Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 23329h ago)
Max Depth
16.4 ft
Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Morrison Springs
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. <br>http://www.dep.state.fl.us/springs/locator/Morrison.htm <br>http://underwaterflorida.homestead.com/morrison.html <br>http://www.floridacaves.com/morrison.htm <br>http://tfn.net/Springs/Morrison.htm
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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Chris in Woodstock
Oct 18, 2006, 12:00 AM
scuba
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.