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Florida, USA

50 springs · down to 130 m (427 ft) · 23 suitable for an intro team

Cave diving in Florida

  • Springs50
  • Max depth130 m (427 ft)
  • Water temperature20–24 °C (68–75 °F)
  • Dive centres15
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Now in Florida (USA)

variable

Flow Santa Fe River, Fort White: High water, steady. 0.8 mm of rain in the past 7 days.

More of the latest in Florida (USA): conditions, closures and news →

Diving and fills

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Fills nearby

  • Fill stationCave Country Dive Shop (High Springs)1 kmAir, nitrox 32 % and 50 %, O₂, helium; trimix 21/35, 18/45, 10/70 and custom; CCR O₂ fillsRoute ↗
  • Fill stationExtreme Exposure (High Springs)1 kmAir, nitrox (32 %, 50 %), O₂ (AL40) and trimix ('mix' in doubles); walk-in fills of your own tanks: askRoute ↗
  • Fill stationGinnie Springs dive shop10 kmAir (high-volume) and nitrox 32 %; no trimix listed. Prices 2026, excluding tax: air $9, doubles air $14, nitrox single cylinder $15, nitrox $0.15 per cubic foot (for top-offs and doubles)Route ↗
All 15 providers ↓

Why come here

North Florida is full of springs and sinks with long, clear caves, often with stairs down from the car park. Around High Springs and Luraville the water is ~22 °C all year, around Marianna 19–21 °C. There is something for every level: open-water divers in the caverns of the Ginnie Ballroom and Devil's Den, cavern and intro divers in training caves such as Peacock, and full cave divers with trimix down to ~-94 m in Eagle's Nest.

The state parks have fixed rules: dive in teams of at least two, finish 1 hour before sunset, and open-water divers carry no lights. After heavy rain the Suwannee and Santa Fe rise and brown river water flows into the river caves, so check the river levels first. Blue Spring near Orange City is closed from 15 November to 15 March for the manatees.

Don't miss

  • Ginnie Spring – Ballroom: a large cavern with daylight at the entrance, sponge-work in the ceiling and visibility often over 30 m, which stays relatively good even when the rivers are high.
  • Devil's Eye & Devil's Ear (Ginnie Springs): Florida's best-known cave system, on the Santa Fe River, where a brown layer of river water often lies over the clear spring water and a very strong outflow pours out of the ground.
  • Peacock Springs (Peacock I): a calm training cave with low flow and one of the longest underwater caves in the US (~10–12 km), named since 2010 after the diver and explorer Wes Skiles.
  • Eagle's Nest: the famous deep system down to ~-94 m, only for full cave divers with trimix certification and deep-cave experience.

On a rest day

  • Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park: In Gainesville, walk 232 steps down into a 120-foot (37 m) sinkhole where small streams trickle down the slopes between the ferns and vanish into the ground.
  • O'Leno State Park: Watch the Santa Fe River disappear into a sink and flow on underground for a little over 3 miles before it rises again at River Rise.
  • Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park: Look out over the prairie south of Gainesville from the 50-foot observation tower; it is the only place in Florida where bison and horses roam wild, alongside alligators and nearly 300 bird species.

All 50 springs

Configuration
My certification

17 closed not shown ·

SiteMax depth
Blue GrottoBackmount · Open water / no overhead30 m (98 ft)
Blue Hole (Jug Hole), Ichetucknee SpringsEntry or dive feeSidemount · Cavern30 m (98 ft)
Blue Spring (Blue Spring State Park)Entry or dive feeBackmount · Intro to cave37 m (121 ft)
Bonnet SpringBackmount · Full cave13 m (43 ft)
Buford Spring (Chassahowitzka WMA)Permission neededEntry or dive feeBackmount · Full cave50 m (164 ft)
Cherokee SinkEntry or dive feeBackmount · Open water / no overhead24 m (79 ft)
Cow SpringsPermission neededSidemount · Full cave34 m (112 ft)
Cypress Spring (Holmes Creek, Vernon)Backmount · Cavern20 m (66 ft)
Devil's DenBackmount · Open water / no overhead21 m (69 ft)
Devil's Eye & Devil's Ear (Ginnie Springs)Entry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern30 m (98 ft)
Eagle's NestEntry or dive feeBackmount · Full cave94.5 m (310 ft)
Emerald Sink (Leon Sinks)Permission neededEntry or dive feeBackmount · Full cave61 m (200 ft)
Gator Hole (Merritt's Mill Pond)Sidemount · Full cave12 m (39 ft)
Ginnie Spring – BallroomEntry or dive feeBackmount · Open water / no overhead15 m (49 ft)
Hart Springs (Little Hart & Black Lagoon)Backmount · Full cave–
Hole in the Wall (Merritt's Mill Pond)Backmount · Cavern24 m (79 ft)
Hospital Hole (Weeki Wachee River)Entry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern42 m (138 ft)
Indian Washtub (Merritt's Mill Pond)Not known yet · Full cave–
Jackson Blue SpringEntry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern30 m (98 ft)
King Spring (Tarpon Spring, Kings Bay)Backmount · Open water / no overhead20 m (66 ft)
Lafayette Blue Springs (Green Sink)Backmount · Intro to cave–
Little River SpringsEntry or dive feeBackmount · Full cave30 m (98 ft)
Madison Blue SpringEntry or dive feeBackmount · Intro to cave44 m (144 ft)
Manatee Springs – Catfish HotelBackmount · Cavern34 m (112 ft)
Morrison SpringsEntry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern27 m (89 ft)
Orange Grove SinkEntry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern30 m (98 ft)
Paradise SpringsBackmount · Cavern43 m (141 ft)
Peacock Springs (Peacock I)Entry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern61 m (200 ft)
Shangri-La (Merritt's Mill Pond)Sidemount · Full cave8 m (26 ft)
Telford SpringBackmount · Cavern19 m (62 ft)
Troy SpringEntry or dive feeBackmount · Open water / no overhead21 m (69 ft)
Twin Caves (Merritt's Mill Pond)Sidemount · Cavern32 m (105 ft)
Vortex SpringEntry or dive feeBackmount · Cavern49 m (161 ft)

Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training.

Map

Cave Dive centre Closed

Dive centres and fill stations

15 dive centres, fill stations and instructors

  • Dive centre

    Cave Country Dive Shop (High Springs)

    19808 N US Hwy 441, High Springs, FL 32643

    Fills
    Air, nitrox 32 % and 50 %, O₂, helium · Daily 7:00–19:00
    Training
    Cavern, Full cave, CCR · TDI, IANTD, NSS-CDS
    Rental
    Doubles (backmount/sidemount, $14/day), trimix bailout cylinder ($16), SUEX scooter ($85/day) and Shearwater computers
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Dive centre

    Extreme Exposure (High Springs)

    18481 High Springs Main Street, High Springs, FL 32643

    Fills
    Air, nitrox, O₂ and trimix · Daily 8:00–18:00
    Training
    Cavern, Intro to cave, Full cave, Sidemount, CCR, Trimix · GUE, NSS-CDS, TDI, PADI, NAUI, IANTD
    Rental
    Singles, stages and doubles, regulators, backplate/wing, lights and scooters
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Fill station

    Ginnie Springs dive shop

    Ginnie Springs Outdoors (in the park), near High Springs, FL

    Fills
    Air and nitrox 32 % · Park hours: Mon–Thu 8:00–17:00, Fri–Sat 8:00–19:00, Sun 8:00–18:00. Last fill between 15:00 and 17:00, depending on the fill technician's availability
    Rental
    Cylinders (incl. nitrox steel 85), BCs, regulators, suits and lights
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Fill station

    Amigos Dive Center (Fort White)

    5472 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038

    Fills
    Air to 4,500 psi, nitrox 21–40 %, medical O₂, custom trimix, argon · During shop hours — ask
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Fill station

    Blue Grotto Dive Resort (Williston)

    3852 NE 172nd Ct, Williston, FL 32696

    Fills
    Air · Daily 8:00–16:00
    Rental
    Full rentals
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Dive centre

    Florida Springs Scuba (Williston)

    127 E Noble Ave, Williston, FL 32696

    Fills
    Air, nitrox, oxygen and trimix — ask · Wed–Sun 8:00–17:00
    Training
    Cavern, Full cave, Sidemount · SSI
    Guided dives
    Blue Grotto, Devil's Den, Devil's Eye & Devil's Ear (Ginnie Springs), Ginnie Spring – Ballroom
    Rental
    Scuba and snorkel gear rental
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Dive centre

    Cave Adventurers (Marianna)

    5211 Limestone Ln, Marianna, FL 32446

    Fills
    Air, nitrox 32 %, trimix, O₂, helium, argon · Daily 8:00–18:00
    Training
    CCR, Full cave
    Guided dives
    Jackson Blue Spring, Hole in the Wall (Merritt's Mill Pond), Twin Caves (Merritt's Mill Pond), Shangri-La (Merritt's Mill Pond)
    Rental
    Pontoon to Twin Caves and Hole in the Wall, scooters for Jackson Blue
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Dive centre

    Bella Bay Divers (New Port Richey)

    12330 Rose Haven Blvd, New Port Richey, FL 34654

    Training
    Full cave, Sidemount, Trimix · RAID, TDI
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Fill station

    Bird's Underwater (Crystal River)

    320 NW Hwy 19, Crystal River, FL 34428

    Fills
    Tank fills · Not stated — ask
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Dive centre

    Dayo North (Live Oak)

    9769 104th St, Live Oak, FL 32060

    Fills
    Air, nitrox, oxygen and helium · Mon–Fri 8:00–22:00
    Training
    Cavern, Intro to cave, Full cave, Sidemount, CCR · SDI, TDI
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Dive centre

    Dayo Scuba (Longwood)

    160 S US Hwy 17-92, Longwood, FL 32750

    Training
    Cavern, Intro to cave, Full cave, Sidemount, Trimix, CCR · SDI, TDI
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Fill station

    Dive Outpost (Luraville)

    20148 180th Street, Live Oak, FL 32060

    Fills
    Air, nitrox EAN32 and EAN50, O₂, helium · Fill station Wed–Sun 8:00–17:30
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Fill station

    Florida Dive Company (Orange City)

    2100 W French Ave, Orange City, FL 32763

    Fills
    Air and nitrox · Not stated — ask
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Dive centre

    North Florida Cave Training (Fort White)

    6583 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038

    Training
    Cavern, Intro to cave, Full cave, Sidemount · TDI, NAUI
    Website ↗Route ↗

  • Dive centre

    Spring Run Diving (Gainesville)

    5406 NW 88th St, Gainesville, FL 32653

    Training
    Cavern, Intro to cave · TDI
    Website ↗Route ↗

Order: partners first, clearly marked as partner; then dive centres by distance from High Springs and independent instructors by name. Not a recommendation: check what they offer yourself.

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Where to stay

Find a place near High Springs, Fort White, Branford, Live Oak, Chiefland, Williston, Marianna, Ponce de Leon

Villages that work well as a base for the caves in this region. Find a place for your team:

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Practical info: rules, fills and emergency numbers

Emergencies

  • Call 911. DAN emergency line +1 919 684 9111 (24 h) arranges the nearest available chamber. UF Health Shands Hospital, 1600 SW Archer Rd, Gainesville FL 32608 (+1 352 265 0111): monoplace chambers, with 24/7 emergency access according to a 2025 overview; the UF Health Wound Care and Hyperbaric Center (Magnolia Parke, +1 352 265 4450) lists only Mon–Fri 8:00–17:00 — let DAN confirm. Panhandle: few options; an undated FAU list names Bay Medical Center Panama City (+1 850 747 6950), but the 2025 overview says hospitals there now do wound care only.

Access and rules

  • State parks (Peacock, Madison Blue, Lafayette Blue, Manatee, Ichetucknee, Troy, Blue Spring): show proof of certification or leave it visible on the dashboard (Blue Spring: no digital copies), sign in or register, dive within your certification, min. 2 divers (no solo), finish 1 hour before sunset. Open-water divers may not carry lights. Instructors need a commercial dive permit. Scooters banned at Peacock, Lafayette Blue, Ichetucknee and Blue Spring (and at Madison Blue according to Dive Outpost); allowed at Ginnie, Little River and Manatee (Dive Outpost). Entry $4–6 per vehicle.
  • Private and other sites: Ginnie Springs — register by 17:00 (16:00 in winter), waiver, $28 per day for full cave divers and $36 for other certified divers, annual pass $440; intro-to-cave and above from age 18; no diving on some holiday weekends; night dives until midnight after a daylight dive; personal compressors banned. Blue Grotto, Devil's Den (reservations) and Vortex Spring ($25) are commercial dive parks. Cow Springs: NSS-CDS members with full cave only (gate code; at most four teams of three a day). Eagle's Nest: FWC registration plus a WMA permit. Jackson Blue: pass via Cave Adventurers.

Gas and fills

  • Fills and rentals: trimix and O₂ in High Springs (Extreme Exposure, Cave Country Dive Shop), Fort White (Amigos), Luraville (Dive Outpost) and Marianna (Cave Adventurers; order trimix in advance). Scooters for rent at Extreme Exposure, Cave Country (SUEX, $85/day) and Cave Adventurers. Lodging: camping at Ginnie Springs, cabins and campsites at Dive Outpost, houses via Cave Excursions (Luraville), Karst Kottages via Cave Adventurers.

Water and season

  • Rivers and 'blackwater': after heavy rain the Suwannee and Santa Fe rise and brown, tannic river water flows into the river caves. Telford is 'first to blow, last to clear'; the Peacock caves are often dark in the wet winter; Cow Springs gets backflow; a brown layer often lies over Devil's Ear. Troy Spring closes when visibility is poor. Least affected: Ginnie Ballroom, Manatee, Blue Grotto and Devil's Den; the Marianna caves are fairly flood-resistant, the Tallahassee caves very sensitive (Wet Rocks). River levels: USGS gauges Santa Fe River near Fort White (02322500), Suwannee River at Branford (02320500) and at Luraville (02320000).
  • Season and water: spring water ~22 °C year-round around High Springs and Luraville; 19–21 °C around Marianna (17–18 °C deeper). April–September busy with swimmers and campers; December–January quietest (Divernet). Manatees: Blue Spring (Orange City) is closed from 15 November to 15 March; the Manatee Springs main spring closes to divers in winter when manatees are present; keep 15 m (50 ft) away everywhere.

Safety

  • Why 'no lights': cave-diving deaths peaked at 26 in 1974. The NSS-CDS (founded 1973) put 'grim reaper' signs at cave entrances to warn untrained divers, and Sheck Exley's 'Blueprint for Survival' (1979) became the basis of the safety rules; by the early 1980s deaths had fallen below 5 a year. The light ban for open-water divers is meant to keep untrained divers out of the overhead; grates close off the most dangerous parts (Ginnie Ballroom, Vortex).
  • Eagle's Nest lies in a hunting area (Chassahowitzka WMA): wear fluorescent orange on hunt days and check the FWC hunt calendar (FWC +1 850 488 4676).

Rest day

  • Rest day: Troy Spring (wreck of the Madison, open water only), Devil's Den, the Ginnie Ballroom or Blue Grotto. In the west: snorkelling with manatees at Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River (diving only 1 Apr–14 Nov; King Spring all year, about -20 m) and the open spring of Alexander Springs in Ocala National Forest (about -8 m, certified divers, extra fee).

News

News articles that mention one of the caves in this region, collected automatically and not checked by us.

Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines.

Searched automatically, last on 13 Nov 2026.

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Sources, sharing and disclaimer

Current conditions

Visibility, flow and water levels change quickly. Right before your dive, check what other divers report:

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Compiled from web research (Florida State Parks, FWC, Suwannee and Walton County, Ginnie Springs, dive centres in High Springs, Fort White, Luraville and Marianna, NSS-CDS, USGS, wannadive.net, Divernet, Wet Rocks Diving, news; Sept 2026). Pins mostly from the USGS spring records (NWIS), compared with Wikipedia and wannadive; Orange Grove Sink from Grottocenter; ~ = estimate. Paradise Springs, Hart Springs, Bonnet Spring and Weeki Wachee were added in Oct 2026 (DivingFL, Hart Springs Park, Visit Gilchrist County, Extreme Exposure, Bay News 9, Wikipedia); Ginnie Springs Outdoors, dive manager (message, Oct 2026). Cherokee Sink was added in Nov 2026 (Visit Wakulla, Visit Tallahassee, America's State Parks, GUE/WKPP, dive reports on ScubaBoard; pin from OpenStreetMap). Rules, prices and access change — check locally.