Cave system
Cow Springs cave
A spring cave near the Suwannee River owned by the NSS Cave Diving Section and open only to its members who meet experience, insurance and waiver requirements; scooters are banned.
Cow Springs is one of a handful of Florida cave sites owned by the National Speleological Society's Cave Diving Section (NSS-CDS), a US cave-diving training and safety organisation. Ownership lets the section keep the cave open to divers while controlling who uses it.
Access is limited to current NSS-CDS members who hold full cave certification and the section's Abe Davis Award (given for 100 safe cave dives after full cave training) or equivalent experience, carry DAN or equivalent dive accident insurance, and sign the section's waiver on the day of diving. The upstream and downstream parts of the cave have separate rules: upstream is restricted to advanced sidemount use, while NSS-CDS instructors may teach cavern and cave courses downstream. Scooters are not allowed, and no one may charge fees for access.
Dive Outpost, a nearby dive centre, describes Cow Springs as an advanced cave dive. The section's own Cow Springs page is for members only, and no public survey length or depth was found.
Entrances and dive sites
The NSS-CDS plan distinguishes upstream and downstream sections reached from the spring; no other public entrances are documented.
For orientation, not navigation. Hollow dots are approximate.
Every fact on this page, with its source (9)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cow Springs is owned by NSS-CDS, and access to NSS-CDS owned or managed sites is strictly limited to current NSS-CDS members.Plan undated; read 2026-10-14. | Verified | [1] |
| Cow Springs requires NSS-CDS membership, full cave certification with the Abe Davis Award or equivalent, DAN insurance or equivalent and a signed NSS-CDS waiver on the day of diving; DPVs are prohibited. | Verified | [1] |
| Upstream at Cow Springs only advanced sidemount training is permitted, while downstream all levels of cavern and cave training may be conducted by NSS-CDS instructors.Wording of the plan is terse; check the full plan before diving. | Verified | [1] |
| No fees, including travel and incidental expenses, may be charged at any NSS-CDS owned or managed site. | Verified | [1] |
| NSS-CDS members retain some diving rights at Cow Springs. | Verified | [2] |
| Dive Outpost describes Cow Spring as an advanced cave dive requiring NSS-CDS membership and proof of certification, 4.5 miles from its shop.Provider statement. | Reported | [3] |
| USGS lists Cow Spring (site 300617083065200) near latitude 30.105; given here at area precision.Rounded because access is restricted. | Verified | [4] |
| USGS lists Cow Spring near longitude -83.114; given here at area precision.Rounded. | Verified | [4] |
| The NSS-CDS Abe Davis Award is given for 100 safe cave dives after completing full cave training or equivalent. | Verified | [5] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction