Ponce De Leon Springs State Park

A few months back during my first road trip that led to North Florida and parts of Georgia, one stop that we had made was to Ponce De Leon Springs State Park. We had driven all morning up from Tampa to stop at Britton Hill, the highest point in Florida. The next stop on our list was the Florida Caverns State Park, but being hot and sweaty, we decided to stop at a springs and the highway provided a sign for Ponce De Leon Springs – perfect!

We stopped to check it out and there were a good number of people at the park, mostly swimming around in the water. The springs were divided into a circular area on one side of a bridge and a run on the other side. Across the bridge was a hiking trail, so I decided to check that out first. Just after crossing over the bridge the forest begins along with the trail. Upon stepping a few meters into the forest we were instantly assaulted by dozens of mosquitos. We tried to move down the hiking path to pass the swarm, but the entire forest seemed to be infested. We turned around and left the woods and as soon as we broke free of the trees, the mosquitos stopped as if there was an invisible wall preventing them from coming out to the feeding frenzy of bodies swimming around.

We decided to take a dip in the spring, so we hopped in where the run started next to the bridge, since that side was less crowded. The water was probably the coldest spring water I’ve ever felt. All the Florida springs are supposed to be 72 degrees year-round, but this one felt much colder than the rest for some reason. After a few minutes we left the water and the park. I wasn’t overly impressed with it, though it did have some redeeming features. I think the hiking trail would be nice in the winter once all the blood-sucking pests have died off.