Ichetucknee Springs State Park

(Redirected from Ichetucknee Springs) State park in Florida, United States

Ichetucknee Springs State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Headspring
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Location	Columbia, Florida, USA
Nearest city	Fort White, Florida
Coordinates	29°58′2.47″N 82°46′33.82″W / 29.9673528°N 82.7760611°W / 29.9673528; -82.7760611
Area	2,241 acres (9.07 km)
Governing body	Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Website	https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/ichetucknee-springs-state-park?origin=serp_auto

U.S. National Natural Landmark
Designated	October 1971

Ichetucknee Springs State Park is a 2,241-acre (9.07 km) Florida State Park and National Natural Landmark located 4 miles (6 km) northwest of Fort White off State Road 47 and State Road 238. It centers around the 6-mile-long (10 km) Ichetucknee River, which flows through shaded hammocks and wetlands into the Santa Fe River. The park contains hardwood hammock and limestone outcrops. Like many rivers in this part of North Florida, the Ichetucknee is fed by natural springs which boil up (in various holes) from the aquifer. The state of Florida purchased the property in 1970 from the Loncala Phosphate Corporation for $1,850,000.

History

Phosphate Mining

Exploration mining for phosphate began prior to the start of the 20th century, which consisted of mule and wheelbarrow-assisted excavation. Later, boilers, pumps and steam shovels were used to extract ores. Compared to present-day methods, the early phase of mining used were less intrusive.

The Loncala Era

During the 1950s and 1960s, Loncala Phosphate Company owned the land surrounding Ichetucknee Springs. During this time, people discovered tubing, which brought college students from Gainesville to the river and springs to be what became a summer ritual. In 1970, Loncala sold the property to the state of Florida out of concern for the protection of the spring-run ecosystem. After being cleaned and facilities being built, the river and springs were declared a National Natural Landmark in 1972.

Fauna

Park wildlife includes white-tailed deer, raccoons, wild turkeys, wood ducks and great blue herons. There are also fish and reptiles: i.e. turtles, water snakes, American alligators, North American river otters, West Indian manatees in the winter months, crayfish, bream, bluegill, largemouth bass, alligator gar, mullet, catfish, and several types of minnows.

Recreational activities

During the summer, one of the most popular park activities is floating down the Ichetucknee River in an innertube. From the end of May until early September, "tubing" down the river is the premier activity in the park. They also offer kayaking and canoeing through in certain areas. As the water in this spring-fed river is remarkably clear, swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving are extremely popular. The river's year-round temperature is 72 °F (22 °C) and therefore makes for a refreshingly cool escape from the hot afternoon temperatures in the region. Tubes, rafts, canoes, and kayaks as well as snorkeling and diving equipment can be rented from private vendors outside the park.

Seasonality

The tubing season from the North entrance begins on the Friday before Memorial Day. Tubing from the North entrance is closed from the day after Labor Day until the Friday before Memorial Day

At the South entrance, the tram service operates from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Rented innertubes and rafts are dropped off (at the end of the trip) in designated areas at the "take-out" point. This is a popular weekend getaway for the students (and faculty) of the nearby University of Florida.

Amenities within this state park include restrooms, dressing rooms, a concession stand, nature trails, picnic tables and grills.

Archaeology

A 17th century Spanish mission site has been identified in the park, next to a short tributary connecting Fig Springs to the Ichetucknee River, about one mile (1.6 km) downstream from the head of the river. The mission has been provisionally identified as San Martín de Timucua, which was occupied in the first half of the 17th century. Plans to reconstruct the mission and open it to the public as an interpretational site were dropped.

Hours

The park opens at 8 a.m. every day of the year (including holidays) and closes at sunset. The Education and Exhibit Center is open Thursday through Monday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Gallery

Blue Spring
Blue Hole Trail pedestrian bridge viewed from the Head Spring Trail
Children paddling down the Ichetucknee River
Stones in the headspring

References

^ "History". Florida State Parks. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
"Tubing Instructions". Florida State Parks. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
Weisman, Brent R. 1993. "Archaeology of Fig Springs Mission, Ichetucknee Springs State Park", in Bonnie G. McEwan. ed. The Spanish Missions of La Florida. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1232-5
"Ichetucknee Springs: Hours & Fees". Retrieved June 4, 2021.
"Ichetucknee Springs: Experiences & Amenities". Retrieved June 4, 2021.

External links

Media related to Ichetucknee Springs State Park at Wikimedia Commons

Protected areas of Florida

Federal level

National parks	Biscayne Dry Tortugas Everglades
National memorials	De Soto Fort Caroline
National monuments	Castillo de San Marcos Fort Matanzas
National seashores	Canaveral Gulf Islands
National forests	Apalachicola Choctawhatchee Ocala Osceola
National wildlife refuges	Archie Carr Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Caloosahatchee Cedar Keys Chassahowitzka Crocodile Lake Crystal River Egmont Key Florida Panther Great White Heron Hobe Sound Island Bay J.N. 'Ding' Darling Key West Lake Wales Ridge Lake Woodruff Lower Suwannee Matlacha Pass Merritt Island National Key Deer Okefenokee Passage Key Pelican Island Pine Island Pinellas St. Johns St. Marks St. Vincent Ten Thousand Islands
Other national protected areas	Big Cypress National Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve
National Marine Sanctuaries	Florida Keys Key Largo (1975–1990) Looe Key (1981–1990)
National Estuarine Research Reserves	Apalachicola NERR Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Rookery Bay NERR
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Loxahatchee River Wekiva River

State level

Parks	Amelia Island Anastasia Avalon Bahia Honda Bald Point Big Lagoon Big Shoals Big Talbot Island Bill Baggs Cape Florida Bulow Creek Caladesi Island Camp Helen Cayo Costa Collier–Seminole Colt Creek Curry Hammock Delnor-Wiggins Pass Devil's Millhopper Don Pedro Island Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson Eden Gardens Egmont Key Falling Waters Faver-Dykes Florida Caverns Fort Clinch Fort Cooper Fort George Island Fort Pierce Inlet Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou Gasparilla Island George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier Grayton Beach Henderson Beach Highlands Hammock Honeymoon Island Hontoon Island Hugh Taylor Birch John D. MacArthur Beach John Pennekamp Coral Reef Jonathan Dickinson Little Talbot Island Long Key Lovers Key Mike Roess Gold Head Branch North Peninsula O'Leno Oscar Scherer Perdido Key Price's Scrub Sebastian Inlet Skyway Fishing Pier St. Andrews St. George Island St. Marks River St. Joseph Peninsula Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Stump Pass Beach Tomoka Torreya Windley Key Fossil Reef
Botanical garden parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Lignumvitae Key Ravine Gardens Washington Oaks
Lakes, rivers and springs parks	Deer Lake Lake Griffin Lake June in Winter Scrub Lake Kissimmee Lake Louisa Lake Manatee Lake Talquin Alafia River Blackwater River Dunns Creek Econfina River Hillsborough River Little Manatee River Myakka River Ochlockonee River Oleta River Suwannee River Three Rivers Blue Spring De Leon Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs Fanning Springs Homosassa Springs Wildlife Ichetucknee Springs Lafayette Blue Springs Madison Blue Spring Manatee Springs Ponce de Leon Springs Rainbow Springs Silver Springs Troy Spring Weeki Wachee Springs Wekiwa Springs Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Wes Skiles Peacock Springs
Recreation areas	Dead Lakes Gamble Rogers Memorial
Museums, historic sites, and archaeological sites	Addison Blockhouse Cedar Key Museum Constitution Convention Museum Forest Capital Museum John Gorrie Museum Ybor City Museum The Barnacle Bulow Plantation Ruins Dade Battlefield DeSoto Site Dudley Farm Fort Foster Fort Mose Fort Zachary Taylor Gamble Plantation Indian Key Koreshan Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead Natural Bridge Battlefield Olustee Battlefield Orman House Paynes Creek San Marcos de Apalache Yellow Bluff Fort Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River Lake Jackson Mounds Letchworth-Love Mounds Madira Bickel Mound Mound Key San Pedro Underwater
Preserves and reserves	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Anclote Key Cedar Key Scrub Charlotte Harbor Crystal River Disney Wilderness Estero Bay Green Cay Wetlands Fakahatchee Strand Hal Scott Kissimmee Prairie Lower Wekiva River Paynes Prairie Pumpkin Hill Creek River Rise Rock Springs Run San Felasco Hammock Savannas Seabranch St. Lucie Inlet St. Sebastian River Tarkiln Bayou Topsail Hill Tosohatchee Waccasassa Bay Yellow River Marsh
State trails	Blackwater Heritage Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Gainesville-Hawthorne General James A. Van Fleet Jacksonville-Baldwin Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Nature Coast Palatka-Lake Butler Palatka-to-St. Augustine Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Withlacoochee
State forests	Belmore Big Shoals Blackwater River Carl Duval Moore Cary Charles H. Bronson Cottage Hill Deep Creek Etoniah Creek Four Creeks Goethe Holopaw Indian Lake Jennings John M. Bethea Lake George Lake Talquin Lake Wales Ridge Little Big Econ Matanzas Myakka Okaloacoochee Slough Picayune Strand Pine Log Point Washington Ralph E. Simmons Memorial Ross Prairie Seminole Tate's Hell Tiger Bay Twin Rivers Wakulla Watson Island Welaka Withlacoochee

Local level

Preserves and reserves	Boyd Hill Gumbo Limbo Moccasin Lake

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