Spring Hunting

Polk County Spring Hunting

Working in retail you meet some interesting people…. My father met a man who claimed to own his own spring; awesome right!? The more interesting fact is that this rumored spring is supposesdly located in Polk County. 

Polk County has no more springs, there used to be Kissinger Springs in Bartow and Crystal Lake Spring in Lakeland. Mining operations, road construction and excessive water usage has killed the two springs. There are no springs to be found on the FL Spring Database.

We acquired directions and permission to access the spring so we made a day to go explore. We drove down miles of dirt roads through orange groves, suddenly the ground to our right begins to fall, we follow it. After a 60’ drop in elevation we arrive at a crystal clear pond 200’ in diameter. This is the spring we were told about.  But it was not the source of the water.

In order to find the spring vent we had to venture into the jungle. We left the manicured orange grove and descended down the ravine. As we reached the water we entered the land of the lost. There was a wall of elephant ears 15’ tall and dense. We pushed on following the clear water upstream. Moving was slow through the dense foliage. As we chopped our way through this prehistoric jungle I expected to stumble across a pterodactyl.

The water was a maze, weaving in and out and branching we pushed on, eventually we found it! The long lost Polk County Spring!, We found 3 gopher sized holes discharging beautiful springwater into the slough.

We hoped* for  cave but instead I had an awesome day hiking with my dad in a lost world, stopping through mud and swinging a machete.