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Hudson Grotto - Hudson FL


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Hudson Grotto is a shore accessible fresh water dive site, located at 6815 Tower Drive, Hudson, FL 34667. This dive site has an average rating of 3.32 out of 5 from 38 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 131-140ft/40-43m. The average visibility is 16-20ft/5-6m. This dive site provides bathrooms and airfills. Training platforms are available.

Hudson Grotto is owned by ScubaWest, scubawest.net/.

Location:
From the intersection of Hwy 52 and Hwy 19, head north 1 mile. Hudson Grotto is next to Tower Drive, just a few hundred feet behind Bank of America, west of Hwy 19 in Hudson. Tower Drive is directly across the street from the Chevy Dealership.

Description:
Hudson Grotto is owned by SCUBA West operator Paul Heinerth. The grotto is often used for classes, but visibility can really fluctuate with the algae bloom and tanic water. As of 9/20/21, cost is $20 for walk-on divers. The bottom flattens out around 100 - 110 feet. In the middle of the sink there is a line that runs down to a 100 foot platform which is used for AOW classes. Most of the time there are two thermoclines. The mid-water temperature can get pretty cold during the summer, however the bottom temperature usually stays around 72 degrees. There are two boats below the platform as well as an old VW van a little off the ascent line. This can be a decent dive to try. The dive shop is now at 6815 Tower Dr, across the street from the Grotto. It stays pretty cold between 30 and 90 feet and really tannic all year. Deepest spot, about 145’ in a small open pit against the wall, can be reached by heading straight to the wall from one of the VW vans.

130’ + hour glass sink with fresh and salt (brackish) water. Lose light around 70’. Scavenger hunt at 33’, 66’, and on the bottom.

Dive Site Map

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Comments

Aimedfora100 - 3/09/2023 11:23 AM
I went scuba diving here on 3/4/2023. Average viz: Under 5ft/2m. Water temp: 61-65°F/16-18°C.
Aimedfora100 - 10/04/2022 11:56 AM
I went scuba diving here on 10/1/2022. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 76-80°F/24-27°C.
Aimedfora100 - 8/04/2022 8:00 AM
Rating Added: 5
Great shop across the street, good employees, Wonderful for first time divers
shelbized - 4/09/2022 7:26 AM
I went scuba diving here on 12/27/2021. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 56-60°F/13-16°C.
Zakaria600 - 1/30/2022 10:42 PM
I went scuba diving here on 12/5/2021. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 71-75°F/22-24°C.
kblair210 - 10/11/2021 1:47 PM
I went scuba diving here on 10/9/2021. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 81-85°F/27-29°C.
Easy dive with my daughter. Followed the 30’ guideline around the edge and saw a bunch of the objects hidden in the walls. As always the visibility isn’t much more than 5 feet or so, but at least it wasn’t silty or full of various other sediments. Beautiful day outside and the water temp was 85. Wore a skin and didn’t use any weights. Marked with white buoys, the ~20’ platform is closest to the dock while the ~60’ platform and ~100’ platforms are on the far side. The shallowest boat around 35’ is marked by blue buoys and is also on the far side.
kblair210 - 7/27/2021 10:18 PM
I went scuba diving here on 7/24/2021. Average viz: Under 5ft/2m. Water temp: 81-85°F/27-29°C.
First time at Hudson Grotto in quite a while. They’ve moved most of the ball floats and the map showing where the platforms are is no longer accurate. The ball floats closest to the dock lead to the platform around 23 ft. The white balls on the far side of the water lead to the 65 ft platform. The blue balls on the far side lead down to a boat around 30 ft. The single red ball leads down to a platform around 105 ft.

Visibility was absolutely horrible, 3-5 ft at best. Overheard some people saying that there was a team doing sonar work here recently which kicked things up as well as the ’hurricane’ we had somewhat recently. Whatever the cause, the visibility was really bad.

Got here and in the water by around 10 AM. By the time we left around 1 PM, vehicles were lined up and down the street. You definitely want to get here early if at all possible.
RcDyno - 8/01/2016 2:38 PM
Rating Added: 3
Nice place to get some dive time. Lots of area instructors use this location for training. Dive shop has very nice people, could be a little more organized.
Esvee650 - 7/05/2016 4:21 AM
I went scuba diving here on 7/4/2016. Average viz: 21-25ft/6-8m. Water temp: 71-75°F/22-24°C.
chuckqt - 10/26/2015 2:39 PM
I went scuba diving here on 3/21/2010. Average viz: 36-40ft/11-12m. Water temp: 71-75°F/22-24°C.
stephieleo - 11/26/2014 6:00 PM
Rating Added: 3
Good for getting my certification. Saw a barracuda that followed me around the whole dive.
Rodrigo_Ramos - 7/27/2014 7:43 PM
I went scuba diving here on 7/27/2014. Average viz: 11-15ft/3-5m. Water temp: 76-80°F/24-27°C.
Navigation Training Cert. fun dive, saw the turtle.
dpr17 - 7/13/2014 5:58 PM
Rating Added: 2
Fun dive here getting OW certs 06/29/14. Limited viz but that’s part of the deal.
Bonnie427 - 11/18/2013 7:05 PM
Rating Added: 1
Didn’t really care for the zero visibility after about 40’. Got down to 103’ where there is a boat on the bottom.
kelemvor - 9/26/2013 8:40 AM
I went scuba diving here on 9/8/2013. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 71-75°F/22-24°C.
kelemvor - 7/06/2013 7:01 AM
I went scuba diving here on 7/4/2013. Average viz: 5-10ft/2-3m. Water temp: 71-75°F/22-24°C.
Fun dive, low visibility due to tannin. There are two thermoclines (45’, 90’), and a halocline. Also, there’s a rowboat wrecked at the bottom! Lots of objects have been planted at this site to look at while diving.
Fldiver2012 - 11/21/2012 5:05 PM
Rating Added: 4
I went scuba diving here on 11/21/2012. Average viz: 11-15ft/3-5m. Water temp: 71-75°F/22-24°C.
I usually use the Grotto as a training site (and it is a great training site). This is the first time I have taken someone there for a casual dive. LOVED it. Found some new stuff on the walls!
nkydiver - 9/05/2012 3:50 PM
Rating Added: 2
Only been here twice and really only dove it once so it may have been the time of year or the water was off, but the water was extremely tannic and visibility was horrible. We dove into the cavern but vis still wasn’t real great.

I’ve heard plenty of people tell us good things about Hudson so we might make it over there next year when we go down and dive it another time to see.
hectorj84 - 8/23/2012 1:04 PM
You’d have to ask about the chalice before you go looking for it, sometimes they don’t have it hidden in there. Also sometimes people rent weight belts and drop them accidentally. If you find one of their weights, they’ll also give you a free entrance.
windwalker - 8/22/2012 9:27 PM
Rating Added: 4
Dived here many times and had fun every time. Usually greeted by large turtles in the water. Always see something new. Lots of places to explore and lots of things to see. Need a good dive light because viz isn’t that great. There is an angel statue that is my favorite. I like diving deep and the grotto is 100’. I’ve heard there is a hidden magic chalice in the grotto. My goal is to find it some day. :) If you find it I think you get the next dive free.