Vortex Spring Adventures

The open basin at Vortex Spring — 200 feet across, gin-clear, 68°F — has rope swings, diving boards, three water slides, and a zipline that drops riders straight into the water. It looks and feels like a resort water park. Fifty feet below the surface, the cave begins. At 115 feet, a locked steel gate blocks the passage. Beyond it, the mapped cave descends to 310 feet, passes through confined limestone corridors, and eventually reaches the Piano Room — an actual upright piano that was placed there by divers years ago, resting on the limestone floor in total darkness.

The gate exists because divers died on the other side of it.

• Location: Ponce de Leon (Holmes County), FL Panhandle
• Address: 1517 Vortex Springs Lane, Ponce de Leon, FL 32455
• Hours: Mon–Thu 8–6; Fri–Sat 7–7; Sun 7–6
• Day admission: $15 adult / $10 child (5–12) / under 4 free
• Scuba daily: $25/person
• Water temperature: 68°F year-round
• Magnitude: Second-magnitude (~28M gal/day)
• Basin depth: 50 ft at cave mouth; cave to 310 ft
• Cave gate: Locked at 115 ft — full cave cert to pass
• On-site lodging: Lodge rooms, cabins, tent, RV
• Phone: 850-836-4979

• Swimming in the large open basin — rope swings, diving boards, three slides, a zipline. Clear water, family-safe, no lifeguards.
• Snorkeling — general basin included; cavern upgrade +$6.
• Open-water scuba — two training platforms at 20 ft, sunken sailboat, air bell ("talk box") in the cavern, tame fish including koi and American eels.
• Cavern diving (to the gate at 115 ft) — cavern-cert divers.
• Full-cave diving (beyond the gate) — locked gate, staff-unlocked, full cave cert only. Passages to 310 ft. The Piano Room.
• Tubing Blue Creek — the spring's outflow into the Choctawhatchee drainage.
• Kayaking and SUP — rentals on-site.
• Zipline across the basin.
• ATV/4×4 trails, basketball, volleyball, live music/comedy weekends.
• NAUI certification courses — Try Scuba ($199) through full cave.

• Grandview Lodge (3 units, closest to spring), Otter Creek Lodge, Pinewood Lodge — hotel-style rooms
• Group rooms (sleep 16 each — bunk house style)
• Treasure Chest — 4-bedroom private house (sleeps 14)
• 3 rustic cabins (no plumbing)
• 40 water/electric RV sites (30/50 amp, pull-thrus to 60 ft)
• Primitive tent sites
• 24-hour park access for overnight guests

• On-site Vortex Spring Grill — burgers, sandwiches, casual.
• Sizzlin' Grill, Ponce de Leon (~3 miles) — Southern home cooking.
• Hotel DeFuniak (~25 min) — best sit-down dining in the area.

The restriction gate exists because divers died beyond it. In the early 1990s, 13 divers died in Vortex Spring's cave system. In 2010, diver Ben McDaniel — who lacked full cave certification — was witnessed entering beyond the gate and never resurfaced. His body was never recovered. In 2012, Larry Higginbotham died searching for McDaniel's remains. The gate is a safety system, not a formality.

The open basin is family-safe. Everything above the cave entrance — the slides, zipline, swimming, snorkeling — operates like a conventional resort. Children swim here every summer weekend.

68°F water is Panhandle cold. Wetsuit recommended for diving and extended swims outside peak summer.

Last verified: May 28, 2026. Privately owned resort; fees change frequently. Verify at vortexspring.com or call 850-836-4979.