The last uninhabited crystal clear river in Florida
With Crystal River in our rearview mirrors, we journeyed to Silver River State Park, west of Ocala, Florida. Silver River bisects Silver River State Park, which covers 5,000 wooded acres. The campground is on the southwest side of the river. The remainder of the area is a wilderness preserve. Silver River is a natural river, with no development on the banks except for the theme park on the headsprings and the state park and the campground on the river.
The headsprings of Silver River are the site of the Silver River Nature Park, Florida’s first theme park. It was here that the glass-bottom boat was invented in 1878. Now, you may enjoy a boat ride, zoo, jeep safari and water park.
As luck would have it, it began to rain as we approached Ocala. We made it to the state park as the thunderstorm hit. It rained hard, so we were unable to put our boat into the water. We did bike down to the river to take some photographs.
Here is a link to the slide show on this park. Slide.com appears to have a bug. Click on the link and then select Gallery View if you would like to view photographs of Silver River. When Slide.com is restored, I will paste the slide show here.
That evening, we discovered that our new trailer leaks, “Like a colander,” as my husband put it. After a discussion with Heartland, the manufacturer of our Edge M21, we left the trailer in Ocala at a certified Heartland service center. So, there we were, on a road trip sans travel trailer. We rented a motel room and watched HBO.
We went to the service center at 1 pm the next day. At 3 pm, we drove out with our trailer. According to the service people, all leaks had been fixed. We had wasted two days on repairs, so we decided not to continue to Saint Augustine, on the Pacific coast. Instead, we plotted our path along the back roads to Ginnie Springs, home to one of the largest cave diving operations in Florida.
This beautiful park has almost 1500 acres and some of the most beautiful springs in Florida. I read an article in which a local resident said that on a sunny day, the white sand bottom and the crystal clear water appear to sprout rainbows.
The head springs area of the park is a popular spot for swimming, snorkeling, tubing, canoing and picnicking. You may rent canoes and kayaks here or just discover the beauty of the springs and river from different vantage points. The trails that lead to the waterfalls, garden area and scenic overlook are accessible to persons in wheelchairs.
Originally called Blue Springs and Blue Run, the area was developed as a theme park with glass bottom boat tours, monorail, petting zoo, shops and restaurants. Artificial waterfalls were constructed and non-native plants were planted along the walkways in an attempt to improve on Mother Nature. In the 1970s, larger theme parks drew away the tourists and the park closed.
Rainbow Springs State Park opened in the mid-1990s. The waterfalls and plantings were refurbished to retain the historical significance of the original use of the land as a theme park. In the spring, the gardens explode in pink, purple and white from the planted Althea and Azaleas. Some flowers were already in bloom in January!
The head springs area and the campground are separated by six miles and are accessed off different roads. In addition, there is a entrance just for tubing. It can be confusing finding the different areas of the park; however, you will be glad you did.
