Florida Caverns State Park

 Length of Stay: 2 nights

Our next stop on the way home is Florida Caverns State Park, another park we have not been to. This park is located in the panhandle near the small town of Marianne on the Chipola River. People have been exploring this wonderful park since the 1930's. But, on October 18, 2018 this all came to a screeching halt. Hurricane Michael a category 5 hurricane ripped through the park destroying 90% of the tree canopy and much of the infrastructure. The campground closed, river access suspended, the cavern was filled with silt and debris making it impassable.

With hard work and determination the campground and caverns reopened on 1 October 2021. With my tour of the cave set for Sunday I went exploring today. The campground itself contains 32 sites with full service meaning 30/50 amp hydro, water, sewer, picnic table, grill, fire pit, and cloths line. 

The park indicates that sites can only handle RVs up to 32 ft however, I saw 40 fters and they had no issue in/out.  Equestrian camping is located away from the main campground and have both water/power. The Blue Hole swimming area has very dark water and is approximately 35 feet deep. No lifeguards are on duty. Yes, alligators are here.

The visitors center was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1942 as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal project. This limestone structure houses not only a gift shop but a self-guided museum with plenty of exhibits and is the staging area for cave tours.

I booked my cave tour online about 2 months prior to our arrival and was glad as the tour was totally booked. Our guided tour began with a walk to the cave entrance which was not strenuous, then down 35-50 steps. Prior to this the guide spelled out all the do's and don'ts while in the cave.

I have to admit this is the first cave I've been in where my glasses steamed up. The cave is a humid 65 degrees year round. The tour is not long and takes 35-40 minutes. The rooms contain formations such as stalactites, stalagmites, columns, soda straws, ribbons, and draperies. These formations were created over tens of thousands of years when surface water seeped through the limestone rock dissolving the calcium. As the water which contains dissolved calcium drips from cracks in the ceiling, stalactites are formed. Water laden with calcium dripping from stalactites form stalagmites.

Anyone that is claustrophobic would have a problem in this cave. The ceiling is 4' high in areas and the walls only 2' wide. This is a very wet cave and can be quite slippery in places. The exit is pretty much the same as the entrance. All in all great experience.

Many wildflowers appear at different times of the year. Southern magnolias, a native evergreen tree grow in abundance in this area and can reach 60 to 80 feet.

This is where the Chipola River flows underground through a cavern and resurfaces 1/4 mile downstream. During high water the river continues to flow above ground. In the early 1900s, loggers cut a ditch across this natural bridge to float logs downstream. Note the brown sign upper right..."1975 high water marker".

With the exception of the road being washed out in a couple places, this is a fantastic park. Alot of thought and planning went into the rebuilding of this wonderful state park. We will revisit it again.

Ruth B Kirby Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park

Length of Stay: 1 night

Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park is about 5 miles west of High Springs located along the Santa Fe River. For many years it operated as a private park with canoeing, snorkeling, and swimming being the main draw. In 2017 the state of Florida purchased the land and opened it as Florida's 175th state park.

The park has a collection of natural springs which includes a second magnitude spring which produces on average 44 million gallons of water daily.

This stopover was for one night as we make our way home. The road getting to the campground is sand making it very tough to drive through. Thank goodness for 4 wheel drive.

The park features 23 campsites with 16 sites for RV/tent and 7 for tent only. Each RV site has 30 amp power and water. Power is really, really bad but we were able to use our AC because it was sooooo stinking hot.

The big draw is of course the springs. On a hot day locals flood here to cool off and picnic in the park. This was quite evident by the line up at 9 in the morning to get a prime location for the family picnic.

Before leaving I talked to one of the rangers who happened to be very informative and extremely nice. The park is slated for a complete makeover by Florida Parks. When that happens I can see it being quite the destination park. But for now it's a one and done.