Santa Fe and Suwannee Springs: Where a River Disappears for Three Miles and Comes Back
The Santa Fe River does something no other Florida river does so plainly. At O’Leno State Park it drops into the ground, runs more than three miles through limestone, and comes back up at River Rise Preserve State Park as though nothing happened. That is the short version of how this whole corner of North Florida works. The water is mostly underneath. The springs are the places it surfaces.
On the Santa Fe
O’Leno State Park. One of Florida’s first state parks, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The CCC suspension bridge over the riverbed still moves under you when you cross. Five dollars per vehicle, 8 a.m. to sunset.
Ginnie Springs. Privately owned, not a state park, which surprises people. Seven springs across more than 200 wooded acres, camping from riverside tents to RV hookups, and water at 72 degrees. The Devil’s Spring System below is one of the best known cavern dives in the country, so expect to see more tanks here than anywhere else on the river.
Ruth B. Kirby Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park. The newest park in the state system. A second-magnitude spring running about 44 million gallons a day, with Little Blue, Naked, Kiefer and Johnson springs on the same property. The park has been working through a renovation that adds a new swimming entrance, a new watercraft launch and a larger campground, so call before you drive out for a swim day.
Ichetucknee Springs State Park. Eight major springs feeding a six-mile river, with the upper stretch designated a National Natural Landmark. Blue Hole holds 72 degrees all year. The park closes when it fills, which is exactly why the river still looks the way it does. Six dollars per vehicle.
On the Suwannee and the Withlacoochee
Manatee Springs State Park. One of Florida’s 33 first-magnitude springs, running around 100 million gallons on an average day, with an 800-foot boardwalk through cypress. Manatees move in during the colder months. Near Chiefland, six dollars per vehicle.
Fanning Springs State Park. Worth knowing what happened here. Fanning was a first-magnitude spring as recently as the 1990s and now runs about 65 million gallons a day, which puts it in the second magnitude. The boardwalk to the Suwannee passes cypress knees standing six feet tall.
Madison Blue Spring State Park. A first-magnitude spring in a limestone basin roughly 82 feet across and 25 feet deep, with a 150-foot run into the Withlacoochee. It fills up, and the park closes between 10 and 3 on weekends and holidays when it does. Go early or go midweek.
If You Only Have One Day
Ichetucknee for the float, Manatee Springs for the sheer volume of water, O’Leno for the geology. All of them sit at 72 degrees in August, which is the entire argument for spring country.
