Secret Spring In Upper Florida Peninsula Is Mecca For Diving Enthusiasts
Billowing plumes of white steam rising from the otherwise benevolent flat grasslands in the early mornings must have been disconcerting to early settlers in Florida.
This steam, coming forth from the featureless earth on the prairie land near Williston in the northeastern part of Florida’s peninsula, was scary enough for early settlers to name the cave feature “Devil’s Den”.
A gaping hole, almost chiseled through raw limestone, lead nearly 100 feet into the blackness of the ground, with only a reflection to indicate water and perhaps something more in the watery depths. Today the hole in the earth is not feared but embraced.
The area and hidden spring of Devil’s Den is millions of years old, and, most recently, has been made into a scuba diving destination, while the surrounding area features an RV campground and other resort amenities.
Superstitions aside, Karlee McQuillen, PR manager for the site, explains that the reality of Devil’s Den is that it is a dry cave fed by a natural spring. The underlying geology qualifies it as part of the Florida Aquifer, an underground river of fresh water running across the state.
The spring is no longer dark; it is lit to deep blue and aquamarine colors pouring fourth from the depths and is a renowned place for scuba diving training. The hole itself averages a depth of 55 feet from the surface of the water, but McQuillen says, depending on how wet the season is, the water will rise or fall.
People flock from all over the state to test the cave’s waters, which are perpetually 72 degrees…one of the reasons for the name: Devil’s Den.
“It can get pretty chilly here in Florida in the mornings and the 72 degree water caused a lot of steam to rise up into the air,” relates McQuillen.
The den itself is cut from acidic waters through limestone (Florida is plagued with sinkhole issues caused from this phenomenon) and its underwater cave system are prehistoric.
“They did a dive here in the early 1960s and found an entirely intact prehistoric bear in the cave,” McQuillen continues. “It’s [currently] on display at the University of Florida Natural Museum of History.
Before the hole became a renowned Florida tourist destination, however, it was a problem for a local farmer who ended up owning the featureless land where the hole was located.
“Originally a farmer who owned [the land] and he didn’t know what to do with it,” she says. “People were coming [onto] his property and kids were jumping into the hole. It became a huge liability for him.”
The farmer decided he had better give up the land or face a lawsuit when a German woman named Anna Lovas purchased the property from him for use as a privately owned scuba diving facility.
“Anna built a platform down there and a staircase down into the den so it could be made into a scuba diving site,” McQuillen explains. “Then we bought it from her in 1993, and we turned it into a recreation site.”
One thing about the hole is that photos do not do it justice, according to McQuillen.
“It’s like the pictures of it kind of make it seem small. But, when you go down there, it is a lot bigger and it takes your breath away,” she says. “You walk down the staircase and it gives you the best view. It’s pretty vast.”
McQuillen says there are constant comments about the size of the cavern, the quietness of it, and the unique sounds like water dripping from the ceiling of the hole.
“It takes you into a different world,” she explains. “It’s a pretty intense feeling.”
However, only those who are certified to dive can swim in the cavern, McQuillen explains.
“We don’t offer certification. We’re just the facility that houses the classes, but we have a few companies that regular here”.
Some of those firms include the American Pro Diving Center, Crystal River Watersports and Ranger Rick’s Scuba Adventures to name a few, according McQuillen.
However, for all its beauty, Devil’s Den has a sense of danger attached to it. Linking the spring to the Rainbow River, which is formed from the headwaters at Rainbow Springs in Marion County, is twenty or more miles of underwater caverns. McQuillen warns that some have died attempting to navigate the underwater caves.
At one point in time if you were so ambitious you could [try to] swim through them,” she said. “I know now that we have the cave entrances barred off.”
All said, Devil’s Den offers a one of a kind experience.
“You can go to the beach or on a boat, and you can go see some other things, but to actually go into this cave and experience it makes you part of one of Florida’s best attractions,” she said. “You’re immersed in a place that is prehistoric and where extinct animals once were. It’s pretty incredible.”
Jason Ogden
A graduate of Central Michigan University in Journalism, Jason has served as a news reporter for the Oscoda County Herald, Oscoda Press and Iosco County News-Herald. He is also an avid fisherman.
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