Travel Newsletter

Scuba diving the cavern at King's Bay in Crystal River

Orlando Sentinel

While snorkeling to the cavern's underwater entrance, one can see fish, turtles and sometimes manatees. The cavern is anywhere from 30 to 60 feet deep, and you will need an underwater light to see in the back parts of the cavern.

The descent is very visual as you look up to see the other divers descending behind. The entrance then narrows and ends with a series of underwater "rooms" with a sandy bottom and algae-covered rock.

There are a couple of "skylights" at the ends of the cavern where a diver can look up and see daylight streaming in from about 50 feet of depth.

I saw several fish in the cavern, some small freshwater shrimp and a playful crab.

One visual memory I have is going to the end of the cavern (about 35 feet horizontally at the bottom), turning off my flashlight and just listening in the darkness to the activity of the gurgling water.

It's a challenge to not bump your head on the rocky walls and ceiling of the cavern and with slow careful fin kicks, divers can preserve the water clarity while swimming through the caverns.

It's a chilly dive, about 72 degrees year round, but a 3-mil wetsuit makes the 30-minute dive comfortable.

When finished with the dive, you can snorkel nearby the entrance and usually find some friendly manatees easily!


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