DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS TO THE YELLOW SPRING: This is considered to be the most direct and convenient route taken by all of the locals, ESPECIALLY if you’ll be filling up big heavy water jugs and want to park your car as close as possible.
1. Park your car in the municipal parking lot at 387 Corry Street (http://goo.gl/maps/Tac4i)
2. Hop out and look towards the forest! There should be a small green gate right behind the fire department (maybe 50ft away).
3. Hop over the gate and turn right, heading southeast on the wide trail.
4. Eventually you will come to a fallen tree with a step carved into it- hop over it and take the fork left, continuing down a narrower trail.
5. When you see the ruins of a building on your left, make sure to keep right- unless of course you’d like to check out the ruins :)!
6. The trail will continue down the hill until you reach a creek with the ruins of a dam on your left. Cross over the creek on the two rather sketchy old wooden bridges.
7. After the creek, take the trail up to the small waterfall and orange pool. You are NOT at the spring source yet- I wouldn’t drink the water.
8. Take a left at the waterfall and continue up the hill on the trail.
9. At the top of the hill is the spring source- an orange rock spewing fresh, cold, magical springwater into a small pool! Enjoy, friends!
I have been using this spring as my drinking water for the last month or so, then I decided to to a well water test on it to see if it has any contaminants in it. I just thought I would post the results of the test here.
Bacteria test: Negative. No bacteria detected.
Total Copper: 0 ppm
Total Iron: .1 ppm
Total Nitrate: 0 ppm
Total Nitrite: 0 ppm
pH: 7.5-8.5 (not exact)
LR total Hardness: 300-425 (not exact)
Total Chlorine: 0 ppm
Lead: Negative result
Pesticides: Negative result
So this was just a little test kit from amazon. The results may not be exact, but I think they reliably vouch for the safeness of using this spring for drinking water. The water is very hard and it has a high mineral content, but other than that, nothing at all wrong with the water.
Visited Yellowsprings spring in August, beautiful sight. Ice cold on a hot day. Brought a pool test strip out of curiousity since I don’t have a TDS meter. Lack of chlorine and bromine is to be expected… but decided to include the data as a whole:
Its worth noting that pool test strips are color coded, they don’t give a numerical value, so the tilda represents my approximation of the value based on the reference range. Didn’t know a whole lot about what insights alkalinity and cyanuric acid content might yield so looked into it. According to Wiki, “Alkalinity is the name given to the quantitative capacity of an aqueous solution to neutralize an acid” and “is one of the best measures of the sensitivity of the stream to acid inputs”. The cyanuric acid I’m not sure what to make of. Wikipedia defines it as a “white, odorless solid” that “finds use as a precursor or a component of bleaches, disinfectants, and herbicides”. Its a triazine compound that pool owners use to stabilize the free chlorine content of pools exposed to UV rays, and pool owner’s manuals (my dad has one) state that levels should be maintained preferably from 30-50 ppm, and no higher than 90ppm for kidney and liver safety concerns. Wiki also states, “Cyanuric acid can be produced by hydrolysis of crude or waste melamine followed by crystallization. Acid waste streams from plants producing these materials contain cyanuric acid and on occasion, dissolved amino-substituted triazines, namely, ammeline, ammelide, and melamine.”
Any thoughts on why cyanuric acid might have been detected here? Of course, it is a pool test strip… so that’s confounding lol. Is there some sort of naturally occurring mineral that could cause the test strip to register cyanuric acid falsely? The spring appears to be coming straight from the earth and others have reported drinking it with no negative repercussions…. I’ll be going back soon with a TDS meter and will report.
the spring is in the woods, off of the glen helen state park trail… has a minerally iron taste, but never got sick off of it… but do be careful… don’t stick your feet or hands into the pool below, there are tiny leeches that live off the iron
love the name, the spring in he glen helen is much better for everyday drinking, the other springs sulphur content is a little high. walk up to the meadow and turn left. best water around
Drinking pure spring water is one of the most important things we can do for our health. Our bodies are over 99% water at the molecular level, so water affects every aspect of our biology. Yet, not all water is created equal. Almost all the bottled spring water available is pasteurized for shelf stability, which neutralizes many of the powerful health benefits such as increased hydrogen, healthy probiotics, and crystalline structure. For more about why unprocessed spring water is the best water to drink, read this.
The best way to guarantee you are getting real unprocessed spring water is to collect it yourself. This is a short and simple guide filled with information about how to gather spring water. We will cover how to find a spring, how to collect the water, how to honor the spring, how to store the water properly and other tips.
FindASpring.org is the best resource for locating a spring near you. However, not all springs are on the map. First, check the map to see if there is a spring in your local area. If there is, look at the reviews and comments. Has anyone shared helpful information about flow rate or posted a water test result? Is the spring in a pristine area? Do a bit of research and make sure the spring is safe to drink from. If you have any doubt about the purity, don’t risk it and get a water test, HERE. If you don’t see a spring on the map in your area, there still might be some that aren’t listed yet. First, ask the older generation who have lived in your area a long time if they know. You can also ask people in your community who might already get spring water such as people at a health food store or at a farmers market. Another great option is to view A US forest service map, where many springs have been marked. You can view these maps through the Gaia GPS or All Trails hiking apps on your phone. The map overlay you want is USGS Topo. Not all are easily accessible or ideal for drinking, but some are and it can be a fun adventure to find them. We have found over half a dozen great springs this way.
Once you’ve found your spring, figure out how you are going to gather the water. Is it right on the side of the road and easy to access or do you have to hike to it? We recommend storing spring water in glass instead of plastic to preserve the purity of the water. It is better for the environment, your body, and the water. Even BPA free plastic has toxic chemicals that can leach into water and cause health issues. If you do want to use plastic for safety reasons when filling at the spring, we recommend transferring the water to glass as soon as possible. FindASpring is sponsored by Alive Waters, which offers beautiful reusable glass. They have a 2.5 gallon option, which is a convenient size for carrying that isn’t too heavy. They also sell handles that you can use to transport the jugs even more easily. If you have to hike to access the spring, we recommend putting the water jugs into an extra large backpack to hike the water out with ease. We use Osprey packs that hold 2 jugs each. You can also use a wheelbarrow or even a stroller depending on how easy a walk it is.
Filling 2.5 Gallon Alive Waters Jug
When you get to the spring, remember to first give back before you take. Springs are considered sacred in indigenous cultures around the world for their life giving water and also as a connection to the inner earth. A powerful and simple way to give back is to clean up. Is there any trash that needs to be collected? Could you move any dead leaves or sticks to improve the flow rate? Show up in service. Some other wonderful ways to give is with a moment of expressing verbal gratitude, singing songs to the water, offering the water an ethically sourced crystal, a feather, or some other physical gift. Flowers are a popular and beautiful thing to offer, but please be careful to source organic ones as most flowers from the store are sprayed with pesticides and can be toxic to put near a spring. Also, flowers can attract bugs as they decay, so it can be best to offer them to the flowing water directly or a little downstream from the spring head.
When gathering the water, fill the jug as close to the spring head as possible, never gather downstream. Be very careful as wet glass is extremely slippery. Make sure the lid is securely fastened. When transporting the spring water home, the jugs can sometimes slide around the car. Secure them in place or wrap them with towels or something so they don’t crash into each other.
How you store your spring water is essential. It is not pasteurized like spring water from the store, so it will start growing algae if left in direct sunlight. This is good because it means it’s alive! If the water you drink can’t even support the most basic life forms, how do you think it will support your body? Store your water in a cool, dark place such as a dark corner, pantry or closet. The fridge is ideal if you have room. Some people prefer to filter their water through a Berkey filter before drinking, but if the spring is pure, it’s not necessary. We drink our spring water completely unfiltered.
How long the water stays good for depends on how cold a temperature it’s stored at. Spring water is best fresh. We personally do not prefer to drink spring water past 2 weeks old. However, we know other people that will drink it at a month old. It’s great to get in a rhythm where you know how long the water lasts you and put your collection day on the calendar in advance.
I believe that water is calling us to reconnect with her in the deepest way, to gather our own water. Just like our ancestors did. Our ancestors didn’t have fancy water machines. They also didn’t create villages or settle where there was no water. Water was revered as the center of the community and the nodal point around which life could spiral out and take root.
Here’s to restoring the sacred connection with the waters of life.
Written by Dakota Chanel. Water Priestess and Ceremonialist. DakotaChanel.com
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Yellow Springs, Yellow Springs, OH
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DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS TO THE YELLOW SPRING: This is considered to be the most direct and convenient route taken by all of the locals, ESPECIALLY if you’ll be filling up big heavy water jugs and want to park your car as close as possible.
1. Park your car in the municipal parking lot at 387 Corry Street (http://goo.gl/maps/Tac4i)
2. Hop out and look towards the forest! There should be a small green gate right behind the fire department (maybe 50ft away).
3. Hop over the gate and turn right, heading southeast on the wide trail.
4. Eventually you will come to a fallen tree with a step carved into it- hop over it and take the fork left, continuing down a narrower trail.
5. When you see the ruins of a building on your left, make sure to keep right- unless of course you’d like to check out the ruins :)!
6. The trail will continue down the hill until you reach a creek with the ruins of a dam on your left. Cross over the creek on the two rather sketchy old wooden bridges.
7. After the creek, take the trail up to the small waterfall and orange pool. You are NOT at the spring source yet- I wouldn’t drink the water.
8. Take a left at the waterfall and continue up the hill on the trail.
9. At the top of the hill is the spring source- an orange rock spewing fresh, cold, magical springwater into a small pool! Enjoy, friends!
I have been using this spring as my drinking water for the last month or so, then I decided to to a well water test on it to see if it has any contaminants in it. I just thought I would post the results of the test here.
Bacteria test: Negative. No bacteria detected.
Total Copper: 0 ppm
Total Iron: .1 ppm
Total Nitrate: 0 ppm
Total Nitrite: 0 ppm
pH: 7.5-8.5 (not exact)
LR total Hardness: 300-425 (not exact)
Total Chlorine: 0 ppm
Lead: Negative result
Pesticides: Negative result
So this was just a little test kit from amazon. The results may not be exact, but I think they reliably vouch for the safeness of using this spring for drinking water. The water is very hard and it has a high mineral content, but other than that, nothing at all wrong with the water.
Are you still using Yelliw Soring water? I’d like to go and get some if we are still able?
Visited Yellowsprings spring in August, beautiful sight. Ice cold on a hot day. Brought a pool test strip out of curiousity since I don’t have a TDS meter. Lack of chlorine and bromine is to be expected… but decided to include the data as a whole:
Chlorine: 0ppm
Bromine: 0ppm
pH: ~8.4
Alkalinity: ~240ppm
Cyanuric Acid: ~90-100ppm
Its worth noting that pool test strips are color coded, they don’t give a numerical value, so the tilda represents my approximation of the value based on the reference range. Didn’t know a whole lot about what insights alkalinity and cyanuric acid content might yield so looked into it. According to Wiki, “Alkalinity is the name given to the quantitative capacity of an aqueous solution to neutralize an acid” and “is one of the best measures of the sensitivity of the stream to acid inputs”. The cyanuric acid I’m not sure what to make of. Wikipedia defines it as a “white, odorless solid” that “finds use as a precursor or a component of bleaches, disinfectants, and herbicides”. Its a triazine compound that pool owners use to stabilize the free chlorine content of pools exposed to UV rays, and pool owner’s manuals (my dad has one) state that levels should be maintained preferably from 30-50 ppm, and no higher than 90ppm for kidney and liver safety concerns. Wiki also states, “Cyanuric acid can be produced by hydrolysis of crude or waste melamine followed by crystallization. Acid waste streams from plants producing these materials contain cyanuric acid and on occasion, dissolved amino-substituted triazines, namely, ammeline, ammelide, and melamine.”
Any thoughts on why cyanuric acid might have been detected here? Of course, it is a pool test strip… so that’s confounding lol. Is there some sort of naturally occurring mineral that could cause the test strip to register cyanuric acid falsely? The spring appears to be coming straight from the earth and others have reported drinking it with no negative repercussions…. I’ll be going back soon with a TDS meter and will report.
Was on Glen Helen’s website and noticed it mentions “Drinking Water” towards the bottom.
Traveled to this spring today! What an adventure. I have jugs of beautiful water in my fridge now! Thank you for pointing the way!
the spring is in the woods, off of the glen helen state park trail… has a minerally iron taste, but never got sick off of it… but do be careful… don’t stick your feet or hands into the pool below, there are tiny leeches that live off the iron
yes, if you could locate it on a map of the park I would greatly appreciate!
Trail guide to “yellow spring”
http://antiochcollege.org/assets/files/Misc%20Glen/TrailGuide-Final.pdf
Can you provide specific directions to a site where a spring exists? That would be very helpful for me.
Those coordinates are East of Italy. 🙂
hmm that won’t do! Do you happen to have accurate coordinates? Thanks for letting us know! -Ashley
From the map posted by Serendipity, the source looks like it is close to this address:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=%2B39°+48'+18.57“,+-83°+53’+4.65”
love the name, the spring in he glen helen is much better for everyday drinking, the other springs sulphur content is a little high. walk up to the meadow and turn left. best water around