Alexander Springs Swimming Area

Growing up, I went camping many times with my family all over the country. I was thinking it was finally time to go on one on my own. I’m in college, I have a job, and my boyfriend’s birthday presented the perfect excuse to go on a short trip.

We took a lot of time picking out a campsite – we looked at price, whether pets were allowed, what kind of marine life was available there, and the location of the site. After looking at many, we finally decided on Alexander Springs. It costs $18.67 per night, allowed pets (although in the end we didn’t bring our dog anyways), and they had a wide variety of fish. Being only an hour to an hour and a half from Daytona Beach – our leaving point – it seemed perfect. Alexander Springs – Here we come!

We borrowed a tent (a 17’x8’ Field & Stream monster) and most of the camping and snorkeling gear from my father. That saved us a lot of money. One thing we are very glad we brought – even though it took up a lot of room – is a patio umbrella. The shaded site we were in wasn’t shaded for long, and the umbrella kept the September heat at bay.

After getting a little lost and asking for directions at a cute little country store, we finally made it! It only took us about twenty minutes to set up the tent (with LOTS of help from instructions sewn into the bag) and we were ready to relax. The restrooms and showers (very clean for camp baths) were within a two minute walk along a pretty trail, but they were out of view from the site. The campground is only about a fifteen minute walk or a two minute drive from the springs.

Speaking of the springs – they are gorgeous – crystal clear water with a variety of areas that has a fit for each person. At a constant 72◦F, it is definitely chilly. When you are walking up, you see lush green trees and picnic areas. Closer to the water is a small sandy beach area, and there are stairs down into the water. There is no easy place to just jump in, but for the first part of the swimming area it is all shallow water no higher than your knees and white sand that makes it easy to keep an eye on young children. Further out, you start to see a little vegetation and after that is a drop into a gorgeous underwater ravine perfect for beginning divers.

The fish in there are unbelievable – orange, green, silver, and rainbow fish are everywhere. Catch the springs close to closing time and you might get to see this huge turtle that is the size of a spare tire and with a tail a foot and a half long and as thick as a human arm. Josh and I spotted it around that time coming up from the ravine and it was an amazing sight. We snorkeled around several times, and we saw a school of rainbow trout (or so we think), and hundreds of fish just floating around you. It truly is a breathtaking view. Don’t forget to bring an underwater camera!

Back at the campsite, we were neighboring with two interesting groups. To our left, we have what I named the Rowdy Drunks who got kicked out their first night there for noise. They were certainly interesting – and loud. On our right we had the “Cheaper by the Dozen” knock-offs, a large, loud, and very rude family of about ten that had five tents total (of course, the middle-school girls set their tent up about ten feet from ours and were singing songs from Shrek all night).

The last night we were there we saw something that I had to share in this article – don’t forget all the poles to your tent. A group of three City Girls came and left not long after realizing they had forgotten the tent poles. They soon showed up with a brand new tent. After setting it up, it appears they had greatly overestimated the size. It was a single person tent, no where near large enough to hold three people. So what did they do? Took their original tent, hung it up on the lantern hook, and used rocks to hold the ends down. Trust me – that was a sight to see. Free entertainment, right?

We had a good time – our grill went out so we cooked on the fire (which tasted better anyways) and a raccoon scared me one night, but it was a perfect. We are already planning our next trip – and this time, we’ll bring and underwater camera.

- Leanne M. Wiggins

PS – We did bring the hammer my mother mentioned, it is very handy.