Question Spring Diving Late March 2025 (Suggestions?)

[The Chairman]

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.

They blew up the cave access in the 60s, but it's still a wonderful dive. It might be a 100 or 150 feet swim to the Madison. Royal, Peacock, and Little River are the other side of the river. Close enough where you'll get there well within your surface interval. OW is welcome at Orange Grove (Peacock System) if the vis is good, but not at the other springs in that park or over at Little River. However, Royal is a fun dive and full of baby peacock flounder. 3 to 4 inches. You have to have great buoyancy and kicking to not silt it out there. Even then, it's hard to spot those guys at times.

 

[Rilelen]

Oh, you can still get in the cave (and there’s line in there), but I would very much not advise it. System is super unstable.

 

[The Chairman]

Oh, you can still get in the cave (and there’s line in there), but I would very much not advise it. System is super unstable.

Are you absolutely sure? That's the case at Royal, but I haven't seen a diveable entrance at Troy. @tbone1004, @kensuf, or @Capt Jim Wyatt might be able to chime in on this.

 

[Rilelen]

Are you absolutely sure? That's the case at Royal, but I haven't seen a diveable entrance at Troy. @tbone1004, @kensuf, or @Capt Jim Wyatt might be able to chime in on this.

Yup. I’ve haven’t been in myself but know people who have - by all accounts, it’s quite tight, very high flow, and nothing worth seeing. There’s a similarly tight entrance in Rainbow River to a sidemount/no-mount cave maybe ten minutes downstream from where the water taxi drops.

For a somewhat more official source, there’s a note in the Troy state park management portfolio, noting the cave system’s instability, that cites personal communication with Wes Skiles.

 

[The Chairman]

I'll take a closer look next time I'm in it. Thanks.