Williford Spring is a favorite of mine because it is slightly less known and less used compared the nearby counterpart Pitt Spring. These two springs are just down the street from each other but Pitt gets more traffic due to being on a main facing road, whereas Williford requires spending a couple minutes driving up a dirt road and is less obvious. But just like Pitt Springs, Williford Spring has a build up cement deck and entry staircase on one side, it is just as awesome of a spring to swim around in, and there’s a whole picnic area with a similar composting toilet building to what you’d find at Pitt.
A few years back before Hurricane Michael tore through the area there was a nature trail between Williford and Pitt Springs that I’d use to go tubing between them. Several years later this trail isn’t really restored to a functional state, but if you drop a car off at each spring and launch into the water from Williford Spring’s boat launch via a tube you can still enjoy a good 20 minute float down Econfina Creek to Pitt Spring and drive back quickly. Alternatively you could walk up the dirt road (Strictland Road) to get back, but it wouldn’t be enjoyable. The launch at Williford Spring is a large boardwalk you walk out on for hundreds of feet before encountering a dock platform that you can drop a tube or kayak into. I’m a fan of both methods.
For the spring itself the water is going to be in the 60s year round, and shockingly cold at first as you wade in. Watch out for the bottom steps under the water as they’ll always be slimy from algae growth. After that however you just adapt to the cold water and enjoy the clear view, a few limited fish wandering around, and a bunch of limestone sand being blasted up from the deep hole that is the spring’s source.
