Florida is home to hundreds of natural springs, in fact, it is the state with the most first-magnitude springs in the United States. First magnitude springs produce at least 64 million gallons of water per day. We decided to visit a handful of springs one weekend and enjoyed each one for it’s unique qualities.
Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase an item using one of our links we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Visit Natural Springs in Florida
We had high hopes for the weekend and identified around ten possible springs to visit. We knew we wouldn’t be able to visit them all. We visited seven, but only spent a significant amount of time at five.
We focused on visiting budget friendly springs, but if visitors have a larger budget there are even more options like Ginnie Springs, Weeki Wachee and Devil’s Den. For planning a trip to Florida Natural Springs check out Florida Spring Life for maps, pictures, videos and blog experiences.
About two weeks before our trip we booked an Express Deal on Priceline.com for a hotel in Crystal River, Florida. We ended up at the Best Western Crystal River Resort and were extremely happy with our stay. The room was average and clean, but the breakfast was impressive. They offered a waffle bar daily – complete with multiple syrup flavors, strawberries, chocolate and whipped cream! If you don’t have a sweet tooth, or many sweet teeth in my case, they offered a daily special – biscuits and gravy, corned beef and hash, bacon and scrambled eggs. We would recommend this hotel just for the free breakfast!
Poe Springs: Quiet Retreat, Budget and Family Friendly
Description: Quiet spring with an underwater cave, accessible by land (Poe Springs Park) and by water (Santa Fe River), with shallow and deep areas for wading and swimming.
The first stop on our list was Poe Springs. This spring is located in Poe Springs Park in High Springs, Florida. One can access this spring by land or water. We drove to Poe Springs Park and walked to the springs from the parking lot. There is no entrance fee for this park and it is a budget friendly stop. We spent about an hour here. There was an area to swim and explore a cave but it was morning when we visited and I wasn’t ready get in the water. Skylar was determined to jump out of a tree into the river. After he accomplished his goal we moved on to our next stop. Check out the post “Poe Springs: Visit a Free Natural Spring in Florida” for video footage and more information about accessing Poe Springs.
Ichetucknee Springs: Activities for Everyone
Description: Large park with a variety of activities along the Ichetucknee River – swimming and snorkeling at the headspring, snorkeling and diving at the Blue Hole underwater cave and tubing/paddling on the Ichetucknee River.
We visited Ichetucknee thinking we would want to paddleboard on the river. The entrance fee was $6 per vehicle. After arriving we learned about all of the activities at Ichetucknee and ended up swimming and snorkeling in the Blue Hole instead. We learned the Blue Hole and headspring are only accessible by land and there are only certain times of the year when the south river paddle/tube take out is accessible by vehicles. Other times of the year visitors must use the trolley/tram at Ichetucknee. The park offers various rentals and tickets for the trolley/tram. We would recommend planning ahead to know what entrance to access if there are certain activities one is interested in at Ichetucknee. Video footage and more information about visiting Ichetucknee is located in the post “Swim in an Underwater Cave at Ichetucknee Springs“.
Manatee Springs: Easy Access to the Headspring and River
Description: Park with an underwater cave for diving, a headspring accessible by land (Manatee Springs State Park) for swimming, a spring run accessible by water (Suwannee River) and land (Manatee Springs State Park), an easy access paddle launch/rental building to paddle in the spring run and river.
We initially drove to Fanning Springs to paddleboard. There ended up being a large event at Fanning the day we visited. Manatee Springs was recommended as it was close by and likely less busy. The entrance fee was $6 per vehicle. The parking area was close to the paddle launch, rental building and headspring. The headspring is roped off for swimming only. This swimming area is quite deep. The paddle launch is easily accessible to allow paddling in the spring run and Suwanee River. Keep a look out for wildlife. When we visited we paddled by an alligator in the water. For video footage and more information about visiting Manatee Springs check out this post “Visit Manatee Springs: Paddle with an Alligator“.
Rainbow Springs: Crystal Clear Water for Swimming and Paddle Rentals
Description: Park with crystal clear water, a large headspring accessible by land (Rainbow Springs Park) for swimming and snorkeling, a paddle launch with access to the Rainbow River.
We visited Rainbow Springs with hopes of paddle boarding in Rainbow River. We quickly learned the paddle launch is not accessible with a vehicle and one would have to carry boards through the park, past the swimming area and to the paddle launch. Rentals are available next to the launch area. The entrance fee was only $2 per person so we ended up checking out the area. This was the busiest spring we visited, but it had the clearest water. The swimming area was very large and the depth ranges from 5 to 18 feet deep. Video footage and more information about visiting Rainbow Springs is located in this post “Experience the Healing Power of Rainbow Springs“
Three Sisters Springs: Paddling Adventure and Manatee Refuge
Description: Multiple springs for swimming, paddling and snorkeling, accessible by water from Crystal River, viewed from land via Three Sisters Springs Center, home to manatees in the winter months.
Three Sisters Springs was the last stop on our Florida natural springs tour. It is quite unique for a few reasons. If visitors want to access the water in the springs, one must access the springs via water – swimming or paddling. There is no water access from land. Visitors can access a boardwalk from the Three Sisters Springs Center to view the springs, but the boardwalk does not allow water access. Most visitors paddle into the springs, or boat to the spring run and swim into the springs. In the winter Three Sisters Springs is a refuge for manatees and water access is restricted to swimming – only in certain areas. It is possible to snorkel with manatees at Three Sisters but there are rules to protect the manatees.
We visited in the spring time to be able to paddle into Three Sisters. We launched from Hunter Springs where there is an easily accessible paddle launch and free parking along side streets. There are also paddle rentals close by. Video footage and more information about paddling from Hunter Springs to Three Sisters Springs can be found in this post “Visit Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River Florida“.
We documented our time at these five springs on our YouTube Channel Explorcation:
If you enjoy our content subscribe to our YouTube Channel and blog!
Our springs here in Florida are fantastic! There’s always so much to do. I love your photos!
They really are, I can’t believe it took us this long to go and explore them! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
This is sooo cool! It’s seems so peaceful and relaxing.
Thanks Shalona. They are peaceful and relaxing. We would definitely recommend visiting a Florida Spring 🙂