Poe Springs Park is located in High Springs, Florida, 25 miles northwest of Gainesville. This is just one of a bunch of swimmable springs in the area making it a hassle-free visit. For $6 per passenger vehicle (cash only), hike 1/4 of a mile on a boardwalk pathway to reach a natural oasis of crystal-clear, 72 degree waters. When the sun is shining, Poe Springs lights up like out of a storybook moment from paradise. The olive waters can appear so strikingly translucent, I was deeply thinking how lucky I felt to be surrounded by it all. Next to Poe Springs is the Santa Fe River where you can continue swimming or get out on kayaks and paddle boards. There's even a tree with rope for swinging into the river. Near the front entrance are all-day tube rentals for $10. They have a concession stand to buy lunch or guests can bring their own food and barbecue underneath picnic pavilions. Overall, if you visit Poe Springs in the middle of the day when the sun is shining brightly, I believe you will be mighty impressed. Getting to swim among sparkling clear green waters makes for a rewarding experience within the heart of nature. read more

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Nice local park near the big springs. It is a short walk to the spring area. I'm bias because not the biggest fan of any park with a walk to the water since I always bring a paddle board, but it's not a crazy walk. The springs area is small, and the water is not as clear as most of the springs are. In general it is nice park to do a bbq in. Entry fee: $6 per car Bbq grills: yes Must be out of the water by 7:30pm Park closes at 8pm read more

Poe Springs Park - Parks Near Me - High Springs, Florida

This large 202 acre State Park in High Springs near north of Gainesville in Alachua County is a popular place for the clear cool spring water that flows into the Santa Fe River. It is fun for swimming, tubing, kayaking, snorkeling and hiking. We also enjoyed watching the older kids and teenagers climbing the tree with an attached rope then swinging and dropping into the water. The water is very cold so I only got to my hips. Some areas have many rocks so it's hard to walk in bare feet. The river is very scenic. The park also features picnic areas, playground, volleyball courts, trails and boardwalk leading to the springs. It was a self pay of $6 at the entrance. The bathrooms at the picnic pavilion area were locked. Hours are 8am to sundown daily. read more

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Great spot for beauty but the bathrooms by the spring are HORRIBLE! Use the bathroom at the shop near the parking lot! Otherwise such a pleasant place to rest and play! A large area for playing in shallow water so you can take the little ones too. No lifeguard so be vigilant on your babies. There are shade trees and pavilions. There is a crack where the water boils out but you wont catch me going there! Lol! 65 years old and i never learned to swim. Going back again next week! read more

Poe Springs Park - Our grands - Parks Near Me - High Springs, Florida

We came here in March 2023. What a beautiful little gem. Tucked off the road. During the summer there is a fee to get in of $6 per car load. The park has swimming, picnicking, grills, Volleyball, hiking trails, a boardwalk and a boat launch. They also have a lodge that you could rent for weddings and birthdays. The water here is so beautifully blue and green. We saw some snorkelers the day we went. It was kind of chilly the day we went so we couldn't go swimming but I would definitely come back when I'm in this area to see my dad. The park can fill up quickly during the summer capacity is 100 people so get there early It opens at 8:00 a.m.. and depending on the month it closes at 5:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. so check the schedule. read more

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Poe Springs? more like poo springs. The water looked like a Taco Bell toilet! If poo gave birth to a shade of green it would be called Poe Springs. If I could give no stars I would. read more

Another beautiful spring in our community. $5 gets a carload of people in. NOTE TO THE WEARY: It's quite a hike down a beautiful boardwalk (maybe 1/2 mile?) so quit smoking, bring drinking water and make the walk. Your body will thank you for it. read more

What a beautiful park with springs inside. There was work done to enhance its features. It is beautiful for cycling, walking running and dipping in the springs. What a wonderful respite. read more

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I recommend spring hopping. If you go to Poe, then plan to go to Gilchrist Blue Springs too. They are down the road from each other, and cost $5 per vehicle. So my family got in for a buck each. You can't beat that. But we are also an ADHD bunch and once we've seen it, done it, we want to move on. Po springs is like the Yin to Gilchrist's Yang. Gilchrist is, well, blue. duh. Po is green. But beautiful green. It's still a crystal clear spring. Gilchrist is just a swimming hole, where as Po has a literal amphitheater you walk down into the water. A beautiful board walk takes you to the Po spring, where as Gilchrist you almost step out of the car and onto the small beach. Gilchrist has a nice concession stand with food and equipment rentals. Po doesn't have any food or rentals, but has lovely pavilions for picnics and a nice playground and restroom. The thing to do at Po, is to take the walk down the shallows to the Sante Fe River. There is a rope swing. It is awesome. And the clear division of water, the difference in the color of the water where the spring meets the river is cool to see. read more

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Talk about KIDS FRIENDLY!!!! My kids and I wanted water for our Fourth of July. We were headed to Ginnie Springs but it was at capacity, this one was right down the road. I am so glad we came here, it has stairs to sit on and plenty of shallow water for the kids to play in. The water is absolutely beautiful and so clear.... read more

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I'm torn on this review. I love the park itself and the spring is great. I have an issue with progress I suppose. There's a vendor in the park that dominates the boat ramp, the concession area, and the spring area itself. They are renting canoes and kayaks, paddle boards, etc. They provide concessions as well. The park was much more serene and peaceful and less crowded before the vendor came in. This vendor has rentals and concessions at several other springs and this has interrupted the peaceful nature of the parks. I guess this is what progress looks like. I used to be able and launch my kayak from the boat ramp and paddle down to the springs with little to no interaction or interference but now there's crowds of people at the boat ramp milling around creating a less than desirable situation. Yes I'm becoming the old man yelling at kids for walking on my lawn and shaking my fist at the clouds. LOL read more

June 2021: The springs have recently reopened following renovations. What was once narrow decking with no railings has been replaced by a wide, winding beautiful boardwalk with hand rails and a couple of overlooks to take in the surrounding views. With a boat ramp, pavilions, picnic tables, grills, a playground, large grassy field, and volleyball net all at the entrance, there is plenty to do before you make the half mile walk to the spring. There is a wide curved bank of stairs down into the crystal clear water, with more than half of the water being waist high there is plenty of room to spread out. About half way out the sand drops off into rocks leading down into the spring. The water remains clear the entire way making it easy to snorkel around but there was no wildlife to watch unfortunately. This is definitely on of the more low-key springs in the area but it was still well worth the 40 minute drive and $6/carload entry fee to burn off some energy and soak in the sun and fresh air. read more

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Very nice kid friendly spring. Water was cold but not AS cold as other springs. My family enjoyed it. Bathroom were not clean but other than that, worth going to! read more

Be prepared to walk! We visited Poe springs immediately after visiting Gilchrist Blue springs, and did not expect to walk as far as we did to get to the actual spring. The park is FREE, and is absolutely gorgeous! So much scenery! I would like to warn everyone to try not to visit on Saturdays, as the park is super packed with people. We ended up stumbling upon an altercation between two families during our visit, and it wasn't very nice. read more

Very beautiful water is super cold. There is a few other springs around you should definitely spring hop. bring your own tube though tubes are pretty expensive read more

I am so glad that my friend introduced me to this lovely place! It is a much smaller spring than most others I have been to- but it makes up for it in other ways! The spring itself is a small sectioned area with concrete steps leading into it. The spring feeds into the santa fe river, which is not open for swimming, but some people were fishing in that area. The spring had lots of little fish, and tadpoles. The water was crystal clear and the sand was white. There was hardly anyone there which was a nice relief from the crowded springs! There is a parking area and picnic tables along with a playground. The walk to the spring from the parking lot is a good 10-15 min, and is fairly buggy so don't plan on carrying anything heavy! This is a great place for a relaxing day, especially if you aren't a fan of the crowds, or if you have younger children! Plus, it is only 30 min outside of Gainesville! read more

Poe Springs Park - Parks Near Me - High Springs, Florida

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I certainly need to update my review of Poe Springs because a lot has changed since I first reviewed it in 2011. For one, at that time, the park was under the stewardship of the City of High Springs whereas now it is run by Alachua County. This makes a big difference: while High Springs had a $5 admission to the park, it is free under Alachua County which makes sense because the property taxes in Alachua County are some of the highest in the state, so it's nice to see citizens getting something other than just stellar schools back for their money. They also have the park only open from Thursday to Sunday now, from 9am to 6pm I think. Under the constraints that it's free, it is a very nice park and I don't mean that in a cynical way, but really: Ginnie and Blue Springs are both around $10 or more, so a free park with a spring for swimming and river access is awesome. The county has done well with this one. Another plus is that we've had more water the past year or so and the spring is up and no longer a paltry looking version of itself as it was a few years ago. I'm not sure if they did anything to work on the spring and improve its flow but it just looks far better: robust, filled with water, and just nice. When I was there Saturday there were a lot of people enjoying it, too. The water is greenish--not crystal clear blue like some Florida springs--but it was cold and clear enough and indicated good flow so you're swimming in fresh springwater not water from the river washing in and there's no great danger of encountering reptiles here. (Not that there is at most springs, but people sometimes ask at the darker-looking springs if snakes or alligators may be a problem, but in general they avoid the colder water of springs and favor the warmer water of the river.) There is a rope swing out by the river on a tree which is popular with kids (and me and my friends) and the restrooms, pic-nic areas, and all else are pretty much up to par because that infrastructure was the park's strong suit all along. For freediving this park isn't the best: the water is greenish and if there are many people swimming in it they stir up the sand and it's hard to see. But for kids who want to just splash about, it's great. read more

Poe Springs Park - Poe Springs on 6 June 2015. - Parks Near Me - High Springs, Florida

After not being able to get into Blur Springs because it was full, we decided to go to Poe Springs instead. The first great thing about the park is that it's free. Compared to Ginnie being really expensive and Blue being cheaper, Poe being free was a nice surprise. There's not a ton of parking, but we had no issue finding a spot. There is a little bit of a walk to the actual springs, so bring all your stuff unless you want to walk back. The springs was not packed and there was a ton of room for everyone to enjoy themselves. There are also a lot of places for people of all heights to comfortably stand with no problems. It's a shirt swim to the river, where there's a rope to swing on for those brave enough to climb the tree. I recommend this springs for those looking for a more relaxed springs experience. read more

We loved this place. It is just that one spring very well described in all the other reviews, so I won't get into that. It seems it wasn't as crowded as Ginie which we visited two days before and, though it's beauty is breathtaking, the level of noise and human mass was crazy. We loved about Poe that it has a no-alcohol, no-loud noise, no-profanity policy. We just wanted to enjoy nature with our two daughters and that was exactly what we did. I'm trying to find more information about the nitrite pollution of the spring to know the station it's recovery, but haven't found anything yet, so if anyone one knows, please share. read more

Really nice park. Wish I lived closer. Took the kids here to the spring for a swim. Although the water is not the crystal blue color you find in other nearby springs my kids probably enjoyed this one the most and it's free! You have to journey a bit from the parking lot but it's through the woods on a nice wood boardwalk (bring mosquito repellent) that leads you back to the spring and river. Water is still super cold like other springs and has a light green tinge. There are two sets of stairs leading down to the water and the river is within view too. Quaint little spot. And not too crowded which was nice. There are no diving platforms or anything like that no life guards either; just a nice place to cool off. read more

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Beautiful spot to enjoy the natural Florida spring beauty. One downside of this Spring is - it's a long walk to the spring down a boardwalk. Pack light so you don't have to carry it back and forth (wagons are hard too because the width of the boardwalk). read more

Not too bad! Supposed to be free but it didn't turn out that way today they charged us $5 two things they say no animals there were three dogs there today. They say no smoking but unfortunately there was cigarette smoking pot smoking and cigar smoking there. Looks like I'm going to have to find some other Springs. read more

Beautiful park. If you love nature you'll love this place. My daughter's want to go every year.

Pleasant visit today, free admission. looks like some changes since last review. Park was spotless, water clear. very nice for small kids BC there is shallow area from steps into springs. The paths were well marked, though there is a long boardwalk to the springs from the parking area, we found it enjoyable and easy while walking with our young grandchildren.. There are many beautiful pavilions, not crowded at all. The park ranger was very helpful in directing us to view wildlife, including a group of beavers, deer and nesting turtles. beautiful time there, will visit again. read more