Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park

The turquoise water in Peacock Spring I is shallow enough for a five-year-old to wade in. Directly beneath it, 33,000 feet of mapped underwater cave passages — more than six miles — connect six named springs and sinkholes through some of the most technically demanding cave diving in the world. The park was renamed in 2010 for Wes Skiles, a Florida cave diver, National Geographic filmmaker, and springs advocate who spent his career documenting the world beneath these limestone pools. He died that same year, at 52, while photographing open water off the Florida coast.

The surface of Peacock Springs is for families. The cave system beneath it is for the divers Skiles trained.

• Location: Luraville (Suwannee County), 12 miles south of Live Oak
• Address: 18532 180th Street, Live Oak, FL 32060
• Hours: 8 a.m. – sunset, 365 days a year
• Vehicle entry: $4
• Water temperature: 69–70°F year-round
• Magnitude: Third-magnitude (~5.7M gal/day combined)
• Cave system: 33,000+ feet mapped (6+ miles) — one of the longest in the US
• Named springs: Peacock I, II, III, Orange Grove Sink, Olsen Sink, Bonnet Spring
• Phone: 386-294-3667

• Live Oak: 15 miles south on US-129, then CR-51
• Gainesville: 1 hour (~60 miles)
• Tallahassee: 1.5 hours (~95 miles)
• Jacksonville: 1 hour 45 minutes (~115 miles)

GPS: 18532 180th Street, Live Oak, FL 32060. Cell service is poor; download maps before leaving the highway.

Peacock Spring I and Orange Grove Sink are both open to non-certified swimmers and snorkelers. The water is crystal-clear, turquoise, 69–70°F, and shaded by ancient cypress on the edges. Visibility can exceed 100 feet on calm days, and the sinkhole geometry is visible even from the surface. No lifeguard on duty.

These swim areas are separated by an award-winning 1.2-mile interpretive nature trail that traces the cave network from above, with photographs and maps showing what lies underfoot. Walking the trail between the two swim sites is a genuinely educational experience — and you may see cave divers entering or surfacing.

The Peacock Springs cave system — interconnecting all six named springs and sinks through miles of dark, silty, confined passages — has killed divers. This is stated directly because it is the most important fact about the cave.

Rules (strictly enforced):

• Full cave certification required for penetration dives (not cavern, not open-water)
• Minimum dive party of two — no solo diving
• Open-water certified divers may enter Orange Grove Sink only and may not carry lights (a rule specifically designed to prevent untrained divers from following the guideline into the dark)
• DPVs (diver propulsion vehicles) are prohibited
• All dives conclude one hour before sunset
• Proof of certification required; sign the Diver Sign-In Form

• Swim areas at Peacock I and Orange Grove Sink
• 1.2-mile interpretive nature trail between the springs
• Portable restrooms and changing rooms at each parking area
• Diver gear wash-down stations and benches (installed by the North Florida Springs Alliance)
• Two picnic areas with covered pavilion and charcoal grills
• No potable water, food concession, rental equipment, dive fills, or showers

Dive Outpost (20148 180th Street) — the closest full-service cave dive shop, essentially on the park's doorstep. Tank fills (air, nitrox, trimix, O2), full equipment rental, cave-diving courses, three cabins ($38–$110/night), tent and RV camping ($28–$60/night). Open Wed–Sun; Mon–Tue by appointment. 386-776-1449. diveoutpost.com.

Cave Excursions East also serves the Suwannee County cave corridor.

Luraville/McAlpin has virtually no commercial lodging. Options:

• Dive Outpost cabins and campground (1 mile from the park)
• Live Oak (~15 miles north) — chain motels
• Branford (~17 miles south) — budget motels
• Lake City (~35 miles northeast) — broadest chain hotel selection

Dining: Pack a cooler. The picnic pavilions work. Nearest restaurants are in Live Oak (15 miles).

• The swim areas are safe and family-friendly. Peacock Spring I and Orange Grove Sink are appropriate for supervised children. Bring water shoes (entry can be slippery) and a life jacket for young kids.
• The cave system is not. If you are not a certified cave diver, the interpretive trail and surface viewing of cave divers entering the water are the way to experience the underground world — not entering it.
• No potable water in the park. Dehydration is real in Florida summers. Bring full water bottles.
• Leashed dogs welcome but not in the springs.
• No cell service. Download maps.
• Walk the interpretive trail. It is one of the most educational free walks in the state park system.
• Wes Skiles — tell your kids who he was. The man who named this park spent his life showing the world what's underneath Florida's surface.

Last verified: May 28, 2026. Verify hours and dive-registration requirements at floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/wes-skiles-peacock-springs-state-park or call 386-294-3667.