Ruth B. Kirby Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park — Attraction in Alachua

What an amazing place! If you are a tent camper and like to adventure out on paths and enjoy many beautiful scenic views, this place is for you! (Please note, we do not camp in a trailer. If we did, I would not like this parking area. There are not trees or anything to block you from your neighbor. There are many sites together if you are in a camper. However, the scenery is still breath taking!!!) We are a family of 4 with a 1 and 7 year old. We stayed for a week and we All had an absolute blast!!!! There were numerous bike and hiking trails and all leading to different areas of the park. The springs are beautiful and they offer canoeing and kayaking. We did do this and we highly recommend it! We also went swimming in the spring. It is so amazing, a once in a lifetime thing you have to do. (But I would say to bring a snorkel or underwater mask so you can see down the limestone under the water. We did not have this and wish we would have.) Seriously so much to do! The tent camping sites are lettered, not numbered, and are a decent space apart from others. They are also back a little from the camper trailers, so you can't see all them. There is not a full tree line between each, but enough for privacy. And, the space you are given is very generous, we have been to few tent sites that were as big as this one. The volunteers and state park people are all very nice and friendly. They do come around a couple times a day, but they don't bother you or stop to make sure your not breaking any rules.I did like the fact that the quiet hours don't start until 11pm. Gives the 'younger' crowd and crowd with kids a little more time to have a good time at night, listen to some music and sit chatting around the fire without feeling like you'll get in trouble. (It's dark so bring your lights!) I did look up a couple reviews before we left and here are my thoughts on what heard before / and how it really went. I heard, there is no wood... Wood is $7 for about 10 pieces in a bag. They do sell wood outside the campsite too. We bought wood from 3 places. I recommend buying the wood there. It was dry and the pieces were larger than the stuff sold on the side of the road. Also everyone gets their kindling from the woods around you, trust me, there is enough! Just be kind and take the dead stuff. I heard, the road going in/out is horrendous... It really was not that bad! It has these small sand hills. If you follow the speed limits and slow down in the bad parts or isn't actually bad at all. We had 3 bikes on the bike rack on the back of the vehicle, it was bumpy but not like I thought it would be hearing how much people complained about it. All in all, we highly recommend this place!!!...

Giving a five because four nights at the park made me realize that it deserves a five. We stayed in the park in our pull-behind RV Monday 8/22-Friday 8/26

On Thursday night 8/25, the springs 'enclosure' and access to the campground was washed out. The staff worked super hard that morning to assess the damage and get people notified/out of the park/whatever. That effort alone deserves a five.

Hopefully, this event will get the state to get started on its master plan for the site. It's a really nice park with tons of potential that is in desperate need of money/resources to both protect the multiple springs and give visitors a (more) positive experience.

In my opinion, it will never (and shouldn't) be a site that can handle thousands of visitors a day. There's plenty of acreage, but the focus is on the springs and the spring runs that create the super diverse ecosystem. Upland hickories, wetland cypress and river maple, some sandy-dry land oaks and pines, all in one beautiful location. A great place to play with kids, swim, kayak - but kinda all jammed together right now.

The staff are extraordinary. They take time to talk to you, give you directions, suggestions, check on you in general -- even arrange their work in an urgent situation to make sure the guests are ok (like fixing the camping area road so you can get your RV out before attacking the bigger erosion problems after a humongous deluge).

I mentioned the water activities - the dry land ones are there too. The single marked trail has lots to see, good photo ops, and there are a lot of unmarked trails that have potential. Lots of picnic tables, grills, and some pavilions for a big group.

There are some really beautiful primitive (tent/hammock) sites w/o water or power. It's a bit of a walk to the bath house from there, but IMO worth it for the seclusion and layout.

However - if you are going to camp in an RV, bring really long water and power hookups, extra leveling blocks, and a creative mind to figure out where to put your rig. Whoever laid this out before the state acquired it decided it was a best practice to put the water connection diagonally opposite the shore power connection in most sites - and at least one will be on a side you cannot park a pull-behind trailer.

For now, the road into the park is sand, with lots of rutting from the rains. The park staff told me that the master plan fixes that, shortening the entrance, and it will at least be gravel if not paved.

I look forward to visiting again - maybe hammocking in the late fall! (Obligatory photo of the main spring, plus one of the giant cypress...

Recently stayed for one night camping here in late December 2023. I'll preface this by saying I did enjoy the atmosphere! The camping amenities leave a bit to be desired.

We stayed in spot 9 which was spacious and oddly wide. We use a converted travel trailer, so we had plenty of room. Fire pits are located close to the road. Spots are all dirt and a bit uneven. Some large RVs had trouble parking and leveling. The spot next to ours did not have a working water spigot, so they used ours which had a double spigot (one of which we didn't need). We didn't experience it, but we heard about 3 different campsites temporarily lose power around 9 PM. Not many camp sites at all so relatively quiet at night and early morning.

The bathrooms were rough. A large industrial sized ventilation fan was constantly running in both restrooms (all the time... Loudly). The camp bathrooms are the same as the public spring bathrooms, so they were a bit dirty by end of day even in winter. The bathrooms were not heated. There was a shower curtain hanging in entry way for each bathroom entry (although there is a regular wooden door - it is just always propped open). Hot water worked well. Sinks have a slab of wood running around foot above to hold toiletries as sink itself is just a pedestal.

The road into the springs and parking area is all dirt and a bit bumpy. No firewood sold in the park at this time.

Lots of barriers around currently (wooden stakes with black tarps) to I believe help with run off. Huge area around the springs is sectioned off as the entire wooden walkway and dock that used to be there is all gone. Spring itself looks pretty beyond that though. They rent kayaks and canoes (put pictures of their pricing noted in December 2023). Had several picnic pavilions not far from spring. Not many benches around near spring itself. No playground. Dogs not allowed near the spring area.

Has potential to be a wonderful state park if a little investment is put...