Springs in Florida

Florida has an abundance of springs. They are all beautiful in their own way, but I have a list of my favorites that I’d like to share. Below are the 5 springs in Florida that I recommend to visit:

Blue Spring State Park

Blue Spring State Park is my favorite park to go see manatees! When the temperature drops, manatees swim from the cold ocean waters to the warm springs. Blue Spring is beautiful and it’s the closest spring on this list to Orlando. You can’ swim in the spring when manatees are present, but during the summer months you can swim, snorkel, or scuba dive in the water. I’ve seen other wildlife in the park, including wild pigs and alligators. There is a path along the spring where you can walk and view the gorgeous aqua waters. Blue Spring State Park is a little under an hour North of Orlando.

To read more about Blue Spring State Park, check out my post on this spring here

3 Sisters Springs

3 Sisters Springs is off of Crystal River. You can swim with manatees here!The water is the perfect representation of a lagoon. There is a boardwalk around the spring that also gives a view of Crystal River. 3 Sisters Springs is a little over an hour and a half northwest of Orlando.

A herd of manatees at Three Sisters Springs

Rainbow Springs State Park

I loved Rainbow Springs not only because of the water, but there are waterfalls! Yes, that’s right, waterfalls in Florida. The waterfalls aren’t very big, but they are still pretty! You can swim, tube, snorkel, and scuba dive in the springs. Rainbow Springs is a little over an hour and a half northwest of Orlando.

Fanning Springs State Park

The water! Goodness, the water is so clear and the colors are incredibly vibrant. Fanning Springs also isn’t far from Ichetucknee Springs State Park. You can swim, snorkel, or scuba dive in the water. There is also a path that leads out to the Suwannee River. Fanning Springs is a little over two hours northwest of Orlando.

Ichetucknee Springs State Park

Ichetucknee Springs State Park is my favorite of all the parks (Blue Springs is second since I can see manatees there!). There are two entrances to Ichetucknee Springs State Park. The North entrance is my favorite since the Head Springs and Blue Hole Spring are there. The South entrance has better hiking options and a tube, canoe and kayak launch. Ichetucknee Springs is a little over two hours northwest of Orlando.