Florida Hikes

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Diving Ginnie Springs

High Springs

A mecca for cave divers because of numerous springs along the Santa Fe River, High Springs is popular with paddlers and hikers for its extensive public lands surrounding its waterways.

Resources

Resources for exploring the area
North Florida Panhandle Explorers Guide book cover Five Star Trails Gainesville Ocala book cover 50 Hikes in North Florida book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover
 
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Exploring High Springs

Perched atop the watershed of the Santa Fe River, High Springs is a rural community in the northwest corner of Alachua County with a quaint historic downtown where antique shops and art studios dominate.

Along the nearby river are a bevy of parks, public and private, providing access to the river itself and some of the many springs found in this spring-rich region.

Trails and Parks near High Springs

Turquoise waterway flowing through forest in fall colors Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park Cradling a collection of spectacular springs in a forested glen along the Santa Fe River, Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park is one of the finest places to experience springs up close
Ichetucknee Springs Ichetucknee Springs State Park A swimming hole as a work of natural art, the deep gash in the earth that is Ichetucknee Spring glows an unearthly robin's-egg blue, cradled in a limestone bowl within a leafy glen.
Deep water-filled crevices Little Awesome Preserve Rugged pathways meander 1.8 miles across a craggy landscape in the Santa Fe River floodplain, showcasing a riverside spring and unique karst topography.
Broad trail through sparse forest O’Leno Sink to Rise Trail Starting where the waters of the Santa Fe River dive underground at O'Leno State Park, this scenic hike roughly follows the river's subterranean flow to its emergence at River Rise Preserve.
Log and stone park buildings from the 1930s O’Leno State Park At the site of an 1826 pioneer community along the Old Bellamy Road connecting St. Augustine and Tallahassee, O'Leno State Park protects one of North Florida’s weirder geologic wonders, a disappearing river.
Gilchrist Blue Springs Paddling the Santa Fe River On a mellow paddling trip down the Santa Fe River, John discovers several swimming springs, thousands of turtles, and miles of quiet waterway.
Poe Springs Park Poe Springs Park At Poe Springs Park, the Poe Springs Nature Trail carries you across a landscape shaped by water acting on limestone, where surface rock is obvious and studded with fossils.
Tip of canoe with tree-lined river ahead River Rise Preserve State Park Birthing the Santa Fe River from a journey underground, River Rise Preserve State Park offers trails open to hikers and equestrians via adjoining O'Leno State Park.
Tubing the Ichetucknee Tubing the Ichetucknee Tubing the Ichetucknee River means letting go and going with the flow, letting the waters carry you past beautiful springs and through ever-changing habitats. Here's how.

Related Articles

Tubing the Ichetucknee Tubing the Ichetucknee (8/30/2015) Tubing the Ichetucknee River means letting go and going with the flow, letting the waters carry you past beautiful springs and through ever-changing habitats. Here's how.
Gilchrist Blue Springs Paddling the Santa Fe River (8/29/2015) On a mellow paddling trip down the Santa Fe River, John discovers several swimming springs, thousands of turtles, and miles of quiet waterway.

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NEARBY: Alachua, Archer, Fort White, Gainesville, Lake City, Trenton | ALONG: Santa Fe River | PART OF: North Florida