Vortex Spring

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.

This place is doing its best to make a come back after being ravaged by hurricane Sally. We camped for 3 nights with an RV and tent. The Spring is crystal clear and the kids had a blast swimming the day away. The swamp area has a broken bridge that used to get you across the creek, but now there is just a large tree that you can walk across if you have good balance. It works! The store has a few things you might want, but be sure to check the expiration date on everything. We bough a few items that were more than 6 months past the best before date and didn't realize until it was too late. I pointed out the soda i had bough and the guy working was apologetic and allowed me to exchange it for another one. The service is friendly and great but you may want to be sure you've stocked up on everything you need before you arrive. We didn't do any diving but by the amount of people there all weekend it seems to be the place to go to do this. The bath house showers and toilet area is quite dated (this gives it great character)! That being said it is kept very clean. Obviously wear shower shoes but don't be scared to sit on the toilet! There is a dog that roams the grounds and beach area with a collar that says Norma on it. She looks quite old but is docile and as friendly as can be. We heard she was abandon there about 5 years ago by a family who left without her. Not sure this is true. She seemed content getting belly rubs on the beach and even sitting by my husband outside of the store for a while. She's a beauty! All in all this place offers a great experience for the whole family if you do your research and know what you're getting into! No bells, no whistles just find your spot and enjoy your time away from the hustle and bustle of your every day life.

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.

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!

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!!! 🫶🏼