Juniper Springs

Juniper Springs (referred to locally as "the Springs"), located in the Ocala National Forest east of Ocala, Florida, is a natural spring that forms the headwaters of Juniper Creek that winds its way to Lake George in the Saint Johns River.

Juniper Springs
Juniper Springs
Location in the United States Show map of the United States Location in Florida Show map of Florida
Location	Ocala National Forest, Florida, U.S.
Nearest city	Ocala, Florida
Coordinates	29°11′02″N 81°42′43″W
Established	1908
Governing body	National Park Service

Description

The Millhouse and waterwheel built by the CCC in 1935.

The springs, set in a subtropical forest, are in an oval-shaped pool with limestone caves present on the bottom along with areas of sand and aquatic grasses. The pool is approximately 135 ft long (41 m) and 80 ft wide (24 m) and surrounded by a basin of rock and concrete. Next to the pool is an old Civilian Conservation Corps mill house with a waterwheel that used to generate electricity from the spring’s flow for the campsite.[1] Because the Juniper Springs spring-shed is largely within Ocala National Forest, the water isn’t affected by fertilizer and septic tanks, as are many of Florida's springs and rivers.[2] Wildlife includes alligators, deer, raccoon, turtles, bobcats, otters, heron, and innumerable spiders.[3]

Recreation

Juniper Springs Recreation Area--which encompasses the spring, Juniper Creek, and adjoining camping and trails--is a popular recreation spot for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, camping, and hiking.[4] Swimming is particularly popular as the water is 72 degrees, 365 days a year.[5] The Juniper Springs canoe run is a nationally recognized attraction. The run takes between three and five hours to complete, from starting point near the Juniper Springs pool to an exit point off State Road 19 on the way to Lake George.[3] ReserveAmerica has named Juniper one of the top 25 canoe runs in the U.S. and between 30-35 canoes and kayaks are on the water every day with a record of 100.[6]

Gallery

References

Masters, Susanne. "Freshwater swimming in Florida's springs", The Guardian, Florida, 22 February 2017. Retrieved on 8 August 2019.
Gross, Bonnie. "Four great rivers to kayak or canoe from a base in Ocala", South Florida Sun Sentinel, Florida, 20 February 2019. Retrieved on 8 August 2019.
Allen, Rick. "Kayaking Juniper Springs Run: 7-mile run is fun, but challenging" Archived 2019-08-09 at the Wayback Machine, Gainesville Sun, Florida, 10 July 2011. Retrieved on 9 August 2019.
Bailey, Emily. "These Are Not Your Typical Jacksonville Swimming Spots", Jacksonville Magazine, Florida, 4 June 2018. Retrieved on 9 August 2019.
Tomalin, Terry. "Take It Outside Planner: Juniper Springs, night hiking and catching dolphin", Tampa Bay Times, Florida, 15 July 2015. Retrieved on 9 August 2019.
Crane, Kristine. "Boy Scout’s project may speed up Juniper Run", Daytona Beach News-Journal Online, Florida, 25 April 2015. Retrieved on 8 August 2019.

External links

Juniper Springs Recreation Area Ocala National Forest Official Website

Protected areas of Florida

Federal level

National parks	Biscayne Dry Tortugas Everglades
National memorials	De Soto Fort Caroline
National monuments	Castillo de San Marcos Fort Matanzas
National seashores	Canaveral Gulf Islands
National forests	Apalachicola Choctawhatchee Ocala Osceola
National wildlife refuges	Archie Carr Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Caloosahatchee Cedar Keys Chassahowitzka Crocodile Lake Crystal River Egmont Key Florida Panther Great White Heron Hobe Sound Island Bay J.N. 'Ding' Darling Key West Lake Wales Ridge Lake Woodruff Lower Suwannee Matlacha Pass Merritt Island National Key Deer Okefenokee Passage Key Pelican Island Pine Island Pinellas St. Johns St. Marks St. Vincent Ten Thousand Islands
Other national protected areas	Big Cypress National Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve
National Estuarine Research Reserves and National Marine Sanctuaries	Apalachicola NERR Florida Keys NMS Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Rookery Bay NERR
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Loxahatchee River Wekiva River

State level

Parks	Amelia Island Anastasia Avalon Bahia Honda Bald Point Big Lagoon Big Shoals Big Talbot Island Bill Baggs Cape Florida Bulow Creek Caladesi Island Camp Helen Cayo Costa Collier–Seminole Colt Creek Curry Hammock Delnor-Wiggins Pass Devil's Millhopper Don Pedro Island Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson Eden Gardens Egmont Key Falling Waters Faver-Dykes Florida Caverns Fort Clinch Fort Cooper Fort George Island Fort Pierce Inlet Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou Gasparilla Island George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier Grayton Beach Henderson Beach Highlands Hammock Honeymoon Island Hontoon Island Hugh Taylor Birch John D. MacArthur Beach John Pennekamp Coral Reef Jonathan Dickinson Little Talbot Island Long Key Lovers Key Mike Roess Gold Head Branch North Peninsula O'Leno Oscar Scherer Perdido Key Sebastian Inlet Skyway Fishing Pier St. Andrews St. George Island St. Joseph Peninsula Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Stump Pass Beach Tomoka Torreya Windley Key Fossil Reef
Botanical garden parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Lignumvitae Key Ravine Gardens Washington Oaks
Lakes, rivers and springs parks	Deer Lake Lake Griffin Lake June in Winter Scrub Lake Kissimmee Lake Louisa Lake Manatee Lake Talquin Alafia River Blackwater River Dunns Creek Econfina River Hillsborough River Little Manatee River Myakka River Ochlockonee River Oleta River Suwannee River Three Rivers Blue Spring De Leon Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs Fanning Springs Homosassa Springs Wildlife Ichetucknee Springs Lafayette Blue Springs Madison Blue Spring Manatee Springs Ponce de Leon Springs Rainbow Springs Silver Springs Troy Spring Weeki Wachee Springs Wekiwa Springs Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Wes Skiles Peacock Springs
Recreation areas	Dead Lakes Gamble Rogers Memorial
Museums, historic sites, and archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum Constitution Convention Museum Forest Capital Museum John Gorrie Museum Ybor City Museum The Barnacle Bulow Plantation Ruins Dade Battlefield DeSoto Site Dudley Farm Fort Foster Fort Mose Fort Zachary Taylor Gamble Plantation Indian Key Koreshan Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead Natural Bridge Battlefield Olustee Battlefield Orman House Paynes Creek San Marcos de Apalache Yellow Bluff Fort Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River Lake Jackson Mounds Letchworth-Love Mounds Madira Bickel Mound Mound Key San Pedro Underwater
Preserves and reserves	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Anclote Key Cedar Key Scrub Charlotte Harbor Crystal River Disney Wilderness Estero Bay Green Cay Wetlands Fakahatchee Strand Hal Scott Kissimmee Prairie Lower Wekiva River Paynes Prairie Pumpkin Hill Creek River Rise Rock Springs Run San Felasco Hammock Savannas Seabranch St. Lucie Inlet St. Sebastian River Tarkiln Bayou Topsail Hill Tosohatchee Waccasassa Bay Yellow River Marsh
State trails	Blackwater Heritage Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Gainesville-Hawthorne General James A. Van Fleet Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Jacksonville-Baldwin Nature Coast Palatka-Lake Butler Palatka-to-St. Augustine Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Withlacoochee
State forests	Belmore Big Shoals Blackwater River Carl Duval Moore Cary Charles H. Bronson Cottage Hill Deep Creek Etoniah Creek Four Creeks Goethe Holopaw Indian Lake Jennings John M. Bethea Lake George Lake Talquin Lake Wales Ridge Little Big Econ Matanzas Myakka Okaloacoochee Slough Picayune Strand Pine Log Point Washington Ralph E. Simmons Memorial Ross Prairie Seminole Tate's Hell Tiger Bay Twin Rivers Wakulla Watson Island Welaka Withlacoochee

Category
Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.