Florida · about 21 km from Live Oak
Little Gem Spring (Suwannee River State Park)
Info · exploration
Information only: the spring is not open for cave diving. Do not contact the park about diving here.
- Max depth52 m (171 ft)
- CertificationFull cave
- SpecialSidemount
Diving and fills
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Fills nearby
- Amigos Dive Center (Fort White)Air to 4,500 psi (~310 bar), nitrox 21–40 %, medical O₂ (also for rebreathers), custom trimix (continuous blender), argon
- Ginnie Springs dive shopAir (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)
- Extreme Exposure (High Springs)Air, nitrox (32 %, 50 %), O₂ (AL40) and trimix ('mix' in doubles); walk-in fills of your own tanks: ask
Now at Little Gem Spring (Suwannee River State Park)
What it looks like
All 1 videos and posts
Videos and posts
From other divers, via YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. They only load when you click; after that, Google's or Meta's privacy rules apply.
- Facebook
Karst Underwater Research
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Other people's footage, not advice: how someone else dives here says nothing about what suits your team. Dive within your training.
The dive
A pool about 3 m across by the river leads through a low crevice to a deep, very silty cave averaging 40 to 46 m; visibility on the first dives was 3 to 9 m.
Profile and sections
A pool about 3 m across by the river leads through a low crevice to a deep, very silty cave averaging 40 to 46 m; visibility on the first dives was 3 to 9 m. The Fissure Tunnel has strong current, and the Icicle Tunnel holds a layer of hydrogen sulfide.
According to the park's management plan, Little Gem, also called Lime Spring, is a second-magnitude spring; a link with the Lime Sink Run cave has not yet been shown. Guy Bryant, Lee Sams and Lamar English explored the cave in 1981 to ~376 m, with decompression of up to more than two hours. In 2006–2009 Scott Butsch, Al Heck and Cindy Butler added the Elvis Fissure, the Icicle Tunnel and the Lake Room, for ~713 m of mapped passage. In January 2026 KUR divers dived it with a water-quality sonde.
Practical: information only.
- Depth and profile
- Plan for ~-52 m: the park gives deeper than -46 m, ~-47 m was measured in 2006 and a pit is estimated at ~-49 to -52 m (unconfirmed); average ~-40 to -46 m · ~713 m mapped
- Configuration
- Restrictions ~90 cm high at ~-4.5 m and ~75 cm high at ~-30 m.
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable (estimate)
- Not open for cave diving.
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Sidemount
- Goes down to 52 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
- Experienced divers only
This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.
How to get there
A small spring on the Suwannee in Suwannee River State Park, just upstream from the mouth of Lime Sink Run; reached by canoe from the park's boat ramp.
Around Little Gem Spring (Suwannee River State Park)
Fills3 fill stations · nearest 68 km
Amigos Dive Center (Fort White)
5472 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038
Air to 4,500 psi (~310 bar), nitrox 21–40 %, medical O₂ (also for rebreathers), custom trimix (continuous blender), argon
During shop hours (times not listed) — ask
Walk-ins welcome. O₂-clean equipment required for O₂. Dive centre in 'cave country' since 2006.
Ginnie Springs dive shop
Ginnie Springs Outdoors (in the park), near High Springs, FL
Air (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)
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
Rents cylinders (incl. nitrox steel 85), BCs, regulators, suits and lights. Personal compressors are banned in the park.
Extreme Exposure (High Springs)
18481 High Springs Main Street, High Springs, FL 32643
Air, nitrox (32 %, 50 %), O₂ (AL40) and trimix ('mix' in doubles); walk-in fills of your own tanks: ask
Daily 8:00–18:00
Tech and cave shop since 1995. Rents singles, stages and doubles (steel/alu, air, nitrox or mix), regulators, backplate/wing, lights and scooters; training.
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