We snuck away for a date day to the Devil’s Den near Williston FL. We dropped the kids to school and then headed 2 hours outside Jacksonville to this little hidden gem.

Devil’s Den is an underground cavern where you can snorkel and scuba dive to your hearts content. For the unbelievable price of $10 you get access to the cavern, the picnic facilities, showers and small heated pool.
You descend down stairs into the underground abyss. You can only bring your snorkel, mask, fins & a camera down with you. Everything else must remain above ground. We were lucky enough to have the whole place to ourselves and spent an hour snorkel amongst the fish and turtles.

They have everything available to rent for really reasonable prices – fins, snorkel, masks and wet-suits but we borrowed some from friends. I would recommend a wet suit as the water is chilly 72 degrees year round. For some that is perfect temperature but for me, I’m a weenie and it was cold!
There is no swimming allowed down there only Snorkeling & diving. So I would not bring my kids until they are old enough to proficiently snorkel.

I believe they have dive equipment for rent too but we were not going to be doing that and we just about can manage the snorkel masks! It is a destination for a lot of divers getting their diving qualifications and what an amazing place to do it.
This off the beaten path, little hidden treasure, is a must see for everyone in Northern Florida. Pete the Dive Master says their Motto is “Don’t Tell Your Friends!” as they want to keep it as a mom and pop recreational oasis free from corporate influence.

We sadly had to leave and return to reality but not before stopping for lunch at The Ivy House Restaurant in Williston for a delicious seafood platter & a  loaded ground steak burger. Both were really really good. We just had to have dessert once we heard the list of options. Leif had a buttercream walnut pie and I had a chocolate mousse with a pecan crust. DELISH!! Needless to say we didn’t even need to eat dinner!!

The view looking down from above!

The view looking up from below!