WILLISTON, Fla. — Welcome to Devil’s Den in Williston, Florida. 

It’s less of a den and more of what’s called a karst- an exposed spring filled with 72 degree water.

What You Need To Know

 Devil’s Den spring exposed betwee 115,000 and 126,000 years ago

 Animal bones on spring floor helped date collapse– mastadons, saber-tooth cats and giant Jefferson sloths

 Once a local swimming hole, now open for snorkeling and scuba training with 50,000 visitors a year — from around the world

Wet suits, snorkel gear available for rent; weekedays are less busy

“Everything you see and here at one time was soft limerock and it took millions of years to erode away, and eventually sometime between 115 and 126,000 years ago, the roof caved in and exposed the Florida aquifer,” said Don Standridge, one of the Den’s caretakers.

The animals fell in and could not escape.

Their fossils helped date when the top rocks collapsed, exposing the spring.

“Mastodons, saber tooth cats, giant Jefferson ground sloth,” Standridge said. “They took that off the bottom.”

But for Standridge, Devil’s Den was just a local swimming hole.
 
“And would have a blast. We were able to jump from the top. None of this was here—no ladder, stairs,” said Standridge.

A tight stairwell to the spring is a newer edition.

“But we would actually build fires over on that ledge, and you’d swim till you got cold and you’d get up by the fire and warm up and then go swimming again,” said Standridge.

Beneath that ledge, about 50 feet down, is the spring, sending up 72-degree water.

“It comes through nice and slow and goes right back into the aquifer,” said Standridge.

The spring draws an international crowd of about 50,000 people every year.

“The advent of social media getting the word out about this place is insane,” he said.

Standridge added that the Devil’s Den owner will not develop the land, nor sell bottled spring water.

“He’s a conservationist. He wanted people to be able to see it and enjoy it,” said Standridge.

And in 2026, they are creating a museum for the finds from this prehistoric spring to add to the experience at Devil’s Den.