Poe Springs Park Labor Day Reopening Offers Welcoming Holiday Enjoyment

HIGH SPRINGS ‒ After a series of closures due to weather events, renovations, the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently Hurricane Debby, Poe Springs Park is once again open to the public. The park’s reopening on Aug. 31, 2024, perfectly coincided with the Labor Day weekend, providing a scenic outdoor escape for holiday revelers at Alachua County’s largest natural spring.

This past weekend, visitors flocked to the park to enjoy various activities such as tubing, kayaking, hiking, and barbecuing, making the most of the park’s reopening after its recent closure due to flooding from Hurricane Debby. While the park is now operating on its regular seven-days-a-week schedule, Alachua County officials have issued a cautionary advisory for visitors: do not drink the water without boiling it first to kill bacteria and other harmful organisms.

Poe Springs, which pumps an impressive 45 million gallons of crystal-clear water daily, has been a beloved recreation spot for nearly 70 years. The park offers a variety of amenities, including swimming in the spring area, extensive hiking trails, kayak and canoe launches, sports fields, and a lodge building for event rentals, such as parties, family gatherings, and small weddings. The grounds are also equipped with playgrounds, volleyball courts, and picnic shelters complete with barbecue grills.

The park’s history has been marked by a series of openings and closures to accommodate necessary repairs and improvements. Originally privately owned, the initial 75-acre parcel of Poe Springs was acquired by Alachua County in 1985 using a federal grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Additional acreage was later provided by the Suwannee River Water Management District (SRWMD) and further grant funds throughout the 1980s. The park officially opened to the public in 1991 and has since become a popular weekend destination.

Poe Springs has faced several closures over the years due to a variety of factors. It was shut down in December 2011 for extensive construction, which included installing a new retaining wall and steps in the swimming area, as well as updating landscaping and building roofs and air-conditioning units. The park reopened on July 4, 2013, operating four days a week under an arrangement with the City of High Springs, but closed again in 2017 following damage from Hurricane Irma. After repairs, it reopened in May 2018 with a limited schedule of Friday to Sunday.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced another closure in March 2020 under State quarantine mandates, but the park reopened three months later. The springs area, however, closed again in September 2020 for additional renovations, though the boat ramp remained accessible.

Planned to reopen in January 2021, delays pushed the reopening to Memorial Day weekend of that year. The park faced yet another setback in July 2021 when Tropical Storm Elsa caused severe flooding, prompting another temporary closure.

Now, with the park once again open to the public, visitors can enjoy all the natural beauty and recreational amenities Poe Springs Park has to offer. The park features pavilions and picnic shelters, multipurpose fields, a boardwalk through the cypress swamp, and access to the springs via a series of loop trails. For boaters, the park provides a boat launch and a dock with access to the river.

Poe Springs Park is located at 28800 N.W. 182^nd Avenue, High Springs. The entrance fee is $6 per vehicle or $1 per person for walk-in or bicycle entry. However, entry is free from October to April, and fees are waived for individuals with disabilities.

As Poe Springs Park welcomes visitors back, it continues to be a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts and families looking to enjoy the great outdoors.

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