Question Spring Diving Late March 2025 (Suggestions?)

[oldschool45]

My wife got her OW this past Summer in the Keys then we did Dania & Blue Heron Bridge beach dives. I want to get her some relaxed bottom time to work on buoyancy, below 30 feet dives and Rainbow River might be a good intro to drift diving. We're planning on staying in a Vrbo or similar around Chiefland in late March.

Our list of dives are(in no particular order); Rainbow River, Manatee, Ginnie, Devil's Den, Peacock (Orange Grove), Troy and maybe Bufford (if I she's ready to go deep). Blue Grotto was nixed for not being worth the cost.
Any suggestions or recommendations?

She'll have her Nitrox before we head down and we are planning a second trip in June/July to hit Pompano & West Palm for her AOW. We'll be staging out of my Mother's place in Okeechobee for that trip. I'm almost back up to speed with a refresh course and my AOW and IANTD Nitrox from the early 90's.

 

[Rilelen]

That’s a good list. If I had to prioritize, I’d suggest the following:

For your first day, if you’re staying in Chiefland do a “check out” dive 1 at Fanning to get her comfy in the water again and do a gear check; then drive over to Manatee to hit the headspring (dive 2) and Catfish Hotel (dive 3). Keep her out of the cavern. Suwannee Belle is a nice place to grab a bite afterwards.

I’ve found visitors really enjoy Devil’s Den and Ginnie if they are comfortable with some overhead or lights; I’ve also had visitors who hated these dives and didn’t want to do the swim-throughs or enter the ballroom. YMMV.
If you do Ginnie, go on a weekday morning and be there early, to avoid the party crowd.

I would not take an inexperienced newly-certified diver to Buford; it’s an AWESOME dive but it’s also deep (165’) and most of it is an overhead environment. Bring her back when she’s got more dives under her belt and can really enjoy it, safely. Either way, it’s currently closed pending damage repairs from the last hurricane.

If you’re headed up to Troy and Orange Grove, may as well add Royal to the list too. Troy and Royal have been browned out most of the last year, so they’ve been a bit odd lately. Vis is down at both, and Troy is blowing massive sand clouds everywhere. They might settle down by March if we don’t get more flooding.

It’s a bit of a drive but check and see if Blue Springs State Park (near Orlando) has reopened to diving when you’re in town - it closes water access during manatee season and the boardwalk has been down for repairs but is due to reopen sometime in spring.

Finally, very new divers can find Rainbow a little stressful - it’s an easy dive in that it’s shallow, but buoyancy can be hard in that first 5-10’ of water, and there’s a lot of up and down. Definitely take her but think about doing it later in the trip; have lunch at Swampy’s afterwards.

Dive shops - there aren’t any in Chiefland, but we’ve got shops all over. Make a bingo card and try to hit ‘em all! You’ve got Florida Springs Scuba in Williston, Bird’s Underwater in Crystal River, Extreme Exposure and Cave Country in High Springs, Dive Outpost in Luraville. If you’re comfortable filling your own tanks definitely check out Amigos in Branford. You can get fills at any of them, and easily find any rental gear etc you might need.

Have a great fun time! I think you’ve hit most of them, but there’s a good map of the springs here for driving distances etc.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Consider adding Paradise Spring near Ocala.

Paradise Springs Florida Spring and Cavern Dive

Paradise Springs in Ocala near Orlando, Florida is one of the best spring dive and cavern dive sites for Openwater SCUBA divers in Florida

divingfl.com

 

[fred32176]

It’s a bit of a drive but check and see if Blue Springs State Park (near Orlando) has reopened to diving when you’re in town - it closes water access during manatee season and the boardwalk has been down for repairs but is due to reopen sometime in spring.

You suggested a great list, but Blue Springs won't be open for diving until April.

Since you're staying in Chiefland, you might do a snorkel with the manatees. Not diving but a really neat activity and the manatees might be moving into the river and Kings Bay around then.

 

[Rilelen]

Consider adding Paradise Spring near Ocala.

Paradise Springs Florida Spring and Cavern Dive

Paradise Springs in Ocala near Orlando, Florida is one of the best spring dive and cavern dive sites for Openwater SCUBA divers in Florida

divingfl.com

Love Paradise, but I think Jennifer is currently requiring AOW to dive it, and OP’s wife doesnt have it yet.

 

[oldschool45]

Rilelen- thanks for all the great information! The tentative plan for now is to start at Fanning and maybe do Manatee. Then stay north for a few days on hit the deeper spots; Orange Grove, Royal & Troy if the water is clear. Throw Devils Den in there somewhere then finish up around Rainbow River.

On another trip I want to take her to Ichetucknee and I have an axe to gring with the hole at Silver Glen Springs but this trip is about helping the wife's diving.

 

[Rilelen]

That sounds awesome! Keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[The Chairman]

Troy is an awesome shallow/deep dive and perfect for getting your trim and buoyancy on. It's my favorite of all the springs and has an 1864 or 1865 wreck of the Confederate ship Madison at the end of its run. It's wicked deep in almost 5 foot of water! However, the spring hole goes down to about 80FFW, and is a favorite of free divers. Lot's of ledges and a nice slope down to the bottom to work on your trim and buoyancy. It has outdoor showers and a nice restroom to change, as well as scuba set up benches. It was trashed after the 3 hurricanes we got, but I believe it's open now. It's a State Park and the entrance fee is only $5/car on the honor system.

The dark blue is the infamous "Suwannee River" down by the old folks home!

DM me when you finalize plans, and I might be able to join you. I live right by Itchetucknee and my diving is accelerating.

 

[The Chairman]

Another note on Troy: March is turtle mating season. From late February to early May, there is usually a week where it's a literal turtle orgy. Hundreds of turtles meet and mate there. I've seen it twice there, but nowhere else.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Troy is an awesome shallow/deep dive and perfect for getting your trim and buoyancy on. It's my favorite of all the springs and has an 1864 or 1865 wreck of the Confederate ship Madison at the end of its run. It's wicked deep in almost 5 foot of water! However, the spring hole goes down to about 80FFW, and is a favorite of free divers. Lot's of ledges and a nice slant down to the bottom to work on your trim and buoyancy. It has outdoor showers and a nice restroom to change, as well as scuba set up benches. It was trashed after the 3 hurricanes we got, but I believe it's open now. It's a State Park and the entrance fee is only $5/car on the honor system.

View attachment 878849​

The dark blue is the infamous "Suwannee River" down by the old folks home!

DM me when you finalize plans, and I might be able to join you. I live right by Itchetucknee and my diving is accelerating.

80 FFW?! That is one spring I've not yet dived. I'll have to get up there and dive it one day. Sounds like you can easily get a fun day of 2-3 dives.