21410 US-411 High Spring, FL…read more About the Santa Fe canoe outpost Santa Fe Canoe Outpost is located on the banks of the Santa Fe River in historic High Springs, Florida. This region, where Alachua, Columbia and Gilchrist Counties meet, is just south of where the river reappears after running two miles under ground through O'Leno State Park. The Outpost is located just 25 minutes from Gainesville and the University of Florida. Santa Fe Canoe Outpost offers fully outfitted canoe, kayak, stand-up paddle board (SUP) and camping trips -- or bring your own. They pick you up and bring you back (and do all the heavy lifting). Its one of Florida's most beautiful and pristine rivers. Depending on how far you choose to go, you may pass by such famous, crystal-clear springs as Poe, Lily, Rum Island, Blue, Devil's Eye and Ginnie. The slow moving pace of the Santa Fe makes the trip peaceful. The abundant wildlife, unique flora and crystal clear springs make the trip adventurous. You can see many turtles , birds and gators. One can go swimming, snorkeling but after seeing the gators forget it for me. Canoe Outpost can supply you with everything from ice to detailed maps. After 3 hours of being in the kayak I was pooped. Make sure you bring water and a hat.

Business is closed. No answer at phone number. There is no kayak shuttle available in the area.read more

What an amazing place. It is very isolated once you get to the shore…read more There are no cars present, or pedestrian foot traffic and the big lake offers birds much to eat. Whether you like to fish, take bird pics (like me) or just like to sight-see. This place is golden. I bring a stadium chair, a lunch, plenty to drink and my camera gear. This place never disappoints!!

Interesting park at the end of a point of land, limited parking for four or five cars. lots of…read moreturkey vultures one or two osprey occasional cormorants (massive amount of mosquitoes more than you've ever seen in your life in one place) accessible files of building debris, making footstep hazardous near wateredge ,

I was in Gainesville and visited the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. The gardens were a lot bigger than…read moreI imagined! Lots to see throughout. Various theme gardens. Very peaceful and beautiful. You can definitely get your steps in! Staff was helpful. There is also a little gift shop. Really enjoyed my visit. A great way to spend an afternoon.

Nature is the only thing to give you peace. This place has…read morebeautiful gardens that you can tell are taken care of with lots of love.

A very neat place to see. Devil's Den Prehistoric Spring is…read moretucked away beside Cedar Lakes Woods & Gardens in Williston, Florida. Both locations are literally right next to each other. The Devil's Den is a fascinating hidden gem that offers a true taste of Florida's unique geology. A cenote is a natural sinkhole formed when limestone bedrock collapses. Most are very unique and all share that they seem to have crystal-clear groundwater beneath and an opening above for sunlight to reach the water through a hole in the ceiling. It is essentially a window into an underground aquifer. The springs typically have 72-degree spring water making it cool and refreshing no matter how hot it is outside. The experience is especially rewarding if you're visiting a cenote for the first time. The entrance is easy to miss from the walkway. We walked right past it. Gear rentals are available on-site, making it accessible even for beginners. You check in at the office and pay your fee and sign the waivers and then you can enter and descend a set of stairs with a notably low ceiling. Watch your head!. It is a little bit dark on the first landing but it had plenty of light at the large landing by the water. Below, the cavern opens up to reveal the stunning underground spring, perfect for snorkeling. We did not go snorkeling this visit but may try it the next time. Right next to the cenote is a pleasant above-ground pool area with a beach area and chairs. Right next to the cenote entrance are several covered tables for groups.. It's a convenient spot to dry off, eat a snack, or simply enjoy the surroundings after your swim. Overall, Devil's Den is a neat and unique geological feature that's well worth the stop, especially if you're exploring central Florida's springs. It's not a large site, so you won't spend all day there, but the chance to snorkel inside a real cenote creates a memorable, bucket-list moment.

What a cool place this is! We're camping here and get to take advantage of all the amenities…read more Regarding the Den itself: There's a huge swimming pond. You can play volleyball in the water (or on the lawn), make your way to the middle island in the pond and relax on a hammock, or simply relax in the water. The spring itself is down some stairs. It costs $30 to snorkel and I think $50 to scuba. You have to have mask and fins on at all times - you can't just swim in the spring. We're here in the "off" season and it hasn't been crowded at all. If you want to enjoy just the swimming pond / Oasis it's $15 a day. It's free if you camp here. The campground itself is small, only 30 sites. Most have full hookups and 5-6 are electric only. It's shady and quiet in the campground. We will definitely stay here again!

Had a great time kayaking with Lars, yes like Mars but with an L…read more I was apprehensive at first as to how it was going to go since I have a very limited experience with kayaking. A few times in the past two decades with a few friends who knew what they were doing. It was going to be 4 hours or so on the river. The weather was beautiful and it was so wonderful to soak in all the greens surrounding us. Quite a few herons, osprey, and some kind of warbler. Very nice distance to drive from Gainesville and everyone in there kayak trip today was from Gainesville and they were all very nice. The drive to kayak destination and back in itself was a nice trip with change of scenery and getting out of town on a weekend to avoid the hussles and bussles of every weekend stuff with groceries and errands. Some people saw some alligators and were trying to point them out hiding but we didn't see any on the same trip! We are told that they don't bother people much in general:) When I expreeesed the concern about not being able to keep up with all other kayakers, my husband said that he would leave me behind and if an alligator has not gotten to me on the way back, he will bring me back home if I fall behind. Yes, he is the perfect picture of support!!!! Lars is very laid back and knowledgeable and easy to talk to and we learned a lot during this trip and would love to come back for more. It was such a fun great nature trip!!!!!

The place is long gone and shut down, he was a nice person , then the guy got caught up with the…read morepeople causing overtourism on our river which has contributed to the decline of the river and the area, so good luck with the one guy.

Our stay was pleasant! Clean and accessible pool area. However, the laundry machines had some…read moreissues like one machine out of order and another wouldn't do a wash with hot water. Also, I will only give five stars if a place I'm staying has a gym or some sort of fitness center. That would have made our stay much better.

We stayed here 2 nights in the back primitive tent camping area. With 3 kids we opted for more…read moreprivacy and to remove the noise from everyone else. There isn't electricity out there, which we knew ahead of time, but we were given the option to run extension cord from the pavilion area. The front office was a joy to work with for everything, the site was great, the pool was a bonus and the bathrooms were delightful (which is saying something at a campground). Overall a nice spot to stay.

This is a short list of the birds you can see at Lake Alice on any given day: great heron, snowy…read moreegret, white ibis, black-bellied whistling duck, pie-billed grebe, anhinga, little blue heron, great heron, common gallinule, osprey, bald eagle, cardinal, white-eyed vireo, Carolina wren, red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk, turkey vulture, black vulture, cormorant, belted kingfisher, Northern parula, American crow, tufted titmouse, green heron, swalllow-tailed kite, spotted sandpiper, and/or red-winged blackbird! I have not only seen ALL of these birds here, around the lake, I got pictures of them too! How many have you seen?

Located on the UF campus, this lake across from the Bat Houses and next to the Baughman Center,…read morethis lake is a popular spot to study, picnic, or watch for alligators,birds, or turtles. Yes alligators, so if you bring a picnic, watch your surroundings and don't leave anything unattended. There are a couple boardwalks around the lake for better viewing. Area is mostly very tranquil even with Museum Rd running right near it. Worth a pop by if you are in the area and want to wildlife watch, relax, or even recharge. If you can time it right, visit the Baughman Center and then stay for sunset at the Bat Houses across the street, you won't be sorry.

Amazing tour! Youll find somthing every scoop as long as you open your eyes and build patience!…read moreAmazing guides and the weather was perfect!

Made us feel unsafe with hostility & GUN!…read more We booked our reservation a few days before our tour date. We had questions regarding our tour and tried contacting the phone number prior to arriving in which nobody answered or returned our phone call. We were confused where the tour was at because there were no signs anywhere and nobody to communicate with. We waited at the residence for 40 minutes until a kind gentlemen walked by helped us find the creek. He told us the creek was on his property and he brought us back to where Hurley, our tour guide was at. Hurley was immediately hostile towards the man and yelled at him for "interfering with his business". We were immediately uncomfortable at the altercation and had an uneasy feeling. He began yelling at us telling us we were late and we explained how we tried to call and there were no signs anywhere and we were lost. He said "we don't have signs & don't answer phones". This business is sketchy, the people are sketchy, we were treated absolutely poorly for being paying customers. We asked for a refund because of how uncomfortable and unsafe we felt. Hurley was rude, aggressive, and unprofessional & kept his hand on his gun. He told us we were trespassing even though we paid and had a reservation. We had to call the cops on him because he was making threats and told us we would be "safer" further away from his property. He recorded us the entire time. We do NOT recommend this business. Especially if you are with no men. We felt very unsafe being two women with our children there.