Florida, United States Dive Sites — Page 2

Showing 25–48 of 143

Continued from the Florida, United States dive sites guide, which covers seasonality and planning details.

BB Site - Wooden Tug

Florida · Up to 16.5 m

Artificial reef built from Wooden Tugboat Wreck, Unknown Age

Boat entry

Belzona Barge

Florida · Up to 12.2 m

Artificial reef built from 215' Steel Barge, the "Belzona Barge"

Boat entry

Bibb

Florida · Up to 39.6 m

Artificial reef built from 327' USCG Cutter, the "Bibb", Laying on Starboard Side, 95' to Rail

AdvancedBoat entry

Blackthorn

Florida · Up to 24.4 m

Artificial reef built from 180' Coast Guard Cutter, the "Blackthorn"

IntermediateBoat entry

Blue Grotto is a privately operated sinkhole/cavern dive resort in Williston and one of Florida's most popular training sites. A huge daylight-zone cavern descends along permanent heavy-duty guidelines to about 100 ft, with crystal-clear water, a famous compressor-fed air bell at 30 ft, and a resident softshell turtle named Virgil. Amenities include docks, staging decks, rental gear, fills and on-site lodging.

AdvancedShore entry

Blue Heron Bridge (Phil Foster Park)

Florida · 1.5–6.1 m

Phil Foster Park under the Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach is widely rated the best shore dive in the USA and a world-class muck/macro site. An 800-ft artificial snorkel trail of reef balls, boulders and small wrecks sits about 200 ft off the beach in 6-15 ft of water, while the bridge pilings and sand flats (max ~20 ft) hide seahorses, frogfish, octopus, batfish and other rarities. The catch is timing: strong tidal flow near Lake Worth Inlet means diving is only comfortable in the slack window around high tide, and a dive flag is strictly enforced.

Shore entry

Bob Reay Reef-Belize Queen

Florida · Up to 34.1 m

Artificial reef built from 85' Steel Tugboat, Formally Called the "Belize Queen"

AdvancedBoat entry

Borden 3S-1706

Florida · Up to 12.2 m

Artificial reef built from 525 tons of Limestone Boulders

Boat entry

BR Site - Ferry

Florida · Up to 32.3 m

Artificial reef built from Steel Ferry Boat, the "Warwick"

AdvancedBoat entry

Buddy Ward Reef E

Florida · 10.7–13.1 m

Artificial reef built from 7 concrete modules (8' tetrahedrons)

Boat entry

Buoy Site

Florida · Up to 24.7 m

Artificial reef built from 4 Large Culverts, 54"

IntermediateBoat entry

Casablanca

Florida · Up to 32 m

Artificial reef built from 327' LST Landing Craft Sunk in the Summer of 1972

AdvancedBoat entry

Catfish Hotel Sink

Florida · 3–21.3 m

Catfish Hotel is a duckweed-covered karst window in Manatee Springs State Park on the Suwannee River, connected to the Manatee Springs cave system. Divers descend a wooden staircase into a ~35 ft basin, with a large cavern entrance around 50 ft that opens into a daylight zone reaching about 70 ft. It is a classic North Florida cavern/cave training and staging site, named for the schools of catfish that congregate in the basin.

IntermediateShore entry

Catherine

Florida · Up to 4.6 m

The Catherine was a Norwegian sailing vessel that ran aground on a sandbar about 300 yards from shore while entering Pensacola Pass in a storm on August 7, 1894; all 18 crew were rescued by the Santa Rosa Island Life Saving Station. Her remains, including a brass binnacle found by recreational divers, lie in roughly 15 feet of water off the Fort Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore. It is one of the few historic wrecks in the region that can be reached by swimming from the beach, though shifting sand alternately exposes and buries the timbers.

Shore entry

Cayman Salvage Master

Florida · Up to 28 m

Artificial reef built from 187' Former US Army Minelayer, the "Lt. Col. Ellery W. Niles", Upright in Sand

IntermediateBoat entry

Chepanoc - Starfish Reef

Florida · Up to 32.6 m

Artificial reef built from 129 X 24 X28' Tugboat, the "Chepanoc" funded by County TDC

AdvancedBoat entry

Chippewa

Florida · Up to 31.1 m

Artificial reef built from 204' Tugboat, the "Chippewa"

AdvancedBoat entry

Davis Reef

Florida · —

Artificial reef built from 6 Reefballs as Part of a School Project, 1st Deployment

Boat entry

Deliverance Tugboat

Florida · Up to 25.3 m

The Tug Deliverance was scuttled as a public artificial reef in the Escambia County reef zone off Pensacola Beach and lies on sand in about 83 feet of water, only a few hundred yards from the Soule Barge. Storms have destroyed her midships section, leaving the engine standing exposed between the more intact bow and stern. The broken hull is rich in encrusting growth and shelters snapper, grouper and clouds of baitfish.

IntermediateBoat entry

Devil's Den

Florida · 4.6–16.5 m

Devil's Den is a privately owned prehistoric spring inside a collapsed karst cavern near Williston, entered by a wooden staircase through a chimney in the cave roof. The 120-ft-wide pool stays 72 F year-round, with average depths of 20-35 ft and a maximum around 54 ft depending on rainfall; ancient rock formations and fossil beds dating back 33 million years line the walls. Open Water certification is sufficient for the open cavern, making it one of Florida's most accessible 'cave-like' dives.

Shore entry

Dry Tortugas National Park

Florida · 1–21.3 m

Dry Tortugas National Park protects seven remote islands and some of the most pristine coral reef in the continental U.S., 70 miles west of Key West around historic Fort Jefferson. Access is only by ferry, seaplane, or boat; snorkelers can shore-enter along Garden Key's moat wall and beaches, while scuba diving — including the popular Windjammer (Avanti) wreck in about 20 ft off Loggerhead Key — requires a private vessel or the park's approved dive charter since tanks are banned on the ferry and seaplane. Expect superb visibility, abundant sea turtles (the park's namesake), and large grouper in a lightly fished ecosystem.

Shore + boat