“Taking The Waters” At Warm Mineral Springs In North Port, Florida

I was surprised when I drove into the parking lot at Warm Mineral Springs. For a spa that billed itself as the natural spring with the highest mineral content in the U.S. and the third highest in the world, I had expected the facility to be state of the art. Instead, the unassuming single story building seemed a bit neglected and was wholly unspectacular. But having driven the 45 minutes from Sarasota to get here, I decided to check it out. To my surprise, it turned out to be one of the most fascinating places I have ever visited in Florida.

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A historic marker stands at the entrance of Warm Mineral Springs, which is located on 100 acres of of old Florida native landscape that was recently annexed into the fast-growing city of North Port

From the main entrance I passed through a long, dim hallway leading past bathrooms and locker rooms before stepping out into the sunshine for my first view of the springs. A tingling n the back of my neck told me there was something very special about this place. Fascinated by the perfectly circular, water-filled sinkhole, I decided to make a circuit of the lake to scope things out.

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Fearless blue heron spears a minnow at the edge of the spring, just inches away from the author

Part way around the springs I paused to watch a great blue heron fishing along the water’s edge. As I photographed him, the bird fearlessly walked up to me. Standing just inches away, he eyed me curiously and then calmly walked to the water’s edge, where he proceeded to snatch a minnow from the water and gulp it down. Simultaneously, a large turtle swam up to the shore, poked its head out of the water, and looked at me as he proceeded to munch on the reeds growing along the shore, just inches from where I stood. Astounded, I began searching for more information about the site.

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The author is astounded when a native turtle swims up and crawls up on shore to munch on the reeds at her feet

During the ice age, Warm Mineral Springs was an underground cave with a lake at the bottom. As the glaciers receded and the ice caps melted, water levels rose. Eventually the ground over the cave collapsed, exposing the lake. Over the years, divers exploring the now submerged caves have discovered the 11,000-year-old remains of prehistoric hunters, saber tooth tigers, a giant sloth, and camels, proving that the cave was once above water. Today the spring is an hourglass shaped geological feature that is 230 feet deep. More than nine million gallons of warm water flows into the spring each day from a 3000-foot deep aquifer, keeping the water a constant 87 degrees year round.

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An aerial view of the sinkhole, courtesy of Warm Mineral Springs

Although Warm Mineral Springs claims it is the fabled Fountain of Youth sought by Ponce de Leon, in truth the Spanish explorer never once mentioned a search for such a fountain or spring in any of his logs or correspondence. The first claim that de Leon was searching for the Fountain of Youth occurred some 25 years later, in manuscripts prepared by authors that historians suspect were attempting to discredit de Leon for political reasons. But the persistent legend of a spring that could restore youth did not begin with de Leon. The first recorded reference was during the time of Alexander the Great, whose warriors were said to have bathed in a fountain and emerged rejuvenated. Most recently, magician David Copperfield claimed he had discovered a true Fountain of Youth amid a cluster of four small islands in the Exuma chain of the Bahamas that he purchased in 2006.

Whether or not Warm Mineral Springs is the true Fountain of Youth can never be known, but it is certain that something unique happens when visitors bathe in these waters. There seems to be some scientific basis for the healing properties of mineral waters. Proponents of Balneotherapy – the treatment of disease by bathing – believe that the minerals in spring waters can be absorbed through the skin. Generally, in order to be classified as a mineral spring, the water must contain greater than 100 ppm (parts per million) of naturally dissolved solids. Warm Mineral Springs water contains a total of 17,349 ppm in dissolved solids, including magnesium, silica, sulfate, chloride, sodium, carbon dioxide, potassium, and bicarbonate, and its steady alkaline pH of 7.3 is also believed to help alkalize bathers’ blood chemistry when consumed in small amounts.

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The springs fountain with the perfectly circular lake in the background. Visitors are encouraged to drink the spring waters that bubble from the fountain, which are said to adjust the body’s blood chemistry to a healthy alkaline state.

The spring’s web site is filled with testimonials of people who claim to have been cured of ailments ranging from arthritis to fibromyalgia, and I must admit that after a prolonged soak in the waters, my persistent neck and jaw pain was considerably lessened. Although I did not sample the spa services at the springs, massage, acupuncture, facials, reflexology, Reiki healings, detoxifying body wraps, ion cleansing, ear candling, paraffin dips, and body waxing are all available on-site. I also learned that the Borscht and Pirogues in the cafe are delicious. I missed out on these during my first visit, but that just gives me one more excuse to return – which I plan to do on the very next warm, sunny day.

Warm Mineral Springs is located in North Port, which is midway between Sarasota and Fort Myers on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The site  is open daily, weather permitting, from 9 am to 5 pm. The entrance fee is $20 for adults and $8 for children under 12, with discounts for AAA and students. Visitors will find that the area offers many other activities and attractions, ranging from world class beaches to some of the finest golf courses in the state.

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12 thoughts on ““Taking The Waters” At Warm Mineral Springs In North Port, Florida”

  1. I have only 48 years old, and i have many spots from mosquitos bites or allergic chemical reaction the Warm Mineral Springs could be eraser my spots that I have on my arms and legs ?

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    • I am not sure it is open…it did change hands I have heard and have not been there in years. You can find it on a map. I used to take I75 to the exit and it is not far from that.

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  2. My mom recommended converting too alkaline water instead of regular water. Something aboutalkalizing or something like that is supposed to alot more health for you.

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  3. I have been going to the springs since I was a child. My grandparents used to take me there all the time. Great memories of the area. Thanks for blogging about it.

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  4. Hi Barbara!
    This sounds fantastic. I had no idea the natural Warm Springs was in North Port. My husband and I own a piece of property there in a mostly unimproved area in the Scrub Jay Habitat buffer zone. Your great article and photos make me want to renew our plans to move to our little plot of heaven. Thanks for sharing your travels.

    Judith Richards Shubert’s last blog post..Fresh Fruit Orange Dip

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  5. Im so glad you wrote about this. As a practicing pharmacist I see on a daily basis our over reliance on pain medicine to reduce pain. “Taking the cure” is unfortunately a long, lost and misunderstood benefit. It can be so beneficial to aging joints of osteoarthritis and patients with muscular and joint pain such as fibromyalgia. Here in the U.S. with the advent of modern medicine this delightful way to ease joint and muscular pain fell to the wayside. Fortunately in Europe it is part of accepted medical treatment and a 3 week spa stay is reimbursed by medical insurance!

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  6. Hi Gudrun:
    I use a Canon EOS Rebel xTi with 11.3 pegapixels. It’s a pretty good camera, and I shoot in the largest size, highest quality setting, so my images are something like 45 inches wide at 72ppi. Also, I prefer rich saturation and high contrast, so I usually shoot with the “shade” white balance on, even in full sunlight. Makes the images warmer. The downside of that is that when I shrink my photos to 500 px wide for the blogs, the high contrast and dense color tend to block up a bit because it is too much for the small size. So I often use Photoshohp to tweak the curves a bit for overall lightening and then sharpen with the Unsharp Mask filter at 50%. If I were using a full size image, I would have to do nothing to it. Thanks for asking!

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  7. love your pictures, especially the heron! What camera do you use to take your photos? And do you do a lot of post-production editing?

    Reply

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