Paradise Springs
Cave diving in North Florida
- Max depth
- 43 m
- Type
- Backmount
- Certification (estimate)
- Cavern
- DPV
- Not DPV-suitable
Sinkhole spring with an enormous cavern and fossils in the walls; hardly any flow. The deep shaft makes it mainly a depth and narcosis dive.
Sinkhole spring with an enormous cavern and fossils in the walls; hardly any flow. The deep shaft makes it mainly a depth and narcosis dive. The owner requires at least Advanced Open Water and age 18; instructors teaching here need at least cavern certification. No solo diving. Nearest cave shops in High Springs (~1 hour).
- Depth and profile
- Large cavern ~-6 m · shaft with a fixed line to the 'grim reaper' sign at ~-30 m · beyond it to ~-43 m with cave certification only · without cave certification max -18 m (owner)
- Configuration
- Backmount and sidemount; start with at least 2,000 psi (~140 bar), rule of thirds and a primary plus backup light are required. CCR: no ban found.
- Access
- Private dive park in Ocala (4040 SE 84th Lane Road). Wednesday–Sunday 8 am–5 pm; Monday and Tuesday only for groups of 5+ by appointment (48 h ahead). $30 per diver per day, cash only. No fills or rentals on site any more.
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable (estimate)
- Cavern and shaft; a scooter makes no sense.
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Searched automatically, last on 5 Oct 2026.
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Current conditions
Visibility, flow and water levels change quickly. Right before your dive, check what other divers report:
- USGS: Santa Fe River near Fort White ↗
Stage and discharge of the Santa Fe, just downstream of Ginnie Springs: at high water there is river water in Devil's Ear.
- USGS: Suwannee River at Branford ↗
Water level of the Suwannee near Little River and Troy. For Telford and Peacock there is the Suwannee River at Luraville gauge (02320000).
- Walton County: Morrison Springs ↗
The county posts a current water-clarity level (1–5) for Morrison Springs.
Plan a cave diving trip to North Florida
Enter your team, with certifications, gas and configurations, and see right away which caves fit. With driving times from your stay, fill stations and an AI instructor who thinks along.
Certification requirements, configurations and trimix depths are estimates for planning. Always check them locally and dive within your training. 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). Rules, prices and access change — check locally.