First Magnitude Florida

How many first magnitude springs in Florida are simply called “blue spring”? The best way to distinguish between them all is to put the location in front – hence, “Madison Blue Spring”.

Madison offers a neighborhood pool party atmosphere at a natural spring setting; beautiful scenery, a $4 entrance fee, and an openly mocked no-alcohol policy. In fact, USA Today voted Madison Blue the top swimming hole in the country in 2015. This beat out 3 sisters spring in Crystal River, and even Havasu Falls out in Arizona.

Deep, blue, cool, with a forest to one side and a wild Withlacoochee river to the other, the swimming hole is a natural gift that only Florida can offer. She is 25 feet deep with a bowl shape stretching about 82 feet wide. This is just what we can explore with a mask and snorkel; Madison is home to an intricate karst cave system extending thousands of feet underground. Exploring these fresh water caves requires specialized training, an abundance of bravery, and Trimix.

The Blue Spring’s location is best described as “south of Georgia”, nearest to the small towns of Lee and Madison. Swimmers seem to be mostly locals, making a day out of swimming, grilling, and spending time with family and friends. There are also the occasional road-trip spring explorers and cave divers.

The spring run, which is the stream or river which flows into a larger body of water, is very short at only 150 feet. In fact, the Withlacoochee river can swell up during heavy rains and “brown out” the blue water of the spring, closing the park. The river rises so high that the spring disappears in the brown, sediment rich water.

Location, fees, hours of operation, etc. can all be found on the Florida State Parks website. Respect the park’s rules, the wildlife you encounter, and clean up after yourself. Florida’s remaining natural places, like this number 1 swimming hole, should be conserved for future generations to enjoy. Be smart, educate yourself on best practices when visiting the springs and rivers (read the informative plaques posted by the Florida State Park system), and then have a good time.

If interested in reading about one of the challenges to Madison Blue Springs, check out this article about the food giant Nestle’s bottling of Florida’s aquifer water.