Morrison Springs

[Skeptic14]

My wife and I are diving Morrison Springs for the first time tomorrow. I checked the choctawhatchee river levels, they are 1.8 feet, which I think means great conditions?

Any tips on the park facilities or cool things to look for are appreciated!

 

[Skeptic14]

Here's a little info from a newbie about Morrison Springs that other beginners might find helpful.


The choctawhatchee river levels at Caryville were about 2-2.2 feet the morning of our dive and the visibility was incredible, probably 50+ feet. Posters in past threads on scuba board had said that river levels below 5 is good and below 3 is great. That definitely was true this past weekend. Just type "choctawhatchee river level" into google and it's the first or second link.

The facilities (a pavilion, decking and tables) look fairly new. There is a nice loading zone that is close to the pavilion and tables as well. We arrived just before 9 AM on a Sunday and there were only a few tables left. I don't know if it is always this crowded on weekends but by the time our first dive was over it was even more crowded and people were waiting for tables and setting up on the ground. I think I'll try a weekday next time.

There is a walkway to a platform that you can giant stride off, or you can wade in. We opted for wading in, yeah the water is refreshing (cold) when you wade in, but it's welcoming to me after being in my wet suit for ten minutes and being hot!

This is a simple dive but for beginners it was still fun. There is a training platform in about 12-15 feet of water. And then the bottom slopes like a bowl toward the "cavern".

There is a tree trunk that lays across the cavern at around 20-25 feet and it is around 40-45 feet deep going down into the cavern, supposedly there are eels somewhere down there but we didn't see any, we might need to spend more time looking around, might have missed where they hang out.

Despite being a simple dive, I'll definitely go back and try to explore more and see what we missed the first time.

 

[GLENFWB]

Here's a little info from a newbie about Morrison Springs that other beginners might find helpful.There is a tree trunk that lays across the cavern at around 20-25 feet and it is around 40-45 feet deep going down into the cavern, supposedly there are eels somewhere down there but we didn't see any, we might need to spend more time looking around, might have missed where they hang out.Despite being a simple dive, I'll definitely go back and try to explore more and see what we missed the first time.

The eels generally hang out inside the cavern itself. Although I know they do, I can't remember seeing them outside the cavern at Morrison. Next time you are there, although it is shallow, it is really cool exploring around all the cypress trees for fish, turtles, etc. I always swim along the edges in the grass when it is present. You find all kind of interesting critters if you are in to that.

 

[Skeptic14]

Thanks for the additional info. Yeah I think we missed the actual cavern, granted we are beginners so we heeded the sign with the warning of not going any further. I didn't see any obvious/large entrance so I'm guessing it's fairly small. We need a light next time to at least be able to peak inside.

We swam around the shallows some and saw what I think was a very big grass carp.

 

[catone]

Dived the cavern this weekend, water level quite high, just a very small patch of beach to the right of the stairs coming from the tables area, water dirty and murky and viz about 1-2 ft for the first 10 ft down, then cleared up but quite dark, little flow going in the cavern area.

 

[TMHeimer]

'06 I did part of AOW there and saw the sign warning of alligators. '07 went back and sign was gone.

 

[GLENFWB]

Yeah, a gator ate it! :snorkel2:

'06 I did part of AOW there and saw the sign warning of alligators. '07 went back and sign was gone.