I Heart Wakulla Springs State Park

While I’m not a big fan of cell phones, I wish someone would invent one that let you call the driver in front of you while sitting in traffic. Sometimes I would use it for evil but driving home recently, to my delight I was behind a car that had an “I (heart) Wakulla Springs State” park bumper sticker. I yelped Hey, me too! I wanted to call the guy and talk about Wakulla Springs.

In September, I spent one night at the lodge at Wakulla Springs. It was fabulous. Mom and I were celebrating our mutual birthday. Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park is classic, old-school Florida.

We left on a Friday morning, starting the trip with breakfast at a local institution with an old work friend whose birthday falls on the same day as Mom’s and mine. That was a real treat and a great way to start our trip.

From what I read online, there are people who didn’t appreciate staying at the lodge because of the lack of modern amenities. There are no TVs in the rooms; in fact, I don’t think there was a clock radio. It’s definitely a throwback to an earlier era. Our bathroom was small but the closet was huge. The lobby and dining room are awesome. But the real draw, of course, is the springs and natural beauty of the area. It was a magical, almost other-wordly place. The elevator was a marvel. You had to pull back the outer door to get in and out. Apparently, it’s the original from when the place was built in 1937.

Thanks to tick warnings (and my fear of snakes), when I went for a walk Friday afternoon, I stuck to the roads but spotted two different trails. One that even leads to another springs. The roped off swimming area behind the lodge has three platforms and there is a high platform near the springs itself for the brave. After the swimming area was closed for the day, I spotted a big gator on the far side of the water. Which isn’t that far from the swimming. Yikes. I couldn’t see myself swimming in that 69-degree water for long but I did get in all the way since I wanted to get to one of the platforms. It helped that I was hot and sweaty after my walk. Of course, kids don’t care how cold the water is. The water is so damn clear. Besides the trails and swimming, there are the boat rides. The ride down the Wakulla River was just amazing. I really think our guide, Luke, went out of his way for Mom, especially since he went over the allotted 50-minute time for the cruise. Mom had talked with Luke the day before. Saturday morning we were sitting on a bench looking at the water when Luke came by. We chatted for a while, then he told us to come to the dock for a free birthday river cruise. The river cruise was absolutely amazing. I’d happily have gone again to soak in all the sights and sounds.