There are so many springs in Florida I've been wanting to visit. I finally made the time to check…read moreout Ichetucknee in Fort White, FL. This spring was one hour 45 minutes from Jacksonville. My friend and I traveled to Alachua Friday after work and stayed in a new Hampton Inn. I didn't want to get up early Saturday to drive nearly two hours and Alachua was roughly 20 minutes from the park. Lake City, the same distance as Alachua, had higher priced hotels. No thanks! I reserved our tubes and paid for the tram ride online a few days prior. We arrived at the park about 8:45 AM, with a 9 AM reservation for the tubes. There was a bit of a wait to enter the park. I suggest having $6 cash (park entry fee) ready as this will shorten your wait time. They do accept credit cards too. Parking was open so we found a shaded spot. We checked in at the wooden canapy and were given wrist bands and a key tag and advised to get in line to drop off my car key (they will hold for $3). You don't want to lose your key in the river;) We were also given a paper to pick up our tubes. Be sure to pick up a water proof pouch for your phone prior to arrival. I found one at Walmart for $5. And bring a metal cup if you want water while floating down the river or checking out any of the springs as they DO NOT allow plastic water bottles. Lastly we picked up our tubes which was pretty quick. Then we followed the path to the river entry. There was a park employee there checking bags including our water proof phone pouch (we had to show both sides). Check the website for items you are not permitted to take on the river. The tube ride was roughly 45 minutes to an hour. We saw birds, turtles and fish. Thankfully we saw no snakes or alligators, but they are around as it's a 2,000 acre park. The ride was relaxing as well as nature's sounds! Highly recommend! Once at the end, we hopped off our tubes and walked to the tram pickup spot. If you don't want to pay for the tram there is a walking trail leading back to the parking lot. No thanks lol! You can ride as many times as you want. We only did it once as we wanted to check out the Blue Hole. We had to leave the south entrance of the park and drive 10 minutes to the north entrance. One park entry fee allows you to access both park entrances. We walked a 10 minute shaded trail back to the Blue Hole. I slowly entered the 72 degree water via metal stairs. I swam for a short period as it was cold lol. But gorgeous blue water with a strong current due to the underwater caves. I suggest bringing snorkeling gear so you can see the caves below. There was also a bigger area of springs you could relax and swim a short walk from the parking lot. It was a fabulous day at the springs. I look forward to going back again!

Beautiful, special place!! Just wish we had the time to see MORE!!…read more Not that there's anything wrong with all the beautiful (but at times EXTREMELY overcrowded/commercialized...) beaches of Florida, and if theme parks are your thing, FL is your place, but this park, in this wonderful, semi-undiscovered (by most travelers from up north, and even other Floridians, it seems...) part of the state is where I hope to return again and again!! Yes, I hear it gets MUCH more crowded on weekends/summer season, but if you plan well and/or get lucky on an "off" day, you'll have as WONDERFUL an experience as my friend and I did during a recent visit, and get busy planning your NEXT visit before you've even left the exit!! We arrived early to tube. The park's website was not quite as user-friendly as it could have been, but we figured it out, and reserved for an early tubing trip down the river. After a quick-ish hike with our tubes on a path through the woods (I think you can also take the tram...) we launched off the dock and took a BEAUTIFUL, peaceful ride down the river. Since we were there on a weekday, crowds were not bad at all, and we had a wonderful, leisurely float down the river, passing kayaks, other tubers, and paddle boards, along with MANY turtles, beautiful birds, and even a stealthy manatee!!

The river was cool! It was neat to kayak here. The water is brown and not clear. I recommend coming…read morehere!

My trip here with my friends was AMAZING! We rented a kayak and traveled the river for about 5…read morehours of beautiful scenery. The river path lead through an area rich with trees and scattered "beaches". There were plenty of small homes scattered around the river and it was fun to look at them in passing. We stayed on site in a cabin. The cabin was beautiful! The interior was an older style with modern kitchen and restroom accessories, There were no Televisions or computers in the room and my cell phone didn't get service most of the time there, PERFECT, I didn't want technology to take away from the experience! The patio had a wooden swing and a few rocking chairs. The two bedroom cabin had a pull-out couch, two twin beds (which were really uncomfortable) and a queen size bed. Oust side was a grill and fire pit to BBQ and build a fire. The site also had a few nature trails with interesting facts and sights along the trail (sadly, we didn't see any "interesting" wild life. This was a wonderful 2 day vacation, wish I could have stayed longer.

Nice and cozy cabin deep in the woods. Limited cell service and no television but it's a lovely…read moretranquil place. Truly enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere and beautiful nature.

I just stepped into Klan country. Yikes! Paid for a two night cabin stay but left early. You will…read moredefinitely feel unwelcome by the locals if you're not white. The park ranger was extremely nice. She was very friendly and helpful. The cabin was clean and cozy. No internet, TV or cell phone service. We brought our own bed linens, pillows, food and board games. Springs was beautiful but crowded. We did not go in for a swim. Very few practice social distancing and very few wore face covering at the local stores. My husband was told to remove his face mask as it's like strapping a muzzle on his face. What?!?!?!?! I was flabbergasted by her comments. I should've done my research prior. Oh well, lesson learned.

This is a very small park located next to the small city hall in Lee, Florida. Still, it is a nice…read moreenough place to chill for a bit. It had a pavilion, a tennis court, a children's playground and not much else.

Wow!! Small park. Big Fun!! If you are in the White Springs area you have to check this place out…read more About an hour and a half west and north of Jacksonville. Just a 1.5 mile trail. 3 miles in all. The scenery is amazing. Beautiful views of the historic Suwannee River all along the trail. Hike ends at the majestic Big Shoals. Your experience will depend on the water level of the river, but ours was pretty impressive. Park is pristine. Trails are well maintained and easily accessible. We went in the middle of the week and were the only people there. It's really hot in the summer,so make sure you have water available. Don't miss the bat house at the very beginning of the trail. If the bats hear your voice they will start moving around and making noise. Great old Florida experience.

Great park and you pretty much have it all to yourself. Nice swimming area with a place to put in…read morekayaks and canoes. Several trails of reasonable distance if you are into hiking. Slightly off the beaten path past White Springs, but if you missed it in my opening statement, it is a nice facility, well maintained, and you will probably be the only human there.

John W. Saunders Memorial Park is a small park, but it definitely offers a lot for the people in…read morethis community. Instead of pavilions, they have these cool little structures where people can chill. They also have a children's play area, a basketball courts, a small walkway and more. If you are looking to get back to Nature, this really is not the place. However, this is a great place for the people in this neighborhood to gather and hang out.

Lake Frances is a great small lake in Madison, Florida. It is a cool little lake that only enhances…read morethis small town. On my trip here, there were several people walking around the lake. It is not a park necessarily, but rather a park surrounded by residential streets. This is definitely a positive part of Madison, Florida and I am glad that I stumbled on this small, but oh so cool lake.

What a lovely quaint little place to spend your day exercising walking or just relaxing…read moreI love this small hometown and friendly locals and visitors just peaceful and enjoyable people

What a great little park in the middle of Madison, Florida. This park embraces the whole small town…read morefeel and is a wonderful addition to this community and embraces the past as well as today by putting statues here to allow us to remember our yesterdays. If you find yourself in Madison, Florida, come check this park out.

I was told by a regular that this place had fallen into disrepair not too long ago but maybe it's…read morecome back around. We took our two kids here on a break from long road trip and while it's not right on 75, it's a perfect pit stop. I would recommend this to all as it's a really short hike with some beautiful views and it's free. We did not see any of the land/water wildlife while we were here such as alligators or lizards, snakes, and frogs, but we did see some beautiful birds and considering it was the dead of winter, we were happy. The boardwalk is in decent condition and you don't have to worry about a gator jumping up eating you. The tower you get to climb at the end offers great views and a nice finish to the short (approximately .5 miles each way) trip.

We made this our first pit stop on a road trip north from Florida. Seems like it is in the middle…read moreof nowhere and signs say it is closed to the public when school groups visit Monday through Friday. It was awesome to be thrust into nature in the swamp while still staying somewhat safe on a boardwalk above it. The tower at the end of the boardwalk was like the prize at the end... it was quite a climb up the stairs but the view was so worth it. The boardwalk is in need of some major repairs as there were parts where the railing had fallen over and other parts where boards were warped and/or rotted. As long as you are careful I think this is a good place to bring kids. Mine really enjoyed themselves and the bugs weren't bad. Beware of giant spiders in webs that may be at face level! We didn't see any gators but saw plenty of butterflies, dragonflies, birds, ducks, and beautiful flowers.

Great place to go for a walk and experience nature. Plenty of bird watching opportunities, can see…read moreturtles and other wildlife, but they call it Alligator Lake for a reason so be weary of gators along the water

Beautiful lake with a small pier for fishing or whatever. I saw a small gator luckily it kept its…read moredistance. I'd like to go back for a picnic.