Devil's Den Prehistoric Spring

You walk through a field. You descend a staircase. The air cools. The light dims. And then the cave opens into a subterranean chamber 120 feet across, filled with 72-degree water so clear you can see stalactites reflected in the ceiling from the surface. A single shaft of natural light falls through the karst window overhead — the collapsed sinkhole that gives Devil's Den its name — and illuminates the water column in a way that looks staged for a film but isn't.

This is not an open-air spring. It is an underground one. And the bones of mastodons, ground sloths, saber-toothed cats, and dire wolves were found in its passages — along with human artifacts dating back to the Pleistocene. The fossils are now at the University of Florida. The cave is on the National Register of Historic Places and rated by National Geographic as one of the top 100 dive sites in the world.

You cannot swim here. Snorkeling and scuba only.

• Location: Williston (Levy County), 35 minutes from Gainesville
• Address: 5390 NE 180th Ave, Williston, FL 32696
• Hours: Mon–Thu 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Fri–Sun 8 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Snorkeling: $30/person (90-min session, reservation required)
• Scuba: $48/person (OW cert required, walk-in OK)
• Water temperature: 72°F year-round
• Depth: ~54 feet maximum
• Type: Underground karst window — NOT open to the sky
• Swimming: Not permitted — snorkel and scuba only
• Age minimum: 6 years old
• Phone: 352-528-3344

• Gainesville: 35 minutes (FL-121 south to Williston, then east on FL-316)
• Orlando: 2 hours (FL Turnpike to I-75 north)
• Tampa: 2 hours (I-75 north)
• Jacksonville: 2 hours (I-75 south)

Devil's Den is 5 minutes from Blue Grotto — combine them for a full dive day.

• Snorkeling the underground spring (the signature family experience) — 90-minute reserved time slots. Descend the cave stairs, enter the water, float above ancient rock formations and fossil-embedded walls while a shaft of natural light illuminates the chamber from above. Reservation required — walk-ups turned away.
• Scuba diving — OW certification required. Four underwater passages reach depths from 5 to 54 feet. Dive buddies mandatory. No cave diving — cave entry strictly prohibited. No doubles, reels, rebreathers, side mounts, or dive knives for recreational divers.
• Night diving — by advance reservation only ($480 minimum, 10-diver charge, advanced OW cert required).
• Fossil and formation viewing — stalactites, stalagmites, and fossil beds dating back 33 million years embedded in the cavern walls.
• Photography — the single overhead light shaft creates the most dramatic underwater lighting in any Florida spring.

Devil's Den is a full dive resort:

• 4 cabins (sleep 4 each, $115–$160/night)
• Primitive tent camping ($22/person/night)
• 32 RV sites with hookups ($48–$58/night)
• Heated swimming pool (separate from the spring — general swimming allowed here)
• Cabanas, picnic tables, grills, lawn games

• No swimming. Snorkel or scuba only. No flotation devices for able-bodied guests. The water starts deep immediately.
• Reservation mandatory for snorkeling. Book at devilsden.dive360.biz. Walk-ups are turned away.
• Slippery cave stairs. Use handrails.
• Claustrophobia. The entrance descent is confined before the cave opens dramatically. Consider this before booking.
• No sunscreen in the water. Strictly enforced — protects the fish and turtles.
• Age minimum 6 years. Children must be strong unaided swimmers.
• No cave diving. Cave penetration is prohibited. Period.

Last verified: May 28, 2026. Privately owned; fees and policies change. Verify at devilsden.com before visiting.