This story is part of our weekly Hidden Gems feature series as the USA TODAY Network-Florida takes readers around the state to highlight some of our most interesting attractions.

FORT WHITE — Deep in the north entrance of Ichetucknee Springs State Park, a half-mile trek leads visitors to Blue Hole Spring, a roaring vent where the aquifer breathes, and one of Florida’s most remarkable natural wonders

The walk begins on a sturdy boardwalk crossing wetlands thick with cypress knees and songbirds before giving way to a root-studded forest trail that ends at a wooden dock and steps descending into a spring that’s anything but still.

The surface boils with energy, driven by the venturi effect of a 10-foot-wide opening where roughly 67 million gallons of water surge upward every day. The sprin

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