WATER & COAST
Blue Spring State Park
Volusia County · Atlantic Coast
The largest spring on the St. Johns River, and the winter gathering place for hundreds of manatees.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
About 102 million gallons of water come out of it every day at a steady seventy-three degrees. That warmth is the whole point in winter. When the river drops below the mid-sixties, manatees move into the spring run to keep from dying of cold, and from November through March the park closes the water to swimmers, divers and paddlers so the animals are left alone. Researchers have tracked individual manatees here since 1978, identifying them by the scar patterns left by boat strikes, so the same animals are known by name year after year. A boardwalk runs a third of a mile from the St. Johns River up to the headspring, and in season you can stand on it and count them. Outside manatee season the spring run is open for swimming, snorkeling, paddling and certified diving. The Thursby House, built by the family who farmed here in the nineteenth century, stands on the grounds with displays inside. The park has fifty-one campsites and six cabins. The State of Florida bought the land in 1972. The botanist John Bartram wrote about this spring in 1766
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