Florida State Parks 75th Anniversary Logo
The comfortable modern cabins are fully equipped for a cozy get-away or family gathering. The springs are important winter refuge for manatees. The natural spring waters provide an ideal habitat for a variety of plants and wildlife, like the lush green plants and ibis shown here. Adjacent to the springs in the shade of hardwood trees, the picnic area is a popular place for cooking out and having fun with family and friends.
Fanning Springs State Park
The cool, clear water at Fanning Springs provides a special place for people to socialize and escape the summer heat.
High water has submerged the dive platform. High Clear Water
This is an aerial view of the springs from the 1950s. 1950s Aerial View
AmeriCorps members and local volunteers are planting river oats on the slope adjacent to the stairway leading to the springs. Volunteer Project
This busy swimming hole with diving platforms is how the waterfront looked when the property was acquired by the park service. Old High Dock
This is a view looking down the Suwannee River from a gazebo at the end of the boardwalk. Gazebo View

History and Culture

About 14,000 years ago Paleo-Indian people first began to filter into the Fanning Springs area as confirmed by the several aboriginal sites found at the park. Over the next 2,000 years with the warming climate the natives learned to rely on the area's animals, fish, shellfish and wild plants to survive. In 1838 during the Second Seminole War, Fort Fanning, named in honor of Colonel Alexander Campbell Wilder Fanning (1788-1846), was built nearby. The remnants of the actual fort have long since disappeared due to the warm and humid climate. Fanning Springs also served as the local steamboat landing carrying products to and from local plantations until railroads crossed the Suwannee River in the early 1900s. The land has been used primarily for recreation since the mid-1900s. In 1993, the state purchased the land and in 1997 the Florida Park Service became the caretaker.

High water has submerged the dive platform.

High Clear Water

This photo looks down from the observation deck onto the dive area platform. After a prolonged wet spell, the water table was running high and strong. So much pressure was coming out of the spring vents that the dark water of the Suwannee River was kept at bay at much higher levels than usual.

This is an aerial view of the springs from the 1950s.

1950s Aerial View

In the 1950s, structures found at this park included a roller rink, changing rooms and concession building, as seen in this photo. The buildings were removed in the 1970s.

AmeriCorps members and local volunteers are planting river oats on the slope adjacent to the stairway leading to the springs.

Volunteer Project

Thanks to the work of volunteers, the park has been able to make continuous improvements to the site. One of the goals is to highlight native landscaping in an effort to encourage visitors to use more native plants in their own backyards.

This busy swimming hole with diving platforms is how the waterfront looked when the property was acquired by the park service.

Old High Dock

Before Fanning Springs became a state park, a high dive platform extended out as far as the current low dive platform. As a safety precaution and in an effort to highlight more of the springs' natural surroundings, the high dive platform was shortened. What remains is now used as an observation platform.

This is a view looking down the Suwannee River from a gazebo at the end of the boardwalk.

Gazebo View

Located between the swamp that is adjacent to the springs and an upland slope, the wheelchair-accessible boardwalk ends at a gazebo on the Suwannee River. It is a comfortable place to watch the river drift by or to see sturgeon jumping out of the water in the summer time.