Reviews

Cheri Thomley

Vortex Springs is pure joy. I brought my grandkids, and they treated it like the world’s best playground — rope swings, docks, cold clear water, and laughter echoing across the spring. It’s bright, lively, and built for fun. Underneath all that energy, the place still has that deep, ancient Florida feel, but the surface vibe is simple: kids being kids, water being magic.

B

We have owned four campers over 20 years and this is, by far, the worst camping and diving area we've ever stayed at across the U.S. They allow a few people to ruin it for everyone. Management has no backbone to ask a few bad apples to be respectful. Pros: Truly none Cons: Side by side trail riding took place the same weekend we were diving and staying at their campground. Management allowed a few thugs to play vulgar and explicit rap music at the highest possible volume. I counted 5 large speakers on one machine, which rattled our windows. Many campers complained about this. Nothing was done after notifying MGMT. No one wants to hear this all day and until midnight. The general rules say quiet hours are 10pm. Campground rules say midnight. When I notified MGMT of the issue they sent me a screenshot saying quiet hour don't start until midnight. Great response! It's 9pm and we're exhausted as I wrote this review, but you can't go to sleep because the music overpowers any noise cancelling machine you have. Campsites are not kept up or cleaned between campers. So much trash on our site when we arrived. Look at the picture. It's 9pm and the thugs are blasting rap music with every other word being a curse word. I don't want my children exposed to this. The place is so run down. True junk everywhere. The space beside the dive shop could be a junk yard. Piers falling through at the water. Trash floating in the water. Water clarity was extremely horrible. I've dove more clear waters in rock quarries than here. The algae is unreal. We are leaving early and cutting our trip short. Peace a quiet camping and diving turned into a rap concert with some of Florida's finest. I will be filing a dispute with my credit card company and receiving a refund. I should have adhered to all of the warning from fellow reviewers before booking our stay.

Kristy Davis

The environment was great, staff was amazing and helpful. We had a great experience camping here. We had a little problem with our campsite, but it was resolved with no issue. The only reason I say 4 stars is the campground isn't paved (or graveled) or marked well, there is no sewage hookups on most of the campsites, and the bathrooms are not heated/cooled.

Tiffany Reynolds

Went for Second time the water is still just as cold but on a hot July Day felt refreshing. It was a Saturday& a big group of us went to celebrate friend’s Birthday. We took a grill with us they do have grills to use there we just prefer to bring ours. We. Got there rather early I thought & the place was already packed. There was quite the line all day for the swing rope. If you take a stroll along the water you get to halfway down the very last slide has a cool wooden bridge across the water to boardwalk up the tower to one of there bigger slides . my only concern was how dirty the water looked on the lower end yet people were still swimming . I couldn’t bring myself to get in for as busy as they were that weekend & I’m sure every weekend during summer you’d think they’d have someone cleaning it up a few times a day. I’m sure they clean it up my suggestion would be to do it more. Besides that had a lovely day there & will definitely go back again.

Samantha Murray

There's a few things that could be fixed/upgraded safety wise but we ADORE Vortex. We did a day trip last year, but did Fri-Mon this year and it was memorable! We stayed at Otter Creek Lodge, made friends and had a blast! My small kids pretty much had free reign over the park bc you can see just about everything easily! Very family friendly, with that small town vibe we love so much. I would recommend you bring something to keep your floors clean (if you rent a room), lots of towels, and big coolers! We will be back for another stay in the near future!!! 🫶🏼

Greg Kimball

i recently visited the Vortex Springs at 1517 Vortex Springs Ln, in Ponce De Leon, FL. I drove up to the the many diver changing areas and saw the beautiful springs. I got out and walked over to a group of divers who were prepping to go into the springs. It's a very nice area and a picnic or family fun day would be perfect there

Doug Adams

Had a great time and enjoyed the ice cold Florida spring water. It was a holiday weekend and they were doing an excellent job keeping the place clean while dealing with so many visitors. Been coming here since the 90's (yes I'm old) and it has certainly come a long way. My mom brought me here for the very first time & I brought my daughter for her very first visit. Pretty cool stuff! Thanks to the Dockery family for sharing this gem with us and showing off our beautiful untainted part of the panhandle/sunshine state! ❤️

Anastasia Wynn

Very cool spring (68*) and has great snorkeling. The facility is in need of some updates/repairs. The walking bridge over the spring is very unsteady.

Samantha Lott

Went to Vortex for our first set of certification dives and it was amazing! Plenty of underwater structure for scuba practice and activities at depth including a small boat, an artificial cave system, and concrete pad with tethered buoy for group skills. Plus a nearby talk box at around 18-20ft depth for instruction (or secrets!) Actual cave/spring entrance at 50ft depth was super cool to explore, even if you aren’t certified to actually go in 😉. Families on the swimming side looked like they were having an absolute blast with the high dive and rope swing, and the chicken tenders someone in our group bought looked amazing!

Trice adventures

Drove 5 hours for a weekend trip here, instantly greeted with a very, very unkempt dirt road. I might as well just be driving on an off-road trail. The road was washed away in some parts and very bumpy the whole way through. I actually ended up tearing the bottom of my car out from this. I’m extremely unhappy about that, and that was just the main road in the whole park, not the off-road trail they have. Then I get to the cabin, and it looks like it was an abandoned building. The toilet was leaking all over the floor, so making use of the restroom was very difficult. There was so much wrong that I can’t even say it all in this one review. Needless to say, it looked like the park has been abandoned for 10 years. The benches near the springs had rust all over them, so sitting on them was just a risk. I would not bring kids here. It’s very dangerous and unkempt. Also, don’t drive a car here that’s sorta low. It will mess your car up. This place has so much potential if it was owned by someone who cared and took care of the place. Very unfortunate.

Jennifer Deanne

Entry is $15 per person. If you'd like a very "occupied" visit to a natural springs, come out to Vortex Springs. I'm sure it's a lot more fun with more crowds. We were one of 2 couples there and the slides were not on. We spent maybe 20mins there and left. Not worth the price. We did get to swing once then couldn't get the "rope" back. Best thing about it are all the kitties!! 🤗

Jessica Peace

Water was so clear and beautiful. 68 degrees really cools you down fast! If you are cold natured, a wet suit is highly recommended. The people working here were very friendly and knowledgeable. We will definitely be back!

Chris Manning

My family went through an Open Water Certification class with Dolphin Dive Center in Athens GA and this is where Tim and Hunter come to do the checkout open water dives. Great contained location for beginners and the clarity of the water was just what they needed. The air temperature was 32 to 39 degrees out which made it interesting when out of the water but the staff was super nice and lit fires in the fire rings for the divers - well done Vortex Springs staff! Overall great experience!

Claire Fox

This place was incredible! The water was literally crystal clear and there were two very fun slides and a rope swing. But it also has a lot of fun stuff to look at while scuba diving... And a cave 80 feet down! I went down there, and it was SO cool!

Alisha Cannon

So cool and refreshing during the hot days of summer!! The kids had leaps and bound of fun!! Could not slow them down sliding into the water and swimming fun all day long. We grilled a great meal with grlls that are at each and every picnic table witch was awesome after swimming all day and hungry. They also have little stores on site in case you need anything. Ice cream, soda,chips etc,........over all wonderful place to visit 😊😍🏖