
• Twin Cave (Marianna)
• Vortex Spring (Defuniak Springs)
• Warm Springs (Weekie Wachee)

I would really like feedback on this list. Any important details from your experience would be great to know. If I have anything listed here that is no good for a beginning cave diver or if I am missing something great, please let me know.

[rddvet]

Caveatlas.com


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CaveSloth]

Caveatlas.com

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I should have mentioned... I extracted my list from CaveAtlas.com. This means I read through EVERY SINGLE ENTRY on CaveAtlas.com and removed springs that didn't meet my criteria. It took me many hours! Of all those springs listed, these are the ONLY ONES which seem good for beginning divers through Cave 1 / backmount training.

Now, if CaveAtlas.com had incorrect info for a particular spring or I interpreted it incorrectly, that is what I am hoping to find out through asking for feedback.

[PfcAJ]

Emerald Sink, Clearcut Sink (construction has temporarily closed the trail entrance though).

[CaveSloth]

Emerald Sink, Clearcut Sink (construction has temporarily closed the trail entrance though).

I was told those required being super deep or they had poor visibility so they weren't suitable for a cave 1 diver. Do you know otherwise?

[PfcAJ]

I was told those required being super deep or they had poor visibility so they weren't suitable for a cave 1 diver. Do you know otherwise?

Upstream Emerald is 40-70ft for a good ways. Right at the 1st T takes you to Cheryl and Split sinks. Very pretty cave along the way. Left takes you along a shallower and darker route. Those two passages converge and continue on to the Black Abyss, a huge room where the cave drops to 200ft+.

Downstream Clearcut is fairly large cave in the 80-100ft range. After maybe 1300’ or so it comes up to 40ft and passes under Venture Sink, and continues 40-60ft deep for another few thousand feet with a bunch of sinkholes along the way.

Both caves have deep sections (past the Abyss and all of downstream at Emerald, and all of upstream Clearcut) but they have awesome shallow passage too.

They’re usually dark and undivable, but sometimes they’re crystal clear. Now is one of those times.

[bamafan]

Bozel is still closed ( I believe) due to the Hurricane having the park shut down. It is a much better sm cave but there was a bm entrance prior to the hurricane.

In the Panhandle Ebro Blue is bm for thousands of feet. Judges is a little tight in 1 spot at the front but should be bm for a normal size person. It opens up and is a really nice dive that reminds me of a mini Peacock.

[Kelly Jessop]

Omit Jug Hole, there are multiple restrictions and not appropriate for backmount beyond the cavern zone.

[CaveSloth]

I will leave Jug but note it’s only for open water and cavern diving.

What about Lafayette Blue?

[cmint]

I will leave Jug but note it?s only for open water and cavern diving.

What about Lafayette Blue?

When it's clear, it's an awesome dive. Most of the time the vis sucks. you go through several pretty sinks in a row. Green sink is beautiful.


I think I heard conditions have been good in the last couple months. Not sure though.