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.