Blue Spring State Park - Page 2
This article offers you a quick tour of Blue Spring State Park, in central Florida.
The spring run empties into the St. Johns River at a point where the river makes a 90 degree turn, which creates impressive river vistas in two directions. A lagoon can be found at the fourth angle of this intersection.
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The spring run, lagoon, and two arms of the St. Johns River offer a wealth of destinations for canoers to explore. (Spring Run is closed during manatee season.) Now that we've done the walk up and down the boardwalk routine, on our next visit we'll rent a canoe from the park concession and see this beautiful area from the water.
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Renting a canoe is high on our list of things to do on a future visit. The park service advises you should call (386) 775-6888 for information and reservations.
There's also a 4 mile hike through the woods to the primitive camping area (and then 4 miles back).
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There are 51 camp sites within the park, each with access to a table, water, electricity, and a grill. The park also has 6 two bedroom cabins for rent. Additional information is available at 1-800-326-3521.
Anglers may enjoy the fishing pier that can be found at the point where the spring run meets the river. A park service brochure reports that bluegill, largemouth bass, shellcrackers and speckled perch are commonly caught.
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If you're an old house buff, check out the Thursby House. A sign indicates that the house has been restored to how it looked during the 1880's. Although the house wasn't open on the day we visited, we looked in the windows and could see period furniture in all the rooms. I assume the park gives ranger guided tours of the house according to some schedule we're as yet unaware of.
The house is teamed up with a couple of giant moss draped oaks to create a wonderful scene from the past.
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Apparently, before railroads and highways criss crossed Florida, steamboats traveled up and down the major rivers providing transportation to otherwise remote locations. It seems there was a steamboat landing here at Blue Springs and this house was part of the action.
When you consider the current state of human development in Florida it's hard to believe that only 120 years ago you needed a steamboat to get from city to city.
Someone should revive the steamboat business, wouldn't it be great to spend a vacation floating down the St. Johns River on a steamboat? You bring a deck of cards, I'll bring Mark Twain and a hammock, and we'll have a great old time living life at the speed it's supposed to go.
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Other Articles On This Topic
Blue Spring State Park - Page 1
This article offers you a quick tour of Blue Spring State Park, in central Florida.
Blue Spring State Park - Page 2
This article offers you a quick tour of Blue Spring State Park, in central Florida.
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Use this page to get the local weather forecast for Blue Spring State Park for the week ahead. If desired, you can subscribe to receive these forecasts each morning in your email.
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Here's a collection of Blue Spring State Park photos taken by Flickr users.
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