Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 7255h ago)
Max Depth
60 ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Hudson Grotto
The grotto is used for training, open water diving, and is available for private parties and special events. The Grotto walls are hour glass shaped loaded with solution tubes and other objects to look at. The bottom is dome shaped, and the edges average around 100 - 110 feet in Depth. with the deepest spot, about 155ft in a small opening against the north wall. There are four platforms, Three of them just under the end edge of the dock, and one in the middle of the sink. The three platforms are layered like steps, the first one is at 20ft.,the second at 45 ft. and the third at 60ft. Tied to the white barrel there is a line that runs down to a 100 foot platform which is used for Advance Open Water classes. The Platform sits next to two boats and lines run to an old VW van, and other interesting objects sitting on the bottom. There are several thermo clines, the mid-water temperature can get pretty cold between 40 and 80 feet , however the bottom temperature usually stays in the low 70's. The water is tannic all year, and visibility can really fluctuate with the algae bloom. Cost is usually around 10- $20 for divers depending on visibility.
Located one mile North from the intersection of SR 52 and US Hwy 19. Tower Drive is directly across the street from the Castriota Chevy Dealership. Hudson Grotto is on the left side of Tower Drive, just across the street from Scuba West dive shop.
Access
shore
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Jason NYC
Feb 4, 2005, 12:00 AM
scuba
My wife and I went to Tampa, Florida for a wedding and wanted to practice using our new DUI TLS350's. We figured the springs would be a good place to do this but we didn't want to drive 3 hours just to practice and the Gulf of Mexico was not cooperating. Thus, our hunt for a convenient dive began! Enter Ned DeLoach's DIVING GUIDE TO UNDERWATER FLORIDA. I love this book. Ned says, "This is a typical gulf coast sink that resembles a pond. It slopes gently to 15 feet where the sink walls plunge almost vertically to 110 feet. Below 80 feet there is a salt water level with a slight intrusion of hydrogen sulfide." I say, "This dive scared the hell out of me." Seriously though, not a good place to practice anything unless you are with an instructor or you are very comfortable diving in very low light conditions. I couldn't even see the first training platform (located at a depth of 20 ft.) from the surface! Eventually we did find it and could see the dock above us thanks to the noon sun shining down through the water. The visibility was about 20 feet but it was pitch black due to the tannic water. Our lights did nothing for us. The temp. was 68. We never went deeper than 22 feet. Hudson Grotto has so much potential though. The owners of Scuba West, located across the street from the gated grotto, were pleasant. They own and operate Hudson Grotto. The facility has picnic tables, a nice floating dock, underwater training platforms, covered classroom areas with blackboards and tables, parking, and nice signs explaining how the grotto came to be and how best to dive it. The total cost for this dive was just under $50 bucks including admission for two, 2 tanks and 2 sets of weights. We chose to do one dive only due to time constraints but I'm sure the friendly folks at Scuba West would have allowed us to spend the entire day there if we wanted.
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