DESTINATION – Morrison Springs is crystal clear, freezing cold, and packs an old-Florida appeal

While there isn’t much of a ‘bank’ at the water’s edge, boaters and swimmers alike can often be spotted moored or sitting along the bald cypress trees and the cypress pneumatophores (knees) that edge the water.

Dozens of pneumatophores jut out of the water - the technical term for Bald Cypress ‘knees’, these specialized roots protrude from the Florida wetland like moss-covered, pointy witches’ hats.

Small groves of mature trees cluster close to the boardwalk inside Morrison Springs Park.

At the onset of autumn, the deciduous needles – not leaves – of these strange ‘old-world’ conifers will begin to change colors, turning cinnamon, tan, and fiery orange, before shedding early in the season.

A local teenager hovers, buzzard-ish, above the crystalline waters.

Standing in a hollow, while clinging to the reddish-brown fibrous bark of the cypress, the youth reaches for the rope swing.

With a feigned yelp, he flies out over the 250-foot diameter, bowl-shaped spring pool and plunges into the frigid depths.

More than likely oblivious to the fact that a trio of cavities allow an estimated 48 million gallons of translucent water to escape upward, out of the aquifer, all for his (and other visitors’) enjoyment.

One of the most popular diving spots in the Panhandle, the 161-acre park has a clarity level of 2, based on a rating scale of 1-5, with one being ‘totally clear’ and five being ‘muddy’.

PADI-certified professionals report that the aquamarine water is completely transparent in the flooded caverns some 300-feet down.

Normally considered a second-magnitude spring, Morrison sporadically rises to first-magnitude status.

“It’s a nice place to scuba,” claims guest Natalie Forester. “More natural than Ponce de Leon” – the state park springs about eight miles down the road. “Mostly, it’s a hang-out for the [residents], especially on the week-ends.”

And, indeed, the swimming area is bustling with activity: children making sand-castles at the water’s edge, toddlers splashing with their arm ‘floaties’, and a young girl attempting to straddle an inflatable llama.

Elsewhere, paddle-boarders use their oars to move away from the boat ramp.

A pair of boys, astride a canoe, dangle their legs in the spring boil, watching the cold water burbling to the surface.

A quartet of teen athletes are tossing a football, occasionally forced to gingerly pick their way through the invading cypress knees to retrieve a stray throw.

Even a pleasure boat is moored amongst the pneumatophores to provide easier access to a picnic basket for an impromptu outdoor lunch.

Nearby, another intrepid ‘jumper’ scales makeshift steps hammered into the buttress roots and up the trunk of a Fir tree.

Splat! A girl does a spectacular belly flop, loud and painful enough for most of the bathers to audibly gasp.

Meantime, masked snorkelers enthusiastically smack the turquoise waters with their flippers…to carry them nearly ¾ of a mile downstream, to where the spring run empties into the Choctawhatchee - or perhaps just to spike sufficient adrenaline to keep warm.

Even in the dead of summer, when the Sunshine State’s temperatures loom around 100°, swimming by the spring vents is not for the thin-skinned.

Yet, by comparison, with the infiltrating backwash from the river, this hotspot still seems a bit warmer than its rival, over at Ponce de Leon Springs State Park.

All in all, a visit to Morrison Springs makes for a lovely day trip.

Be sure to take your camera!

A pair of black-and-white Tiger Swallowtails might be fluttering along the nearly 600-foot long boardwalk.

As they dart in and out of the flanking forests of gum and cypress trees, it is worth the visit just to see these butterflies zipping over the wooden planks, amongst the natural flora.

And if the appeal of a ‘wild Florida’ outing isn’t enough to entice you, perhaps the free entry into the springs will convince you the rest of the way - this spring should absolutely be on everyone’s “Must Visit” list.

The swimming hole at Morrison Springs Park is a family-beloved attraction for local divers, weekend travelers, and visitors of all sorts. The freezing waters don’t keep anyone out of the water for long.

Vickie Lillo - Gadsden County News Service

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DESTINATION – Morrison Springs is crystal clear, freezing cold, and packs an old-Florida appeal

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A superhero celebration will welcome comic book art to the Gadsden Arts

Farmers Market brings local goods and foods to Quincy

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