Possible n. Fl sprigs diving trip in the future

[mcf57]

i am 48yrs old and live in the Atlanta area. Me and two childhood friends live here. We have two other friends who live in the Miami area. We haven't all been together in about 10-15yrs. We r looking to meet for a weekend. N. Florida seems like the best centrally (& cost effective) location for us.

I am a certified diver so am thinking maybe I can kill two birds with one stone here. I have about 45 dives logged, but have never gone to the springs in n. FL so would like to try. Nothing hard and just an easy type dive.

I have seen a few. Any good suggestions for not only meeting with old friends, but I would have to pair up with someone since I am the only diver in our bunch. Maybe also a place that has activities for others (swimming, boating, kayaking,etc.).

We haven't set a time or date yet either so that could be a factor as well. Fall, spring,summer, etc.?

ANY feedback would be great.

 

[Dominick Gheesling]

Ginnie Springs

 

[Dominick Gheesling]

Ginnie has everything you have described.

 

[bamafan]

Ginnie has everything you have described.

Probably a good suggestion. High Springs is a cool little town. I would recommend not going on a summer holiday and personally I would wait till after Labor Day due to the crowds.

 

[Caveeagle]

There is a nice little Bed & Breakfast in High Springs called 'Grady House'. My inlaws like to stay there when in town.
Grady House Bed & Breakfast – Historic Bed & Breakfast in High Springs FL

Ginnie can be nice, but I would try to avoid there during summer weekends. It gets a bit zoo-like. It is a nice place to camp, and swim / snorkel on a hot day.

You can rent canoes and kayaks from the Santa Fe Canoe Outpost who will then pick you up from one of several boat ramps depending on how adventurous your are.
http://santaferiver.com/?gclid=CjwK...2F7vSlr72RL5TvIHQnuqPjk8QF1AmlJEfxBoCe5vw_wcB

Renting tubes and floating down the Ichetucknee River is a fantastic experience! This might be my favorite (above ground) spot in Florida!
Ichetucknee Springs - Tubing | Florida State Parks

If you are in the area and need a dive buddy, post up here with a little notice. If I am in town I am usually out diving at least 1/2 days per week.

 

[mcf57]

Cool. Yea, Ginnie was one I came across and high on my list as well. Seems like everyone agrees that its probably the one to go to. I just wanted to see if there were some other possibilities.

I would need to rent all my equipment and assume they can accommodate this as well.

 

[flyingDiver75]

+1 for Ginnie Springs as an easy spring diving destination that offers more than a few minutes of sights to see. Rental gear should be no issue - they run a steady stream of gear in and out of their shop.

Ichetucknee Springs is great too.

As mentioned, if you're camping there on the weekend, enforcement of the 10PM quiet time is likely to be non-existent. We had to endure noise from two parties well past 2AM last trip.

 

[kelemvor]

There's also Williston, FL. Williston has both Blue Grotto and Devil's Den.
Williston is about an hour south of Ginnie Springs. All three of these are privately owned and there is a fee to get in and dive. If you're in the area for a few days, you should check out all three. I would do Blue Grotto and Devil's Den on the same day.

Blue grotto does not have much flow. So after a bunch of divers get into the site, it will be silty and the visibility is greatly diminished. Make an effort to get to Blue Grotto (if you go) right when they open and get into the water as quickly as possible to avoid this. There are some features that make Blue Grotto unique. It's got an underwater "air bell" where you can take out your regulator and have a conversation with your buddy. Also, a good portion of the cavern is lit by an electric light that the owners installed.

All three of these sites will require a dive light. You'll have to rent if you don't own one. The rental lights that these sites offer are not very good, and you can probably get something on amazon for not much more than the rental fees. (it's been 4 years since I bought my own light, so they may have upgraded by now)

Blue Grotto and Ginnie Springs have both tent and RV camping. Blue Grotto has cabins available for rent and a regular swimming pool. There are hotels in town near Ginnie Springs. The hotels are not that great, but they are cheap. They're diver friendly, so there are places you can hang your gear outside to dry. High Springs Country Inn and Cadillac Motel. Around $60/night. I don't know about hotels in Williston.

Blue Grotto and Ginnie have caves if you're a certified cave diver. Devil's Den does not.

 

[kelemvor]

30 minutes south of Williston (Blue Grotto and Devil's Den) you will find K.P. Hole Park with water taxi access to Rainbow River. This is a nice river drift dive, and if you've got someone familiar with the area who can find it there is a nice little cavern. It's not a bad dive, either.

No camping or cabins at K.P. Hole. They do rent kayaks, paddleboards, and tubes I believe. K.P. Hole and Ginnie Springs will be overrun with visitors in the summer since both have non-diving activities for folks to partake in. That doesn't mean they are bad to dive that time of year, just be prepared for a crowd. You have to get to K.P. Hole early. They only let a certain number of people into the park at a time, and if they get full you will have to wait or come back another day. If you find they're full by mid morning you can usually get in around lunchtime. Many who come early get done diving or kayaking or whatever and leave by lunchtime.

Ginnie, Blue Grotto, Devil's Den, and Rainbow River have something in common. The water is consistently about 72f. 72f feels freezing in the summer, and 72f feels steamy in the winter. Keep the water temps in mind when you pack your wetsuit/drysuit.

Ginnie springs offers one thing none of the others do. Hot showers! Super fantastic after diving in cold spring water!

 

[mcf57]

Thanks for ALL the input. While I think we are initially looking at Ginnie, I may try to get away for a few hours and try some of these others. We are are also tentatively looking at the weekend of 10/6 so should be avoinding the crowds as suggested. I called them and they have plenty of sites available so hopefully all 5 of us can do this date and it will just be a mater of logistics.

Ginnie says that rent equipment too so I should be covered there. I think at this point, my biggest challenge will really only being able to find some sort of dive partner. Caveeagle mentioned how he is in the area and could possible help me out here so that is good to know too

I usually dive in the Gulf and Lake Jocassee (only 2hrs from me). I have also done the Atlantic (Charleston), but look forward to maybe finally trying the FL springs.