The famous "cave swim" at Devil's Den: Our honest thoughts
If you follow an RV influencer on YouTube, you're likely to have come across footage of this mysterious, ethereal cave known as Devil's Den. It's one of the many warm-water springs that dots Central Florida, but unique in the fact that it's underground and owned by a SCUBA diving company. It's open to the public, but you must either SCUBA or snorkel in order to be let in the cave. Still, getting the chance to experience this wonder in-person shoots right to the top of many road trippers' bucket lists, and we were no different. As our years of RV life progressed, we waited patiently to finally dive into these turquoise waters.
After spending time along the Gulf Coast in Tampa and Fort Myers, our travels took us back north. Traveling away from the coast seemed like a worthy adventure, as we hadn't experienced any of the Florida springs yet, and they come highly recommended by other RVers. Knowing that Devil's Den has its own campground, I looked up availability. For about $50/night, we could stay right on the property, which would allow us to book a cave swim when it best suited us, aka between work and at a less cold time of day. The price seems steep for a campground that's just dirt parking spots, but we did have full hookups, and we were also granted daily access to the springs' day-use areas. All that factored in, the price is actually quite reasonable. And so, we booked ourselves a few nights.
Despite seeing countless videos about the cave itself, we had very little information on the campground or surrounding area. Driving in, the welcome sign was not the idyllic aesthetic we expected.
The idea behind the name Devil's Den is that, in the cold mornings when the air is cooler than the 72-degree spring water, steam rises up from the cave, giving the illusion of the hot underworld. The name is one thing, but the signage is disjunctive at best. If there is a Hell, we don't picture it being this kitschy!
Aesthetics were not the worst problem with the signs. As we drove in, we passed several signs indicating where to go – almost yelling at us, actually – and so we followed the signs to the office, where everyone MUST CHECK IN AND SIGN A WAIVER. NO EXCEPTIONS. The roads seemed easy enough to navigate. Don't enter through the "do not enter" signs. Follow signs to the main entrance. Watch for cats. Huh?! We were doing fine, until we came to the sign that pointed us to the main entrance and guest parking in one direction, and the RV park in the other.
But what happened to the signs for the office? We always get scared when we see a split from the RV park and other entrances, because we never know if we'll accidentally go down a road where we can't turn around. For that reason, we usually opt to head to the RV park, because we at least know we will fit. Only, once we got over there, we realized that the "main entrance" and "office" are in the same direction, and we should have turned. We pulled over and called the office, asking if we could just get our site number so we could pull in and then go and check in afterwards. They obliged. We went and found site 26, which was at the end of a row, but was too sharp a turn for us to pull straight in. Anthony needed to go around the other way and pull in on the left, instead of coming in from the right. Not a big deal, but we did notice that lots of these sites are a little tight, either length-wise or due to trees. The online reservations advised rigs over 25ft to choose the pull-thrus, and seeing how short the back-ins were, we agree with this advice.
If you're confused about the signs that say "no pets allowed," this is only for the rest of the park. The campground allows pets and even has a separate dog walk area that includes a field and a pathway. Now if they just added a waste station or even a trash bin for doggy bags, they'd really be in business!
Turns out there is definitely ample space for rigs to pull into the main parking lot and head to the office. So now that you know, you can check in with ease, unlike us! It's a little strange, though, because while there is plenty of space to turn around, technically it's a one-way and you need to leave the parking lot and take a different road over to the campground.
It is true that all visitors must sign a waiver, whether you plan on entering into the cave or not. It does make sense because the springs are very deep, and they pretty much let you walk anywhere you wish, so you wander at your own risk. One thing that really annoyed us, though, was that we were issued wristbands and were told that we needed to wear them whenever we were in the day area. Only, they were those paper wristbands that you are supposed to only wear once, and they were too short for us to be able to slip them on and off. We stayed at the campground for 3 days. Couldn't they issue campers a band for each day, or perhaps give us something more removable, like a lanyard?
We also wondered about these wristbands getting wet, because they were required at the pool, but evidently they're coated with some polymer that allows them to get wet. How many days a wet one would last, we don't know. Also, no one actually ever checked our bands when we were inside the park, so we ended up keeping them in our pockets just in case.
In addition to the pool, the park had a few lawn games like cornhole, and too many picnic tables to count. The outdoor springs had beautiful landscaping and a walkway with a gazebo. We couldn't quite figure out these springs because some of the areas looked like people were allowed to swim, but the signs said no swimming...but then another sign talked about diving. We never saw anyone attempt to swim. In fact, we hardly saw anyone over there at all. We did go on a bit of an off-time, as it was "Florida cold" out and we stayed from a Sunday-Wednesday, but for all the picnic tables they had, we wonder how crowded this place gets at its busiest. We were glad for the solitude, though. It was very serene.
All the entertainment we needed, though, came to us in feline form. Remember the signs stating "watch for cats?" They weren't kidding!
On our evening walk right after we arrived, two of the cats took it upon themselves to give us a tour of the spring.
We ended up meeting three more that evening, including two black cats that followed us all the way back to our campsite and got to meet Lily through the screen door.
Now, it's the time you've been waiting for! Let's take a dive into the cave! Devil's Den Cave was formed from a subterranean sinkhole. The ground collapsed, revealing the river down below. The water, like all springs in Central Florida, stays at a constant 72°F. Don't be fooled, though; despite its water, this is a dry cave, formed by geological erosion. The entry to the cave used to be very small, but it was enlarged in order to allow for diving access. Now, visitors enter down a set of stairs that leads straight into the water. Reservations must be made ahead of time, and those who choose to SCUBA must be certified. There are no SCUBA trainers on the premises. Otherwise, you can reserve time to snorkel, and you're able to rent gear from Devil's Den if you don't have your own.
We had our share of times to choose from, and so we went for a time that would be the closest temperature match between the water and the outside. The warmest temperature we could get for the outdoors was 64°F, meaning we would be diving into water 8 degrees warmer. It was the last appointment slot of the day, and from what we could tell, we were the only ones signed up. We were ready.
We checked in at the office, where we also rented our gear. We got different wristbands to show that we had reserved a cave dive, marked with our end time, 4:30PM. We had 90 minutes to enjoy the cave.
From the outside, you can walk around the natural (enlarged) cave opening, but it's tough to see inside it because you're on a walkway. You can get glimpses of the stairway, but the rest remains a surprise.
We heard that seeing the cave in person is just as good as in the YouTube videos, and we agree. The water is the same turquoise. The hanging stalactites glow a fiery hue in the subtle lighting. And beneath the water's surface swam hundreds of fish. What's not captured in the videos, however, is the utter quiet, only occasionally interrupted by the sound of water dripping from the rocks into the water below.
We had about half of our timeslot to ourselves, before a few latecomers joined us. A couple of them were SCUBA diving, and it was really cool getting to see them heading into the depths where we could not go. The cave is an inverted mushroom shape, so the area underwater is narrower than the surface.
When the sinkhole first opened, tons of fossils were uncovered, which is why Devil's Den is called a prehistoric spring. Fossils found here dating back to the Pleistocene Age are now on display at the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History. To know we were swimming among fossil beds from millions of years ago only added to the impact of this place. Now, the aquatic life includes several species of fish as well as a couple of turtles.
We don't do a lot of underwater filming, and so we realized that our equipment is not up to snuff, but we did the best we could to capture the essence of our swim.
People have been asking us it it's worth it to go into the cave, and we absolutely think so. It's only $18/person on weekdays ($25 on weekends and $13.80 to rent snorkel gear), and even if you don't want to swim much, there is lots to see just hanging out on the platform. However, if the experience isn't for you, you can pay $7 for access to the day-use area of the park, where you can see the natural entrance from the walkway.
We were all ready to award our cave swim as the best experience we've had so far this year, but the following day, we went next door to Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens, a botanical garden that's built on an old quarry. To be honest, we weren't expecting much, but we love botanic gardens, so we thought we would take a walk over there. It was arguably the best botanic garden we've ever visited. The whole place was whimsical and tranquil, with beautiful Japanese bridges, gazebos, decks, fountains, and waterfalls. Swans and ducks swam in the water, and fairy-themed decorative touches lined all the walkways. After our swim the day before, this added to the Zen vibe. It was the most at-peace we had felt since we launched back on the road.
Admission is only $12 for adults, and even better, they have RV parking right alongside a field, where if you time it right, you can see cows grazing. If you're looking for a great RV travel day, we would recommend popping over to the gardens around lunchtime, have a picnic lunch, roam the gardens, and then check into Devil's Den afterward. (Most size rigs would fit up the garden roads and into the parking lot, but exceptionally large ones might have trouble).
Devil's Den has a flexible check-out policy, and so we stayed until early afternoon the following day, getting some work done and then leisurely packing up. Only, we almost couldn't leave! One of our kitty friends decided to be melodramatic. When I was out for my morning walk, she caught up with me and proceeded to follow me all the way back to the rig, where she insisted on becoming part of the family, despite being fearful of dogs. I told her it wasn't going to work out, but she didn't believe me. Now don't let these whimpering meows fool you; the Devil's Den cats have a good life. We could tell that they were healthy and well-fed. They looked even healthier than Lily (because let's face it, they probably are). From what we can tell, they are domesticated, but they live outdoors around the spring. All of them were extremely good with people, but when you visit, give them the opportunity to warm up to you, because they definitely will.
I had a yearning spectator as I packed up the rig for travel, and then when it was time to leave, I had one of the hardest tasks of a spotter: shoo the cute kitty away to keep her safe, while leaving all emotions out of it. Kitty knew all-too-well what was happening, and even decided to act angry to hide her heartbreak, but I saw right through it. We ended on good terms, and I'm sure she's already found another human to attach to and has long forgotten about our fleeting feline fling.
And with that, our time in Central Florida came to a close, but we're already looking forward to visiting more of the warm-water springs next time we're in the area. As for Devil's Den, the organizational aspect of the park could be improved (as could all the signage), but none of that matters once you feel the inner peace of the springs, the cave, and the gardens next door. It's a whole new kind of adventure, where you can do something unique and incredible, but still feel all the Zen and serenity. There was so much more than just the cave, and for that reason alone, we can recommend booking at least a few days at the campground. It'll serve as a perfect basecamp for your spa-meets-adventure experience.
Campground:
Devil's Den Campground, Williston, FL
Site 26, pull-thru, FHU 50 amp, fire ring, picnic table
Site is on the end of the row
Campground recommended? Yes
Site recommended? Yes