Trestle Trail And Blue Hole At Ichetucknee Springs State Park

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I’ve been to Ichetucknee Springs State Park a couple of times over the years, once to the Blue Hole and part of the Trestle Trail (which we’re covering today) and once to kayak the Ichetucknee river.

This time though, I paid more attention and will be writing about both in this post! I did enjoy it a lot the first time but for some reason barely remember it.

This post is split into two different sections below, one for the Blue Hole Trail and one for the Trestle Point Loop (the Trestle Trail).

I did edit the main trail pictures, but the ones of the spring/water are pretty true to how they came out of the camera.

Travel Services I Recommend:
AllTrails – This is my favorite hike tracking app.
America the Beautiful – The national park pass is essential.
Booking.com – This is great for finding and booking hotels.
Get Your Guide – I recommend Get Your Guide for booking tours.
National Park Obsessed – This is the best national park planner.
Skyscanner – Skyscanner is great for finding and booking flights.
Enterprise – This is my rental car recommendation.
See all my resources here.

Our hike to Blue Hole

First we did the Blue Hole Trail since that was the main thing we were there for. The trail is part boardwalk, part packed dirt.

The boardwalk section is first. This is a pretty straightforward trail, all parts of it. It’s nice and wide, easy to follow.

You may see people along the way with dive gear headed to the Blue Hole, too.

The boardwalk takes you over the Ichetucknee River, which is beautiful! if you have time to kayak it, I would definitely recommend that.

There were a lot of cool bugs and caterpillars on the sides of this part, which I always get super excited to see.

Eventually the boardwalk ends and the dirt begins, but the trail stays pretty wide. It’s a pretty typical woodsy Florida hike.

I liked this part of the woods more than the Trestle Trail part though. And before you know it, you’re at the platform overlooking Blue hole!

There is some seating here, and stairs down into the spring where you can swim and snorkel.

We saw a bunch of turtles on logs here, a few fish, and a group getting ready to dive the spring.

We hung out here for a while, enjoying the view, before heading back out the way we came.

Where is the Blue Hole Trail at Ichetucknee Springs?

The Blue Hole Spring trailhead is in the north park entrance of Ichetucknee Springs State Park.

From the main parking lot, it’s kind of on the left toward the back and there is a bridge/boardwalk with a wood arch gate thing at the start of it. It’s pretty easy to spot.

It’s about an hour from Gainesville, 25 minutes from High Springs, 1.5 hours from Ocala, and 1.5 hours from Jacksonville.

How long is the Blue Hole Trail at Ichetucknee Springs?

This one isn’t really on AllTrails, but the park website says it’s a half-mile, but I believe that’s one way. When we went, AllTrails tracked .96 miles round-trip.

Is the Blue Hole Trail at Ichetucknee Springs hard?

Nope! This a nice short trail with just 20 feet of elevation gain.

Is the Blue Hole Trail at Ichetucknee Springs worth it?

Absolutely! This is a really nice trail and takes you to the Blue Hole in Ichetucknee, a beautiful spring that you can even swim in. It’s a short trail with a great scenic pay off.

Our hike on the Trestle Trail

We had time so we figured we would do the short Trestle Point Loop Trail, too. This is just a bit further down from the same parking area.

This trail is a lollipop trail, so straight with a loop on the end. Part of the trail takes you by the river before heading back into the woods.

This isn’t the most exciting trail but it was still really nice. There were a few mushrooms along the way, including some jelly ears near the end!

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this trail, it was nice but nothing stood out about to to me. (I’ve opened this draft then closed it so many times over the last couple months because of this!)

It’s still worth doing but I would see the spring or kayak the river if you can only do one thing here.

Where is the Trestle Trail at Ichetucknee Springs?

The Trestle Trail starts to the right of the Blue Hole Trailhead in the north entrance to the park.

How long is the Trestle Trail at Ichetucknee Springs?

The Trestle Trail is a 1.1 mile loop with 29 feet of elevation gain. AllTrails tracked it at 1.57 miles for me.

Is the Trestle Trail at Ichetucknee Springs hard?

Nope! Like most Florida trails, the Trestle Trail is flat as flat goes, and it’s not that long.

Is the Trestle Trail at Ichetucknee Springs worth it?

I think so! If you’re only going to one trail at Ichetucknee, I would do the Blue Hole Trail, but this one is at the same trailhead and not that long so you can easily do both.

It’s pretty but it’s a pretty typical Florida woods trail. There is a nice spot by the river on the first section (if you go to the left) but after that it’s woods.