Ichetucknee Spring

Useful Information

photography — Ichetucknee Spring, Florida, U.S.A. Public Domain.

Location:	12087 S.W. U.S. Highway 27, Fort White FL 32038. Ichetucknee Springs State Park. At U.S. Hwy 27 between Branford and Fort White. (29.983889, -82.761944)
Open:	All year 8 to sundown. [2024]
Fee:	Car with 8 Adults USD 6, Car with 1 Adult USD 4, Motorcycle USD 4, Pedestrian USD 2, Bicycle USD 2. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Spring
Light:	n/a
Dimension:	T=20 °C.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Ichetucknee Springs State Park, 12087 S.W. U.S. 27, Fort White, Florida 32038, Tel: +1-386-497-4690.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1970	Ichetucknee Springs State Park purchased by the state of Florida from the Loncala Corporation.
1972	declared a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Description

Ichetucknee Springs are actually nine springs which feed Ichetucknee River. The springs are called Ichetucknee Spring, Cedar Head Spring, Blue Hole Spring, Roaring Springs, Singing Springs, Boiling Spring, Grassy Hole Springs, Mill Pond Spring, and Coffee Spring. They are located along the upper four kilometers of the river. The discharge was measured at the bridge U.S. Hwy 27 between 1917 and 1975. Average was 10 m³/s, maximum was 29-APR-1948 16.3 m³/s and minimum was 28-JAN-1958 6.8 m³/s. The springs are fed by the surrounding catchment area, but part of the water comes from sinks at Alligator Creek and Rose Creek to the north.

The Ichetucknee Spring or Head Spring is the most northerly and forms the head of the river. This is the main spring and well developed with a car park at Northwest Old Bellamy Road and a trail leading to the third spring along the river, Blue Hole. The southern part of the State Park is developed from the U.S. Hwy 27 with a car park, shuttle station and a shuttle road. This part of the river is used for tubing, people are brought to a landing at the river where they start floating down the river on tubes. They are picked up at the tube landing station 2.4 kilometer down the river, close to Hwy 27.

During the 1800s, travelers often stopped at Ichetucknee Springs to collect drinking water. At Mill Pond Spring the town of Ichetucknee sprang up immediately after the Civil War due to a great influx of settlers. In 1884, Ichetucknee had its own post office, general store, grist mill and smithy. The cypresses and longleaf pines were harvested by the local timber and naval store industries. Other industries included citrus, cotton, turpentine, and railroad commerce. The limestone was quarried for North Florida’s phosphate industry in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The phosphate was excavated in sinkholes and depressions. Later it was extracted with boilers, pumps and steam shovels. Narrow-gauge railroads carted the ore out to local railroad lines.

The Loncala Phosphate Company owned the land surrounding Ichetucknee Springs during the 1950s and 1960s. They allowed recreational usage of the river, but the high volume of visitors soon overwhelmed the company and the natural resources. In 1970, Loncala sold the property to the state of Florida for development as a state park. After cleaning up the river and installing the necessary facilities, the river and springs were declared a National Natural Landmark in 1972. Ichetucknee River is said to be one of the most pristine bodies of water in the state.

A few years ago, there were plans to build a $130 million cement-manufacturing plant only three miles from the river. This would have been far outside the protected areas, but the industrial pollutants of such a plant, including mercury, dioxins, particulates and nitrates from burning coal and tires, would have threatened the river. The association Friends of the Ichetucknee was founded, and it seems the plant was never realized.