Hornsby Spring
Alachua County
Summary of Features
- Scale - 1st magnitude
- Scenery - fine
- How Pristine? - boardwalk and swim/recreation area around spring, float in water, land above spring is cleared and park- or campus-like
- Swimming - excellent
- Protection - excellent
- Crowds - can be heavy
- Access - private, access must be arranged
- Facilities - outstanding
- Safety - excellent
- Scuba - only with special permission
- Cost - varies
Directions
Directions (address: 23400 NW 212 Avenue, High Springs, FL 32643,
(386) 454-1351)
From downtown High Springs, drive about 1 mile on U.S. 41/441 to entranceto (and sign for) Camp Kulaqua on the right. Follow dirt road about 1.5 miles to Camp Kulaqua grounds and the spring. There are signs in the Camp.
Spring Description
The spring pool is about 150 feet wide and 150 feet long before narrowing into a run that flows about 0.8 mile to join the Santa Fe River a short distance above the U.S. 41/441 bridge. The water is clear and blue and flows from under a long (50 feet) limestone ledge. The ledge is 15-20 feet deep, and a lifeguard at the spring said the bottom was more than 40 feet deep. The spring run can be paddled in times of normal to high water on the river, but can also be obstructed. The run flows through a bottom-land floodplain area with hardwoods. There are small springs in the run. Land above the spring rises perhaps 18 feet in a park-like setting with large hardwood trees and buildings associated with Camp Kulaqua. There are boardwalks and swimming facilities (diveboard, lifeguard chair, large flotation device) at and in the spring.
Use/Access
- The spring is part of Camp Kulaqua, a church-owned facility used for summer camps, retreats, meetings, and conferences. It has full lodging, dining, and worship facilities as well as stables, trails, swimming, a zoo, and a small nature museum.
- The float in the pool is like that in Camp Indian Springs in Wakulla County--a long inflatable tube. Bathers jump onto the tube, crawl out to the end, and are then catapulted into the water by the next person who jumps onto the tube.
- The swim area has a lifeguard.
- At some points during the drought of 1998-2001, there was no flow from this spring and its run was dry.
Local Springiana
Bones from large Pleistocene-era animals have been found in the spring, including a mastodon bone imbedded with the head of a spear and dated to 12,000 years ago (Adventure Outpost, n.d.).
Personal Impressions
The spring is lovely, well maintained, and in a beautiful setting designed to restore the mind, body, and soul.
Nearby Springs
- Darby Spring
- Columbia Spring
- COL428981
- Santa Fe Spring
- Santa Fe River Rise Spring
Other Nearby Natural Features
- Ichetucknee Springs State Park
- O'Leno State Park
- San Felasco Hammock State Preserve
- Devil's Millhopper State Geologic Site
- River Rise State Preserve
- Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park