Home of the West Indian manatee. The view of the spring head from the main overlook is surely one of the most striking sights in the entire Aquatic Springs project. Even more impressive is the sight of this spring from underwater.
Blue Spring is the largest spring in the St. Johns River basin, making it the most significant in all of eastern Florida. An average of nearly 100 million gallons of water per day pour from a deep and spacious limestone shaft that attracts swimmers and snorkelers in the warmer months and wildlife enthusiasts in the winter. During the coldest part of the year, the spring’s consistently 72 degree water draws a growing number of manatees that depend on the spring run as a refuge. At their peak, over 700 of these marvelous animals come to bask in the relatively warm waters emerging from the earth. These “gentle giants” can be seen socializing and resting from an extra-wide boardwalk and several observation decks along the .4-mile long spring run.
Depending on the time of year and water conditions, snorkelers can gaze down as far as 70 feet into a superb vertical cavern lined with colossal, aquatically shaped limestone shelves. At 120 feet down, a large boulder constricts the spring flow from the aquifer, making the current so powerful that further exploration is impossible.
Blue Spring State Park offers a perfect place from which to explore the St. Johns River by canoe or kayak. Lagoons and side channels make for ideal paddling and viewing of wildlife, especially large wading birds, raptors and alligators.
Depending on the time of year and water conditions, snorkelers can gaze down as far as 70 feet into a superb vertical cavern lined with colossal, aquatically shaped limestone shelves. At 120 feet down, a large boulder constricts the spring flow from the aquifer, making the current so powerful that further exploration is impossible.
Blue Spring State Park offers a perfect place from which to explore the St. Johns River by canoe or kayak. Lagoons and side channels make for ideal paddling and viewing of wildlife, especially large wading birds, raptors and alligators.
Extraordinary Excursions
- Peer down into the main spring cavern shaft while snorkeling
- Canoe and kayak along the St. Johns River
- Observe the hundreds of manatees that take refuge in the spring run during the winter months