- Scale - 1st magnitude
- Scenery - very good
- How Pristine? - completely pristine
- Swimming - fair
- Protection - excellent
- Crowds - none
- Access - good, boat only
- Facilities - none
- Safety - good
- Scuba - yes
- Cost - free
Summary of Features
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Directions
From downtown High Springs drive about two miles north on U.S. 41/441
to bridge over the Santa Fe. The boat ramp to the river is on the NW side
of the bridge. Put in and go upriver about 2/3 mile. Look for a circular
cove on the right, created by the spring.
For maps, latitude/longitude data, driving directions, satellite imagery, and topographic representations as well as weather conditions at this spring, go to Greg Johnson's informative "Florida Springs Database" web site at the following address: http://www.ThisWaytothe.Net/springs/floridasprings.htm#Florida
Spring Description
The large first-magnitude spring, with an estimated flow of nearly
260 MGD, was not formally classified as a spring or
measured until 1997 by Hornsby & Ceryak (1998, p. 20). It
is, however, one of Florida’s largest individual springs. Water
flows up in wide slicks from a depth measured at 44 feet. The
spring pool is oval and was about 150 by 200 feet in diameter
on date of visit (April 2000), a time of drought. On this date,
water in the Santa Fe River was quite clear, but the water in the
spring was not clear enough to see the bottom or any limestone formations.
Partially because the water is not very clear, the authors speculated the
flow might be an additional portion of the Santa Fe River Rise a short
distance upriver. The land surrounding the spring sloped upward about
eight feet into low rolling hills of hardwood and floodplain forest.
Use/Access
Nearby Springs