St. Marks Spring
Leon County
Summary of Features
Scale - 1st magnitude
Scenery - fine
How Pristine? - dock and cleared land near spring
Swimming - very good, excellent snorkeling
Protection - unknown
Crowds - very small
Access - only by boat; very strenuous
Facilities - none
Safety - good
Scuba - yes
Cost - free
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Directions
From downtown Tallahassee, go south on Monroe Street which becomes
State Road 363 or Woodville Highway. Turn left on State Road 267. After
four miles, turn left on U.S. 98 and proceed to point where the highway
crosses the St. Marks River. A boat launch is on the NE side of the bridge.
Put in boat and go 6+ miles upriver to the St. Marks Spring/river rise.
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 spring is a river rise of the St. Marks River and also contains
substantial flow from several nearby springs. Water flows from beneath
a large limestone shelf from a depth reported to be about 85 feet (Rosenau
et al., 1977, p. 241-2). The spring pool is nearly 100 feet in diameter,
and water flows from the spring around an island. Water in the pool was
clear to about 18 feet on date of visit (May 2001) and blue-green in color.
No boil was visible, and the spring looked like a bottomless pit with sunlight
shafting into it.
Except for a partially cleared area above the spring, land around the
spring is dense hardwood and floodplain forest. There is an old dock at
the spring, but no other structures were visible. Along the edges of the
basin and downstream of the spring, the St. Marks River is thick with eel
grass, hydrilla, elodea, and other water plants. The area is abundant with
fish, birds, and other wildlife. The spring flow—the fifth greatest on
average of any Florida spring system, likely contains the water from the
upper part of the St. Marks River as well as flow from both Horn and Natural
Bridge Springs. It may also contain water from Rhodes and some of the other
unnamed springs/sinks in the Natural Bridge area.
Use/Access
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The land around the spring is private property, and no landfall may be
made. People with houses along the river paddle up to the spring to fish
and swim.
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Upriver paddling from Newport can be very arduous when the current is fast,
and when the water is low, there are several low rapids that require portage
and/or pulling a motor out of the water.
Local Springiana
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As a single spring/flowpoint, St. Marks is one of the largest spring in
Florida.
Personal Impressions
The authors had wanted to get to this spring for many years, but were
not able to obtain permission from landowners who live near the spring
basin until May 2001. The river’s flow is fairly strong, so only canoeists
with excellent strength and stamina can make the upriver trip from the
public boat ramp at Newport.
Nearby Springs
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Horn Springs
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Indian Springs
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Natural Bridge Spring
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Newport (or Sulfur) Spring
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Rhodes Springs
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Wakulla Springs
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Unnamed St. Marks Sulfur Springs #1-3
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Other unnamed springs near Natural Bridge
Other Nearby Natural Features
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Leon County Sinks Park
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Wakulla Spring State Park
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St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
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Apalachicola National Forest
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Wacissa River/Slave Canal
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Econfina River State Park
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