The Blue Grotto and Devil’s Den

The Blue Grotto and Devil’s Den

Williston, Florida

Highway US 27 Alt

Johnny and I made several dive trips to the north-central Florida area in and around Williston and Ponce de Leon to The Blue Grotto and Morrison Springs.  In the 1960’s these were little more than farming pastures with friendly owners who would let people dive the clear water with constant temperatures.  I revisited The Blue Grotto several years ago on one of my Florida trips from Alaska.  Driving down Alt. 27 saw the sign and turned around and headed down the dirt road to the dive site.  I thought it would still be little more than a pasture but was pleasantly surprised to find a small store, dive headquarters, and several bunk houses and camp ground.  Things have changed over the years since we last dove there. 

Devil's Den is near the small town of Williston; Florida this fern-draped sinkhole offers a unique geological setting and was actually once thought by early settlers to be the “den of hell”, as steam rising from the warm waters in winter does bear resemblance to its name.  Divers know better, as do snorkelers who enter the open steps from this window above to enjoy the underground basin 60 feet below.  The water's depths range around 50 feet but the cave systems are now closed to divers.

The Blue Grotto, a large clear water cavern is just about a stone's throw from the Devil's Den.  This area is known to have some of the best scuba diving in Florida.

The Blue Grotto plunges down to a depth of 100 feet (30 meters) in crystal clear water, with a temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit (23 degrees Celsius) year-round.  Only open water diving certification is necessary as Blue Grotto is a very safe cavern dive, featuring permanent guide lines, underwater lighting, and a submerged air bell, providing a unique dive experience.  You can enter the dive bell at a depth of 30 feet below the water’s surface. So, what a great way to spend time by hanging out in the underwater 'air bell' taking off our mask and regulator to talk about the dive we just finished! 

Fresh air is continuously pumped into the air bell eliminating any CO2 or stale air.  There are steel grab handles on the ceiling and it's a great way to discuss stuff if you are continuing your dive or don't want to go to the surface to talk about how the dive is going. 

The nature area surrounding Blue Grotto now is great for having a picnic with family or friends.  You can enjoy a relaxing BBQ after some great dives or stay the night in one of their cabins by the pool.  Johnny and I camped out under the trees and grilled over our fire.  We were the only two diving on several of our trips so it was nice to see the improvements and several divers there enjoying this beautiful place.

Even the most remote areas of north-central Florida’s popular cave diving sites bear the scars of decades of diver traffic.  Scrape marks on walls and gouges in floors are something we’ve all become so accustomed to; few really know what an untouched, unblemished cave really looks like.  On the first dive at Blue Grotto I was the one who stirred up the silt turning the feeling of being suspended in the air with the water so clear to a black/brown mess where we could not see anything.  We had made our way to the bottom of the cavern side to the one foot level and while on the bottom, I settled into the silt layer with my fins. When I realized where I was and moved out of it, I clouded everything around us.

Later on, while talking that night, we both laughed that we thought we were going to die and never be found at the bottom of the cavern covered in all the muck and silt.  We discussed our diving instructor a former Navy Seal who told us a story of one of his cave dives where he was blinded by silt and almost ran out of air.  He went limp and did not move and slowly the springs current moved him out of the silt till he saw light to the cave entrance and headed to the surface running out of air the last bit and had to free ascent from a depth of sixty feet to the surface.  We were lucky and had guide ropes to make our way back to the surface.

On another dive, we ventured into the Cave part of Blue Grotto, where at the time rarely anyone dove.  I don’t think it had totally been explored and the only ropes were those you brought with you, as no permanent ones had been placed there.  Good flashlights, an underwater camera and the desire to see what was beyond the dark entrance hole in the crystal clear water were the things that drew us to go inside.

What sets The Cave at Blue Grotto apart is not only that it’s a site few get to see, but it still remains as close to its natural state as possible.  The rock formations are fragile.  Virtually every surface is covered by a deep, undisturbed layer of silt.  Cave divers often think of a silty or muddy cave as an ugly cave when, in fact, that’s only because of all the gouges, hand prints and fin prints.  When a deep layer of silt bears none of these blemishes, it can be surprisingly beautiful.

The cave consisted of a large room, roughly the length and width of a football field. Its most prominent feature is a large debris cone, rising nearly to the ceiling and reaching outward almost to the walls.  The debris cone creates a sense that you are actually swimming through a circular tunnel around it.  Despite this, there is a permanent rope guideline that will take you across the top of the debris cone. In the middle of this line, is an overhead fracture.  

I think we made dives here four or five times each summer we went.

Ice