Alexander Springs

Alexander Springs is one of central Florida's clearest freshwater dives and a reliable escape from the saltwater circuit for anyone living in or visiting the state. The spring sits inside the Ocala National Forest, east of Ocala proper, and pumps out an extraordinary volume of crystal clear water at a steady 22 degrees Celsius year round. For divers the attraction is the visibility, which can exceed 30 metres on a calm day, and the quiet discipline of learning to work a site where you can see everything but can break the illusion with a single badly placed kick. Entry is from the swimming beach in the main pool area. The standard plan is a slow descent over the sand to the main vent at around 9 metres, a careful circle of the vent itself, and a return along the edge of the basin. The site is legitimately beginner friendly and a classic location for Open Water checkout dives, though the temptation to poke around the vent opening makes a basic cavern awareness briefing worth the ten minutes it takes to cover. Any overhead beyond the mouth of the vent requires full cavern or cave certification and the right equipment configuration, no exceptions. Wildlife is classic Florida spring. Largemouth bass drift lazily over the sand, sunfish school in the shallows, turtles cruise the grass at the edges, and the occasional alligator is visible near the surface during the warmer months. The most photographed residents are the freshwater eels that live in the rocks near the vent, perfectly visible against the white background. The water is so clear that the blue reflection off the sand makes the whole basin look like it has been lit from below. The park is open year round. Weekends get genuinely busy with swimmers and tubers, so early morning dives on a weekday are the dives you remember. A good torch brings out the colour that the flat blue light suppresses.