- Scale—2nd magnitude
- Scenery—poor
- How Pristine?—houses on spring and run, land cleared around spring; spring basin totally filled with hydrilla and water lettuce
- Swimming—not possible
- Protection—unknown/private
- Access—none/private
Sun (or Aiken) Spring
Gilchrist County
Summary of Features
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point where bus is shown in this photo at upper left.) |
Runs where they meet Suwannee |
Directions
By Land: From Fanning Springs, drive north on SR 26 1-2
miles. At fork in Wilcox, go north on SR 232. Drive 6-7 miles. The
road becomes dirt. About 0.5 miles after SW 25th Street, turn left (west)
onto Sun Springs Road (row of trees is along road). Go 1-1.5 miles,
turn south (left) into neighborhood. Go about 0.3 mile around bend and
spring will be on the right behind a fence.
By Water: From the intersection of U.S. 19/98 and State Road 26 in Fanning Springs, go east on SR 26 about one mile to intersection with Highway 232. Turn left (north) on 232 and go 5-6 miles. Road becomes dirt during this stretch. Turn left (west) onto SW 25th Street and follow signs to public boat ramp. At ramp, put canoe in and go upriver ¼ mile to mouth of combined spring runs for Sun and Lumbercamp Springs. After about 200 feet, paddle into right fork (the main channel) and continue another 700 feet. At next fork, stay to right and continue another 300 feet to 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 spring is set in what is now the back yard of a house on private
property. The spring pool is oval and perhaps 60 by 100 feet in diameter,
and shallow except for over the vent. The depth at the vent appeared
to exceed 10 feet. The water was very clear and light blue on date
of visit in 1997. When revisited in February 2002, the appearance
of the spring and run were drastically altered. The entire spring
pool area and first 100 feet of the run were covered in water lettuce (floating
atop hydrilla). The exotics made passage virtually impossible.
The spring run makes a right turn out of the pool and flows 1,500 feet to the Suwannee River. Nearly the entire run is badly choked by hydrilla and water lettuce. The water lettuce thickens as the run nears the spring. The run links with that of Lumbercamp Spring about 200 feet from the Suwannee River.
Use/Access
Nearby Springs