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Morrison Springs
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Submitted By:
Michael Sutton
Submitter Comments:
Once a commercial dive operation site, Morrison Springs is now a Walton County recreation park. Bought by the State of Florida in 2004, it is now a no fee area. The dive area is an about 250 foot wide spring basin surrounded by a grove of cypress and other trees. Entry is sand gently sloped entry into the water. Water levels vary, but at approximately 18 to 25 feet, there is a training platform resting on the bottom of the basin. In the center of the basin, there is a funnel shaped entrance to the cavern area. A large tree trunk rests across this opening. Down the funnel is a small cavern room at about 35 feet and a large cavern room at about 50 feet. Depths can reach about 90 feet in the large cavern room. Water temps stay constant at about 65-68 degrees all year due to the spring. Facilities include bench areas, a bath house and restrooms, a covered picnic pavilion, a freshwater wash-down shower and some large floodlights. The area is also a popular launch place for local fishermen, who will launch boats in the same area as the divers. For this reason, a dive flag should be towed with the diver while in the dive basin. Caution should be noted anytime you surface as boaters don't always follow dive flag rules. As of October 2005, the county is meeting and planning upgrades to the facilities and also a separate boat launch area to separate divers and boaters. While this won't keep all boaters out of the basin, it will create a much safer dive environment. Nearest Dive Shop and Air Fills: Vortex Springs - http://www.vortexspring.com/ 10 miles away. Other sites that have information or pictures or maps.
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/springs/locator/Morrison.htm
http://underwaterflorida.homestead.com/morrison.html
http://www.floridacaves.com/morrison.htm
http://tfn.net/Springs/Morrison.htm
Directions:
Location: South of Ponce de Leon, Florida GPS coordinates N30.6578 W85.9056 Directions: Morrison Spring is south of the town of Ponce de Leon, Florida. Take I-10 and exit at Hwy 81 in Ponce de Leon. Go south on Florida Hwy 81. Turn left (east) on County Road 181. (look for a pavilion/shed in field with a Blue roof) Take CR-181 and turn right onto Morrison Springs Road. You will soon come to a fork in the road. Keep left and proceed to the spring. The road will dead end in the springs parking lot. Google Maps location: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=N30.6578+W85.9056&spn=0.048180,0.095645&t=h&iwloc=A&hl=en
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Diver
Reviews: (Please share your
own experiences by clicking
here!)
10/04/2007 Anonymous (Avg: 3.38 Review) - Great Dive site! This is a great place to go dive no matter what level you are. The water was crystal clear the day we went but we were the only people there. You could look at the bottom from the shore and see the bottom. As you dive down to the cavern you can feel the water rushing by you and making you swim just a little to reach the cavern. You need a wetsuit for this dive the water was about 58, and that's a constant no matter what depth.
08/26/2007 Lasure (Avg: 4.05 Review) - Great dive site that's good for beginners if they stay out of the caves. Get there early or come on a weekday or it gets packed in with rednecks at the swimming hole. First cave is an easy dive, second requires planning and caution, and third cave has killed whole dive classes including cave diving instructors…so be careful. But now that the state is running it, I heard they dynamited the 3rd cave entrance closed....have fun.
10/18/2006 Chris in Woodstock (Avg: 3.61 Review) - This is a great dive site as long as there are not many people in water. When I went earlier this year, no one was in the water and it was like swimming in a fresh water aquarium. Visibility was 100+ feet. My 10-year old daughter did two of her OW certification dives here and she really enjoyed it. We sat on the big log that is above the opening of the cavern and we could feel the force the water coming out of the cavern (not really strong, but definitely noticeable). The bottom of the spring is somewhat silty. I can see how visibility could go downhill fast if there were many people in the water or scuba divers with poor buoyancy control that cannot stay off the bottom. Since the water is about 68-70 degrees year-round, most divers will want a 5 mm wetsuit with hood, gloves and boots, especially when doing multiple dives. I use a 3 mil full wetsuit with a 5mm hooded torso warmer. My daughter uses a 6mm full wetsuit. The are no facilities at this spring. If you are traveling with children or non-divers, you may also want to consider Vortex Spring. Nonetheless, we had a great time diving at this spring.
06/27/2006 Dan from Phoenix (Avg: 3.61 Review) - My wife and I dove Morrison Springs way back when, 1965 thru 1978. There were hardly any regulations and our equipment was as good as you made it. At this time there were very, very few octo rigs. We would make our own. At the time we were there, a third entrance was accessible to down to depths of about 120 to 135 feet. I went into it once. Total darkness and very spooky. It has since been sealed, I understand. Some of the Astronauts trained in the springs and attempted to train seals to carry supplies, cameras and such. This is one of the best and clearest springs in Florida. I highly recommend it, if nothing else but for the many, many freshwater eels that hang out of the limestone's holes down in the caverns. Yep, I am getting old, let's see, yep 62. Oh well, I still dive in my pool and at a clear lake here in Phoenix, AZ. Take care, be careful and be sure to go to Morrison Springs if at all possible. Anyone wanting to talk about the springs are welcome to Email me: DanManDMC at cox dot net.
05/07/2006 MIke Riley (Avg: 3.06 Review) - This dive site has crystal clear water most of the year. There is a large platform at 15' that is very popular with classes. There is a entrance to a cavern at 55'. The cavern has a 150 diameter with max depth of 90'. The entrance is very small and only a small amount of light enters the cavern therefore it is not recommended for beginning divers. There are a lot of catfish and eels inside the cavern. The water temp is a very consistent 68-70 F year round.
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Diver
Averages for Morrison Springs (1=worst,
5=best) |
Number of reviews for this site: 5
1654-6-5-27
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5.00
4.20
3.20
2.80
3.54