The Essential Guide to Florida's Natural Springs
It’s no secret that I love the springs. I am often asked what my favorite spring is or if I can recommend a spring that fits a certain criteria. Living in Florida, I am lucky enough to have hundreds of springs to visit. With so many beautiful and unique springs, these are hard questions to answer! I usually respond with my quick suggestions and refer to the interactive springs map and my individual spring Instagram highlights, but I felt it was time to do one better and write this post that I can simply link to.
A few notes:
~ Please keep the health of the spring and the animals that live there in mind when you visit.
~ This is not an exhaustive list. This list includes only some of the more well-known springs. I also included some sinks on this list that I think are worth visiting.
~ If you are looking to avoid the crowds, want to skinny dip or discover springs not easily found or well-known, I highly suggest booking a guided springs tour for a unique, educational and personalized experience.
~ Under each photo are two links: directions (opens the spring in google maps so you can get the address and see how far away it is from you) and the official website (takes you to the spring’s website). Please refer to the websites for additional information including entrance fees, a complete list of amenities and hours of operation.
Please also note that due to the pandemic, not all springs are open for swimming or renting kayaks/canoes/tubes.
~ Blue Springs State Park (Orange City)
This was actually the first spring I had ever been to. I usually visit in the winter to see the manatees as hundreds of them seek warmth in this spring and it is quite a site to be seen. They also have a yearly manatee festival around the same time. Along the lines of notable wildlife, I’ve seen quite a few gators resting on these banks, which may or may not be your thing. Blue Springs has a very nice playground, a historical home you can peruse, a boat tour and kayak rentals. It’s a favorite place of mine to take a picnic.
~ DeLeon Springs State Park (De Leon Springs)
Deleon Springs is a spring that is set up more like a pool than a natural spring. This is a great spring for kids, but I find it less ideal for nature lovers who want to enjoy some beautiful views. They have a small waterfall, sugar mill ruins and are well-known for their make-your-own pancake breakfast. I would recommend heading to this spring early enough to be able to enjoy the pancake breakfast, a hike and a swim.
~ Gemini Springs (DeBary)
This spring is not one you can swim in, but it’s a perfect spot for a picnic, fishing or taking your pet for a stroll while enjoying the views.
~ Alexander Springs (Altoona)
Directions ~ Official Website
Alexander springs is one of 33 identified first magnitude springs. To be classified as a first magnitude spring, the spring must discharge at least 100 cubic feet of water per second. Alexander is a big spring and seems to be the spring that everyone has visited. It’s set up like a large pool with a shallow side that is perfect for families, yet gets deep enough that you can actually scuba dive here as well. If I want to take landscape photos, this is not the place. If I want to take underwater photos, this is the place. The water is so clear! They have a few nature trails, a kayak run and camp sites.
~ Rock Springs / Kelly Park (Apopka)
This is my favorite all around spring for the views. The rock formations around the head spring are absolutely breathtaking. You can really do it all at Rock Springs/Kelly Park. Walk up to the head spring and float down the natural lazy river, kayak, drone, or hunt for shark teeth. I would recommend this as a great camping and swim spot for families as the main swimming area has a shallow beach-type entrance. I would avoid it in the summer completely due to large crowds making the best time to visit early on a winter morning.
~ Ginnie Springs (High Springs)
Directions ~ Official Website
Most people have a love/hate relationship with Ginnie, especially after the Nestle water permit fiasco. It’s location near Gainesville, makes it a major party spring for families, college kids, and large groups. If you can get past, or learn to enjoy the madness, you will find that Ginnie has spectacular views including cypress trees and underwater caves. Just be forewarned it can be loud, pricey, and crowded. I would avoid it during the summer as the entire place seems to be over run with county music, irresponsible party goers and enormous floats. Sometimes, I’m totally into that and sometimes I prefer to enjoy nature more solitarily. Ginnie is is a very unique spring experience., but not one I would want to miss.
~ Silver Glenn Springs (Salt Springs)
Directions ~ Official Website
This is my favorite spring to recommend to people who haven’t been to a spring before. It’s a beautiful spring lined with trees and filled with fish! I haven’t quite seen anything like it. In the summer Silver Springs is such a good time.. The boaters line up and play music. Don’t worry, it’s large enough that there is still a area for safe kayaking and swimming. The nature path also has some cool sand boils I never get tired of watching. I would note that it’s not the best for younger children as there is not much of a shallow play/swim area.
~ Rainbow Springs State Park (Dunnellon)
I adore Rainbow Springs and anytime I can pass through the area, I always make a stop. This spring used to be a amusement park/zoo and there are still some abandoned animal cages on the property you can check out, but the highlight of this park are the gorgeous waterfalls with total Bali vibes. I suggest heading down the waterfall walk, as I call it, then the butterfly garden and then jump in the cool spring or float down Rainbow River.
~ Juniper Springs (Silver Springs)
The spring area of Juniper is much like a pool with the big wheel and historical house. I highly recommend you take the nature hike all the way to the end where it appears to dead end and make that left to Fern Hammock, one of the most magical spots in Florida.
~ Wekiva Falls (Sorrento)
This spring is a little on the pricier side and the smell of sulfur can be bothersome, but we have never had a problem visiting this spring. Arrive early to snag a spot at one of the tiki tables and let the kids enjoy the water slide. This spring also has a shallow end with a gradual beach-type entrance perfect for young children. The store here sells chocolate covered bananas which are a nice unique summer treat and there is often a dj hosting hula hoop contests. There is also a kayak run we like to stroll down.
~ Itchetucknee Springs (Fort White)
I haven’t gotten to float down this natural lazy river yet, but it’s high on my list. This is such a peaceful beautiful state park. Every time I’ve visited it’s only been for a few moments, but there is plenty of fun and beauty to see here.
~ Royal Springs (O'Brien)
I went on a spring hoping adventure a few years ago and found this location by searching ‘springs near me’. It looked nothing like the images on google and I was amazed with its beauty in person. Royal has a big platform you can jump off of and is probably my top favorite spring tied with Rock Springs. If you plan to visit, just make sure it’s not flooded, which happens occasionally.
~ Devil’s Den (Williston)
Devil’s Den is very reminiscent of Mexico’s cenotes and is essentially a sink hole. This spring is a bit expensive, you have to bring full snorkel gear including fins or rent them on property and pre-schedule your hour and a half swim time but I highly recommend it as there are few places I’ve found quite like it in Florida. While you’re here, I recommend you visit Cedar Woods and Gardens which is located right down the road.
~ King’s Landing (Apopka)
This was my location crush for 2020. While not a spring per say, the water from the rock spring run are magical! One side is more wild with gators and darker water and the other side has clear blue/green water. This is located next to Rock Springs/Kelly Park.
~ Gilchrest Blue State Park (High Springs)
I really enjoyed Gilcrest when I camped there one fall. The camping was very inexpensive and close to the water. I got to watch sunrise and sunset at the spring. This is a great place to kayak.
~ Ponce De Leon Springs State Park (Ponce De Leon Springs)
Not to be confused with Deleon Springs in Volusia County. I really liked how they had the most darling wall set up around the perimeter. We watched the tiniest snapper turtles in the clear blue water underneath us and walked a trail along the water.
~ Vortex Springs (Ponce De Leon)
To tell you the truth, this was a strange place. I am not sure if it was just under serious renovations after the storms or if it just was a hodgepodge of randomness thrown together. I think it was a little bit of both I learned after my visit it is sometimes called Redneck Rivera. Apparently, there is a very deep cave and a sunken boat here so it might be worth a trip back to see those.
~ Morrison Springs (located in the city of Ponce De Leon)
Morrison is so pretty! It was actually a very cloudy cool evening when I visited (sky is FAKE in the pic) but I’m sure it’s a fun place to swim /dive especially with the floating docks.
~ Green Springs (Deltona)
You can’t swim here and the spring is very small, but I really enjoy visiting Green Springs once a year or so. The jade waters are so mystical looking and there always seems to be a baby alligator here. There is a little hidden waterfall on the property ss well. I like to do Gemini and Green on the same day as they are very close to each other.
~ Jackson Blue Springs County Recreation Area (Marianna)
This spring’s water levels were extremely low and under renovations when I visited. There were a few people who had kayaked in and some were diving but it was eerily deserted and looked like a lot of the slides and life guard towers were unusable giving the spring a creepy post-apocalyptic vibe. I am very curious to see how this cave looks under the water. I will have to circle back to this spring once it’s back up and running.
~ Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park (Gainesville,)
Not a spring, but a 120 foot sink fed by 12 seen and unseen springs. This park is so pretty and the water-filled sink gives off some really unique rainforest vibes. It reminds me of Green Springs in a way. No swimming, but plenty of trails and….steps!
The following springs I haven’t been to in years or have not been to at all, so I don’t have to offer by way of opinion or photos, but they are on my list and should be on yours too!
~ Silver Springs State Park (Silver Springs, FL)
Silver spring has kayaking with monkeys and glass bottom boat tours but no swimming. This is a great place to visit on a cooler day when you don’t need to jump in cold water after being outside for a few minutes. They usually host a Spring Fest here so that is usually when I visit this spring.
~ Weeki Wachee Springs State Park (Spring Hill)
Weeki Wachee Springs is a popular tourist attraction with live mermaid shows, waterslides and river cruises.