Alexander Springs

Pretty good for a spring fed dive. Google maps will suggest two routes. The shorter (by three minutes) is on a 10 mile dirt road. Take the paved road! Scuba divers check in at the gatehouse and you will have to relinquish your c-card. Don't forget it on the way out! Bring a wagon of some kind the haul your gear down the longest 50 yard concrete path you're ever seen! It's a hot hike. Assemble your gear by the steps, then wade out to put your scuba kit on. The springs are nice, with a strong flow of 72 degree fresh water that keeps the viz excellent. Locals come to picnic and swim in the refreshing water. There's a rock cut all along which the rocks are scrubbed and you can get a pretty nice dive at 15 or so feet. Even deeper (24') is the opening to the springs. We dove a Saturday and Sunday in early June, arriving about noon each day and were able to get right in, although tales are told of having to wait for someone to leave so you could get in. And while the surface was crowded, the dive itself was not crowded in the least. Much better than DeLeon springs which is not far away.

My son and I went down on a sunny Saturday in April. This was our first solo dive after getting our C card. The facilities were nice with hot shower to rinse off. There was a scuba class going on with about 15 divers while we were there. They DO NOT have a fill station or equipment at this location. There are a lot of swimmers and snorkelers as well. Max depth on our PUCK was 23 feet with 72F temperature. Our next outing is going to be Troy Springs near Lake City. We want to practice our buoyancy and get used to our equipment.

Great beginner dive site. Only problem I had, I am from Missouri and the large 10' Gator named Alice swimming overhead during my dive made me a bit uneasy. Wouldn't, even if I could, dive this site at night.

Awesome place for beginner divers or if you haven't been down in a while. Impossible to hurt yourself. Great visibility, but little to see. A nice, easy dive, but plan on being bored after 30 minutes. Great to go with others who don't dive, as they can play in the springs.

A very nice place to dive. There were many animals, from otters, to turtles, to fish. This is a one-tank dive though. It's a good place for beginners, with a fair current at the source.

Alexander Springs is a great beginner dive site and a place to get familiar with your gear. The sand is not as fine as other, more silty springs and tends to get stuck in your gear, or hair or any other uncomfortable crevis it might get an opportunity to. I got a free-flowing octo after doing some bottom drills. Visibility is wonderful and you can see 60-100 ft easy, with a beautiful blue hue (bring your red filter if you have a camera). The bottom of the spring boil will give you some nice rock formations with a few surprises and a cave that you're not really allowed to muck with. It's a mid 30' dive at its deepest, but is relaxing and easy. There is an abundance of marine life including turtles, bass, brim, placosthamas, freshwater eel, gar and more. There is even a mating pair of gators at the spring that you might catch a glimpse of. The walk is long from the parking lot, especially laden with gear, but entry into the dive site is very easy when you get there. They don't like divers using the bathrooms at the lot as there is a shower at the beach to rinse off with to cut down on cleanups. An early dive in the winter will almost guarantee you a private experience. Later dives will earn you a few snorkelers and/or swimmers. Summer months will be rather busy with swimmers and snorkelers, and vis will suffer. Bottom line: the earlier the better. Overall I love this spring. It's small, but beautiful, and well worth the $5 entry into the park.

Very nice Florida State Park with lots of swimmers. Not much depth but lots of beauty. You will need to rinse your hair and gear well afterwards due to the sand in the boil. Fun dive with little or no challenge.

This is a great place for the beginner diver or to freshen up on your scuba skills. There is one big downfall at this spring. If there are many people diving at this site, visibility will be poor. The sand is so loose that it gets kicked up with the current when agitated. If you dive at this site, wear a beanie cap. Especially for the ladies or those of you with long/thick hair. You'll have to wash your hair out 5 times just to get the sand out of your scalp. I just revisited Alexander on Saturday, 9/9/06. I had a great time. The boil is a bit larger now and there is a small cavern.

This site is close to where I live so I've been to it a number of times. It is a great place to practice skills, or try out new equipment. It's also a fun place to just relax on the bottom. We have seen quite a bit of wildlife from gars and alligators, to turtles and lots of fish.

There was an article in the local paper recently about the state's removal of 1000 cu. yards of sand removed from the spring head. If you haven't seen Alexander recently, you'll find it's much bigger and deeper now. I'll post again after we get up there and dive it.

I dove this site in mid February and was overall pleased. The water conditions were good with almost unlimited visibility. Water temp was constant 72* so bring you 3mm wet suit for this dive (full suit will be more comfortable because water can get chilly after being in for about 30min). Max depth was 25ft. There isn't really too much fish life but there are some small crevices to look at. There is NO cave or cavern here so it is a Novice dive. I myself am a novice diver with just over 20 dives under my belt 1 year of experience and found this site to be a little bit boring after a while. Not a bad place to tone up skills after not diving for a while or to try out some new equipment I'm sure. If you live near this spring then go for it but I would not go out of my way to go here.

I dove this site in mid February and was overall pleased. The water conditions were good with almost unlimited visibility. Water temp was constant 72* so bring you 3mm wet suit for this dive (full suit will be more comfortable because water can get chilly after being in for about 30min). Max depth was 25ft. There isn't really too much fish life but there are some small crevices to look at. There is NO cave or cavern here so it is a Novice dive. I myself am a novice diver with just over 20 dives under my belt 1 year of experience and found this site to be a little bit boring after a while. Not a bad place to tone up skills after not diving for a while or to try out some new equipment I'm sure. If you live near this spring then go for it but I would not go out of my way to go here.

This is a good site to do some open water training or just a short relaxing dive. There is a spring with a small cavern. The cavern is small and is safe for novice divers.