Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park

Although the spring itself is beautiful, there is nothing pretty about what surrounds it. There is an old wood boardwalk & stairs that have been fenced off with a rather ugly fencing, leaving only one access to the spring and it's the boat launch ramp. And there are some floating rope devices a few feet from the edges with some stagnant looking water inside it. But, the water beyond it in the spring is crystal clear and flowing nicely.

You can rent a canoe or kayak or just bring your own flotation device.

The restrooms are in really rough condition, needing paint & a good cleaning. Needs renovation.

If you are just here for the day to use the spring, it's a nice place to have a picnic & swim.

The trails are interesting, we saw two smaller springs that were closed off, under a restoration. But lovely to view. Bring a walking pole if you have any balance problems, as there are many obstacles along the paths, roots, etc. Plus, the paths can get slightly steep in places. But, it's mostly white sugar sand.

If you plan to stay the night, RV or tent, they have water & electric, but NO holding tank dump. You have to drive to O'Leno park for that. Very inconvenient! Especially since the road into the park is a sandy washboard. We had to leave before our last night, with full holding tanks, we couldn't stay. After driving back down the washboard road, we just couldn't drive back. So, we moved on.

Also, parking in many of the RV spots is a challenge if you have a large rig. Ours is a 33' motorcoach & we couldn't have pulled into our assigned spot if the spot across from us had been occupied, because of the trees & fences surrounding each space. Most RV spots are not level or even close, they are on soft sand which made it difficult with our auto level system. The pads sunk into the sand.

Thankfully, the state has big plans for this park. We will return after the renovations are done, but only if they pave the road into the park.

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 into the sites.