Santa Fe River Rise

Useful Information

Location:	High Springs, FL 32643. River Rise Preserve State Park, entrance to the park is 3.2 km west of High Springs on U.S. 27. (29.8738124, -82.5915348)
Open:	All year daily 8 to sundown. [2024]
Fee:	Car with 8 adults USD 5, Car with 1 adult USD 4, Pedestrian USD 2, Bicycle USD 2. [2024]
Classification:	Karst spring
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	River Rise Preserve State Park, 373 U.S. 27, High Springs, Florida 32643, Tel: +1-386-454-1853.
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

17th century	El Camino Real built during the Spanish mission period.
1824	construction of Bellamy Road by plantation owner John Bellamy financed by the federal government.
1974	4,500 acres purchased by the Florida Park Service, creating River Rise Preserve State Park.

Description

River Rise or Santa Fe River Rise is - as the name says - the reappearance of the Santa Fe River, which goes underground in Karst O'Leno State Park, about 4.6 km to the north. It is located in River Rise Preserve State Park. This site is quite spectacular from the geological view. While most of Florida is actually karstified, the karst is characterized by a massive aquifer, water-filled caves, thousands of dolines, and about 1,000 springs. But there are few dry caves and few underground rivers. This is definitely the most spectacular underground river in the state which offers a river sink, a spring and two or three small lakes in between, where the river reappears just to vanish again shortly after. Such underground rivers are common in many karst areas of the world, but here in Florida, where the karst is actually drowned, they are quite rare.

Limestone is exposed on the banks and in the bed of the Santa Fe River. The rocky cliffs have almost no soil, and the lack of water and the high temperature changes create a unique, quite extreme microclimate. The results are microhabitats of ferns and other unusual plants. The limestone here is locally called Ocala Limestone and was formed about 40 million years ago during the late Eocene, when carbonate rich sediments were deposited in a shallow marine environment. It is rich in fossils like mollusks, echinoids (sea biscuits) and bryozoans (similar to corals). The limestone also contains flint, and was thus quarried during the Stone Age for the flint, which was used to make flint tools. The two parks O’Leno and River Rise contain a total of four quarry sites.

For the prehistoric inhabitants as well as the early settlers, the underground river was of great importance. Like a natural bridge, it allowed crossing the Santa Fe River without a bridge, even with carts. The first actual road using this was the El Camino Real, a road running from St. Augustine, over the Santa Fe land bridge, to Tallahassee and Pensacola. This was during the Spanish mission period of the 1600s, the Spanish followed a Native American trail for their road. In 1824, the federal government and plantation owner John Bellamy made a contract to build the first federally funded road running from St. Augustine to Tallahassee. It was a dirt road more or less following the El Camino Real. It is known until today as Old Bellamy Road, and connects US Hwy 441 near Old Bellamy RV Park with I75 exit NW County Road 236. However, it’s not possible to use this road, as the central part is a State Park and so it is fenced off.

It’s a little tricky to get to the resurgence, which is located in the middle of the forest. It is best reached off US 41/US 441, there is a gate with the sign "River Rise Preserve State Park East Entrance". The single lane gravel road ends after a few hundred meters at a small car park. From here it’s a 2 km hike northeast to the resurgence. The "east" entrance name is a misnomer in the way that it is located in the west of the park. However, the only other entrance is even farther west and is thus called "west entrance". It is located on U.S. 27 just outside High Springs. It has a car park, a campground, and a 20-stall horse barn. There is no real visitor center, not even a ranger station, the day use fee must be paid online. We recommend visiting the Visitor Center of O'Leno State Park first, to see the museum and nature center and get detailed trail maps.

There are numerous trails to the spring, but the trail from east entrance is the shortest hike. It’s also possible to follow the underground river from the river sink at O'Leno State Park to the resurgence. The distance is 4.6 km as the crow flies, so it’s at least a 6 km hike. And you either have two more to the east entrance where you have a second car, or you have to walk back. We recommend a hiking portal for gps data for the hikes, maps are also available at the visitor center of the park. Its also popular by horse or mountain bike. And due to the long hike, it’s much less crowded than any other spring in Florida, which is quite nice.