I've heard about great spring dives in Florida but don't have any information on them. I'd like to find out more about them. Where they are in Florida, what the dives are like there, etc. Are there any good sites for finding out more about these dives? I'm not completely stuck on spring diving, just looking for good high viz, warm water, shallow dives in the Florida area. Thanks in advance.
Newbie looking for info on Florida Spring Diving
- Thread starter Jarrett
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siikik
Contributor
OK, first of all, good viz and warm don't go together when you're talking about springs. Make a note of that. 72F is much colder than it sounds. Good news is there are no thermoclines because the water is moving... As far as good sites, you found one of them.
The State of Florida has a website for all of its parks Welcome to Florida State Parks but I don't know if there is a single site that includes all the diveable springs. This link might be helpful too as it lists private springs too. Florida Springs: Scuba Diving and Snorkeling in Florida Springs (Please note that not all of them listed here are diveable.) I also reference "Diving Guide to Underwater Florida" on occasion, but don't get too excited with it.
As to what you're going to see, that depends on the spring. I frequent a few of them and each one is markedly different. You get the general sandy bottom but the aquatic life can be very diverse. At Blue Spring I have found remnants of ocean life in the form of sand dollars and I have been told there are shark teeth there, but have yet to find any. Blue is your basic hole-in-the-ground spring that has a cave to penetrate if you are certified. Alexander Springs is a wide and shallow basin bottoming out at around 27'. Take a hotdog with you to feed the fish if you go there. Troy Springs is also a hole-in-the-ground but in the run you can see the bottom ribs and nails of a Civil War era steamboat that was scuttled. Ichetucknee Springs is a blast for tubing, especially when it's crowded in the summertime. You can snorkel down the run, but not dive it. Not anymore anyways.
Ginnie is a popular private spring for divers as well as Blue Grotto and Devil's Den... except I would classify the last two as sinks, not springs. All three of these charge too much, IMHO. But that's just me... It was worth diving them once.
Not sure what's good in the panhandle/big bend areas... I like to keep my treks limited to a day trip and some of those sites would be a little too far for driving back and forth in one day.
Make sure you bring your buddy and c-card.
Ken
The State of Florida has a website for all of its parks Welcome to Florida State Parks but I don't know if there is a single site that includes all the diveable springs. This link might be helpful too as it lists private springs too. Florida Springs: Scuba Diving and Snorkeling in Florida Springs (Please note that not all of them listed here are diveable.) I also reference "Diving Guide to Underwater Florida" on occasion, but don't get too excited with it.
As to what you're going to see, that depends on the spring. I frequent a few of them and each one is markedly different. You get the general sandy bottom but the aquatic life can be very diverse. At Blue Spring I have found remnants of ocean life in the form of sand dollars and I have been told there are shark teeth there, but have yet to find any. Blue is your basic hole-in-the-ground spring that has a cave to penetrate if you are certified. Alexander Springs is a wide and shallow basin bottoming out at around 27'. Take a hotdog with you to feed the fish if you go there. Troy Springs is also a hole-in-the-ground but in the run you can see the bottom ribs and nails of a Civil War era steamboat that was scuttled. Ichetucknee Springs is a blast for tubing, especially when it's crowded in the summertime. You can snorkel down the run, but not dive it. Not anymore anyways.
Ginnie is a popular private spring for divers as well as Blue Grotto and Devil's Den... except I would classify the last two as sinks, not springs. All three of these charge too much, IMHO. But that's just me... It was worth diving them once.
Not sure what's good in the panhandle/big bend areas... I like to keep my treks limited to a day trip and some of those sites would be a little too far for driving back and forth in one day.
Make sure you bring your buddy and c-card.
Ken
If you like fish and pretty colorful things then springs are not going to really tickle your fancy. Hence, the fiance' groans everytime those destinations come up. Frankly I am perfectly content in the geology-looking at rock layers, bedding planes, fossils, holding onto the grate at Ginnie for dear life...
Just be mindful, quite a few of the spring dives, most notably the commerical ones are overhead environments and should be planned for accordingly.
As far as temperature-I were a 5mm, gloves and booties and will be shivering at the end of the 2nd dive. Realistically I will buy a hood when I move back to Florida. But I am also a skinny guy so that tends not to help.
Just be mindful, quite a few of the spring dives, most notably the commerical ones are overhead environments and should be planned for accordingly.
As far as temperature-I were a 5mm, gloves and booties and will be shivering at the end of the 2nd dive. Realistically I will buy a hood when I move back to Florida. But I am also a skinny guy so that tends not to help.
Thanks for the info so far, I should have clarified that warm to me is 70+ degrees. I just got back from diving in some spring fed rivers in Texas where the water was 73 degrees. That's great temp for me personally.
I do like to see some life be it fish, arthropods, coral, whatever. I had a blast playing with the fish and crawfish last week. And I'm not interested in diving in an overheard environment that I can't get out of in about 20 seconds
I do like to see some life be it fish, arthropods, coral, whatever. I had a blast playing with the fish and crawfish last week. And I'm not interested in diving in an overheard environment that I can't get out of in about 20 seconds
As far as the Panhandle area goes i did my check outs in Vortex springs. Its a nice spring with a cave if you got the cert. Can get a little crowded in the afternoon with all the classes. I've heard people talk about Morrison Spring, right down the road from Vortex, but i have not dove there yet. The viz there depends on the local rainfall and a near by river that will flood.
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Jayde323
Contributor
The best place to get an intro to spring diving is Ginnie Springs (this is my personal opinion). It's privately owned and has a full service dive shop on site. The official page of Ginnie Springs Outdoors, in High Springs Florida. Visit our online shop for great deals on dive gear and accessories. There are a couple different areas that you can dive without having to be cave certified. Do bring a light with you (or you can rent) for when you visit the Ballroom, but you are not allowed to bring lights to any other spring unless cave certified. There are nice bath houses for a warm shower after diving and a cafe to grab a bite to eat. Here's a pic of me hanging out in the Devil's Ear and Little Devil about 3 weeks ago... Right after this was taken we hung out with a manatee for about 30 minutes.
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Check out my website (in my sig line). Mouse over the Dive Sites link and click on Florida Springs. I have a lot of information on several springs I've visited along with photos. I also have created a table with one of the headings being what type of diving (OW, Cavern, Cave) can be done at each. Most of the springs don't have very large OW areas. Some of them won't even allow OW divers. I believe Manatee may be one of those. Crystal River is definitely a great place to go to snorkel with the manatees. I would then head over to Rainbow River to do a drift dive. If you're not interested in overhead diving, then stay away from Ginnie Springs. The Ballroom will not allow you to get out in about 20 seconds. And OW divers have died in the Ballroom. My suggestion is for you to take a Cavern course. Even though you have no desire to go in the overhead, there are a lot of great skills to be learned in a Cavern course and it will open up a lot more sites for you. You'll be able to safely enter the overhead and still stay close enough to the entrance to be within your comfort zone. Heading to the springs is great, but the temptation to just take a little peak will hit you. Get trained before that temptation takes over.
krawlings
Contributor
I would like to add Rainbow river . It ia a real relaxinx drift dive lots of fish and plant life to see . It is about an hour dive Water temp is 72 degrees F.
DIVE SAFE HAVE FUN
KEN
DIVE SAFE HAVE FUN
KEN
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