Ginnie Springs

Ginnie Springs is a destination worth telling people about.  It's located near Gainesville, Florida.  I recently had the opportunity to visit friends in Gainesville, and they took me to Ginnie Springs.  It's located along the Santa Fe River.  The Santa Fe, like the Ogeechee River (another of my favorites!!), is a blackwater river.  The water moves slowly, and cypress forests in the basin shed their tannins to the river.  The tannins stain it, giving it the mysterious pigmentation.  The Santa Fe River is a beautiful one with a unique ecology characteristic of blackwater.  The river flows by several freshwater springs.

The contrast of the blackwater and spring water is immediately apparent.  The spring water is 100% transparent- unlike the dark river water.  I went on a warm day, so the blackwater felt like bath water.  The spring water apparently comes out at 72 degrees year round.  It's cool and refreshing, especially when it's hot out.

Not only is the water striking, but so is the abundance of the springs.  There are some gorgeous ones that are very popular, but also small ones that people don't seem to notice.  I swam in the Devil's Eye spring and another popular one that is a long, deep crack in the ground.  But I also found a few that have no names.  I know for certain that I didn't explore every single spring, but I'm equally positive that they are all worth checking out.

If you're interested in going, you can camp in the cypress forest.  People ride down the Santa Fe in tubes, canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards.  You can even scuba dive in some of the springs.  I struck up a conversation with a couple divers who were going to dive in the crevice and then follow the caves.  They were using rebreathers because they planned to be under for several hours.  I asked them how far they planned to penetrate into the caves.  They said, "At least two miles."  Apparently the caves go for miles and make for crazy dives.  Definitely something to add to the bucket list.

Here's the link for the park's website.

http://www.ginniespringsoutdoors.com/