North Florida Springs · United States · Freshwater
Fanning Springs
A 15-to-20-foot (6 m) spring pool, entered by stairs from the park
Area photo: LittleT889 · CC BY-SA 4.0
A spring in Fanning Springs State Park, on the Suwannee River in north Florida. The pool is 15 to 20 feet (6 m) deep and empties into the river through its run, which makes it a shallow, self-directed shore dive rather than a depth objective — useful for training, refreshers and long easy bottom times.
Where it is and how deep
29.5903° N, 82.9330° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Everything here happens from the bank. You check in at the front entrance of Fanning Springs State Park and again at the dive box to the right of it, then carry gear down to the water by either the stairs or the ramp that lead to the spring. Tables at the top give you somewhere to build a rig and sort kit before you walk in. Admission is $6 per vehicle as of Summer 2026, and no boat is involved at any stage of the day.
The water column is short. The spring is 4.6 to 6.1 m deep — 15 to 20 feet — so the dive is spent working around the basin and along the run rather than descending, and the whole profile sits inside open-water limits. The run empties into the Suwannee River, which gives the site its one real decision: how far down the run you follow the outflow before turning and swimming back up to the vent.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows North Florida Springs: Spring water stays near a constant 21°C year-round; summer wet season (June-September) can cloud some systems with tannic river water, and manatees visit in the cooler months.
Know before you go
- The run empties into the Suwannee, so the far end of the dive is river rather than spring; set a turn point short of the confluence instead of following the outflow out.
- Access is through a state park with a check-in procedure — sign the dive box before you get in, so the park knows divers are in the water.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Fanning Springs?+
Shallow — 15 to 20 feet, roughly 4.6 to 6.1 m. That keeps the whole dive inside open-water limits and makes the spring more useful for training, refreshers and long easy bottom times than for depth.
Do you have to pay to dive Fanning Springs?+
Yes. Fanning Springs State Park charges $6 per vehicle as of Summer 2026, and divers check in at the front entrance and at the dive box to the right of it before walking down the stairs or ramp to the spring.
Sources
- Fanning Springs dive site — Scubago
More dive sites in North Florida Springs
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7,408 metres of mapped passage, and a 2010 connection added 3,000 more
Wreck
A Confederate steamer, scuttled in 1863, in shallow spring water
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