United States » Volusia Blue Springs |
| Overview | Location & Specifics | Conditions | Resources | Nearby Systems |
Portions of the following information were taken from Florida Geological Survey Bulletin 66.
Volusia Blue Spring is 6 miles southwest of Deland in Blue Spring State Park. From the junction of US 17/92 and SR 44 in Deland, travel 5.3 miles south on US 17/92. Turn west (right) on CR 4142 (French Avenue) in Orange City and continue 2.5 miles to Blue Spring State Park. Follow the park road to the spring parking area. The spring is at the head of Blue Spring Run about .25 miles north of the parking area and is accessed by an elevated wooden boardwalk along the east bank of the spring run.
Description - Volusia Blue Spring has a circular spring pool in a conical depression with a notable boil in the center. The spring pool measures 135 ft north to south and 105 ft east to west. The depth of the spring measured over the vent is 20 ft. The bottom of the spring is limestone and sand. The vent is an elongated fissure in the limestone. The water is clear and blue with a greenish tinge. Algae are ubiquitous in the spring and its run. No other aquatic vegetation was observed during the October 2001 visit. The spring has steep sandy banks that rise to approximately 15 to 20 ft above water level. The spring run also has steep sandy banks and flows south and west approximately 1,050 ft to the St. Johns River through dense hardwood and palm forest. A limited underwater cave system has been mapped at Volusia Blue Spring.
Utilization - The spring and its surroundings are owned and managed by the State of Florida. Manatees frequent the spring run during the winter months. It is an excellent place for nature study, swimming, scuba diving, and canoeing. Camping and hiking also are permitted in the park. Full facilities are available.
| Date | Submitter | Visbility | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5/28/2023 | Ryan Beauchamp | Perfect | Beautiful dive max depth 116ft water temp 74 huge blue crab back in small cave with swim thru also love the drift dive back all the fish and manatees always welcoming |
| 10/5/2014 | Iowa cave diver | 80 | Moderate flow in the spring vent... Spring run had mild flow with an abundance of marine life. Max depth for us was only 80' and the grim reaper sign must be missing. Nice dive, first time at this location... Great dive for the newer OW diver in our group |
| 10/5/2013 | Jeff | 50-70' | Visibility was fine, current was fairly strong. saw 10 other divers while we where diving. |
| 9/21/2011 | tj | 15' | VIS slightly better than 2 weeks ago, but its less than 15'. I doubt it will get much better before they close it in November because of the manatees hibernating there during the winter. :( |
| 5/23/2009 | Rodger Taylor | 70' | Summer time at Blue Springs has large crowds of divers at the gate at 8 A.M. Saturday and Sundays. Arrive early or you won't get in. Water level has been down and only mid calf deep from diver entry to boil. Boil has good water clairity all the way to the bottom. Bottom has changed since 2008. First a large piece of limestone on the right side of the vent wall collapsed over the vent. This now is covered by a lot of popcorn sized rocks. The vent on the back side is wide open. More than four divers at the vent becomes a crowd. The little cave at 20' has a side tunnel that is opening up. Once packed with mud this has opened where one can see back about 25'. Someday this might be divable. |
| 10/26/2008 | Fed | 70 | Dove down to 100 ft as part of my AOW training. Visibility was good and we were the only divers there. We could see the entire cavern at the bottom. The spring run was still pretty high at this time. Flow was heavy as usual. On the way down the spring run a manatee swam right over me. Blue Springs is a good dive and I enjoy it all the time. Closed Nov 14th until March 1 due to manatees migrating for the winter months. No diving or swimming allowed. |
| 8/26/2008 | CaveDiver.net | 60' | We went Sunday August 24 to Blue Spring and found it was closed to all water activities including diving due to several large trees that fell close to the boil.
We went back today and the spring was open to diving but the river is up 6 feet making it a swim from the diver stairs to the boil. The big trees are lying under the water and most of the run is covered with sand from the collapse of the banks of the run into the water. Much sand also fell into the boil which pushed the sand onto the limestone shelves throughout the system. Inspite of that the water while greenish was clear with at least 60' viz. The park has closed the run from the diver stairs to the swim dock and we were told that they are going to build a new swim dock soon. Currently water is over the swim dock and so is a hazard to swimmers. |
| 5/27/2008 | ARY | 30'-40' | Viz 30-40ft worsening at Cork Rock restriction. Depth at restriction 125ft, temp 75F. Debris is filling up the restriction and gravel/sand slope is sliding in to be picked up and thrown back. Currents pattern changed and I would expect restriction layouts will have more changes in a near future. Green stuff is all over the rock down there, catfish and placos are gone. Only few fish in a spring run. Water in the run is hazy not to mention it is very shallow now. This spring used to be crystal clear and full of fish, not anymore. Volusia is lawfully in a name of housing development businesses is killing first magnitude spring and amazing unexplored yet challenging cave within it. The CR restriction is a still high flow because now it is twice smaller in size so don't expect it will ever let easy to see the cave below. |
| 3/9/2008 | Tom Johnson (tj) | 20' | Park and spring is open to divers and swimmers since the 1st of March. Vis a bit better than last November. |
| 8/19/2007 | R. Taylor | 3' | Worst water conditions I've witness in 20 years of diving Blue Spring, Orange City, Florida. The vent is pumping large gobs of particulate cutting viz to about 3'. If my buddies lights weren't on I would not have been able to locate them across the vent even while shinning my 10 watt light on them. Even in the cavern zone viz is so poor that you loose eye contact with your buddie at 10'. Would not recommend this site for novice divers until the viz improves. Even the run is cloudy and visually diminished. |
| 4/27/2006 | CaptainSpeleo | 75' | The river level was down and the current appeared to be about 4 - 5 knots, judging by the speed the snorkelers were floating downriver from the headspring to the swimming area. There was a very noticeable boil at the headspring. Once the river level comes back up and the outflow decreases, this dive will be more relaxing and enjoyable.
The diving fee is $10.65 per diver. You must leave your C-card at the ranger station. If it doesn't have a photo on it, make sure to have a driver's license or other photo ID with you to confirm the C-card belongs to you. Lights can be carried by divers who are certified Cavern or higher. |
| 4/10/2006 | Dave Jones | 70 | Be prepared for some ripping flow (1-2 knots). We entered the run at the steps and ended up wading the 25 m or so to the entrance as the flow was too strong to fin against. Recommend you overshoot the entrance and get sorted in the area beyond the entrance where the flow is little or nonexistent. Catfish were regularly gulping air at the surface due to the hypoxic conditions; they were hiding out at the back of the side passage at 15' feet when we ascended. Made it as far as the log at 90' and noticed the current noticeably weaker near the bottom. Nice dive. Note you can board your pet at the local Pet Hotel near Deltona while you dive for $12. |
| 3/25/2006 | Dan Aleman | 90 ft | Park waters are now open to diving as the manatees have left the area. |
| 1/10/2006 | State Park Manager | INTERMITTENT CLOSURES | This site is currently closed due to manatees in the run. The park closures are intermittent though. Call ahead to make sure. |
| 12/9/2005 | Adam Gonzales | 90 | The level of the run was high, so walking up the river was impossible. The flow at the vent is extremely strong and shoots straight up from the vent at 120ft. Along the walls, there are smooth rock shelves that oscillate every 3-5 ft, making for a very unique and interesting structure. |
| 10/22/2005 | Andy Lamborn | 100 ft | Blue Springs offers an excellent cavern dive with a max depth of 120 ft. The spring run water level was a little high, so walking up the run to the boil is difficult. Furthermore, the spring vent has very high flow making it difficult to stay neutrally buoyant! Dragging your gear from the parking lot to the spring run is a lot of work, but this is a good 1 time dive if you have not seen this unusual cavern. |
| Description | Type | Date | Author | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Home Page |
Web Site | |||
 System Map |
Map |
| System | Depth | Cave | Cavern | OW | Last Report | Distance (mi) |
|---|