Springs Fever: A Field & Recreation Guide to 500 Florida Springs.

Camp La No Che (or Sulfur) Springs

Lake (or Volusia?) County

Summary of Features

  • Scale--3rd magnitude
  • Scenery--fine
  • How Pristine?--very pristine, a few remnants of old dock adjacent to pool, in campground
  • Swimming--no
  • Protection--excellent
  • Crowds--mall-none
  • Access--good, with permission only
  • Facilities--very good nearby
  • Safety--very good--note:  heard alligator nearby
  • Scuba--no


    Directions (Address and phone: 41940 Boy Scout Rd, Paisley, FL 32767, 352-669-8558, http://camplanoche.com/)

    From Altoona, go 7.1 miles east on State Road 42 from its intersection with State Road 19.  Turn right (SE) onto Maggie Jones Drive just before SR 42 makes a 90-degree turn to left.  Go 0.3 mile, then turn right (south) onto Boy Scout Road.  Take sand road until it ends at camp office.  Must obtain permission and directions or guide from office to see spring, which is another 1/3 mile to the right on sand roads.  Google map link: www.google.com/maps/place/Camp+La-No-Che/@28.9543711,-81.5366604,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xc5c632d4018cc0e?sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiM98itj9XVAhVQ0WMKHeq-BRsQ_BIIejAK

    Spring Description

    The springs are set in a thickly wooded area.  The main flow point is a shallow limestone opening at the base of several tree roots and cypress knees.  The visible portion of the vent is about 3 feet deep and creates a pronounced  boil about one yard in diameter and 18 inches below the adjacent land surface.  Small particles and pebbles are tumbled by the flow.  There are rotting bits of an old retaining wall or dock/platform in the main spring pool/alcove.  The flow creates a small alcove (perhaps 6 feet in diameter) and then widens into a shallow (1-2" deep) run.  The run is joined after about 30 feet by the run from a smaller spring which begin about 85 feet away.  This spring is slightly small than the main spring, with a pool about 4 feet in diameter, about a foot deep, and with a mild boil or slick on the surface.  The two springs and their individual runs form a "y" and then combine to flow flow in a 25-foot-wide run about 300 feet through the woods to Lake Norris.

    The vent area is fringed with white sulfur deposits and some algae (not a lot of algae and not strings of it), and there is a fairly strong sulfur odor in the water.  An alligator bellowed nearby on JF's first date of visit (July 9, 2003), and deer were seen near the pool.  The bottom of the pool was sandy and muddy, and the pool and its run are canopied by a semitropical hardwood forest.  Land rises on one side of the spring to the adjacent camping area and sand roads.  The run was blocked by logs in two dams JF's second date of visit (March 17, 2004), but the logs were removed on this date.  As a result, the run narrowed by several feet and became more shallow in places.

    Use/Access

    Personal Impressions

    The main spring is very attractive.  The interested visitor may or may not be able to access it.  It is located down a tangle of sandy roads, and the author would not have been able to find it without the friendly assistance of the camp staff.

    Nearby Springs

    Other Nearby Natural Features


    Lake Woodruff Wildlife Refuge
    Welaka State Forest
    Tiger Bay State Forest
    Withlacoochie State Forest
    Ocala National Forest