Central Florida

Although we’ve spent a lot of time in south Florida and the panhandle, we haven’t ventured too far in the central part of the state. We’ve been missing a lot. This part of the state has over a thousand freshwater springs, beautiful beach towns on both coasts and an abundance of manatee’s aka “chubby mermaids”. And you thought this post was going to be about Disney World, didn’t you?

Central Florida has so much more to offer than Disney World. We went on a quest to see many of the incredible springs and other unique adventures that this part of the state has to offer. But before we go there let’s talk about Tampa, and Ybor City in particular, for a minute. Ybor City (pronounced “e-bor”) is a historic district just north of Tampa founded around 1880 by Spanish, Cuban and Italian immigrants who opened cigar factories. If you like cigars, this is the place to be. 7th street is lined with small restaurants, bars and cigar lounges. You can step into any of these cigar lounges and watch them hand roll their cigars and then step into the humidor to buy your own. Just down the street is the J.C. Newman Cigar Co., a fourth-generation family business and the oldest family-owned premium cigar company in the United States. This historic building is both a museum to learn about the cigar heritage in the greater Tampa area and a working cigar factory. You can even take a hands-on class to learn how to roll your own cigars, complete with custom labels. And for a very unique experience, visit Grand Cathedral Cigars where a 1906 church has been converted into a cigar lounge. Hungry? A stop in Ybor City would not be complete without a meal at the Columbia Restaurant, a famous Spanish/Cuban restaurant in a beautiful historic building.

So, I’ve digressed, let’s get back to those freshwater springs. There are more springs in Florida than any one person could visit in a lifetime. But if you could I don’t think you would be disappointed because each of them has its own unique vibe. We were very selective of which ones we wanted to visit based on a general travel path and still didn’t get to all of them on our list. We strategically split up our base camps in both DeLand, at St. Johns Marina & Resort, and in Ocala at Ocean Grove RV resort, to better explore the springs we wanted to visit. Ocean Grove is a great park with a lot of snowbirds and it was nice mingling amongst the boaters at St. Johns.

One thing of importance to note is that depending on what time of year you visit any of these springs, the experience may be totally different. In the warmer summer months, the springs get very crowded and swimming in the cool 72-degree water is very popular. In the cooler months kayaking, hiking and viewing manatees, who come into the warmer waters, is very popular. There is also much less crowds during the cooler months, as we discovered in late January and into February.

OK, so which springs did we visit and which were our favorites? Well, without further ado, here’s the list.

Blue Springs

This was our top spot for viewing manatees. The spring is located in Blue Springs State Park off of the St Johns River. The first day we were there was after a cold snap and the manatee count was at 105. They are majestic creatures and it was so cool observing them in their natural habitat. The boardwalk allows for great viewing opportunities of not only the manatees but thousands of fish, birds and alligators.

Rock Springs

Kelly Park is home to Rock Springs which, on this late January day, was a very beautiful and peaceful place. However, with a very well defined swimming area within the springs, I suspect it is somewhat of a madhouse in the summer. The Kelly Loop, aka “yellow trail”, was a very nice hike through the forest.

Silver Springs

Silver Springs in Silver Springs State Park has been home to many movie scenes including 6 Tarzan shows. It also is home to the famous glass bottom boats which takes you throughout the springs with every seat having a perfect view of the water world below. We loved the boat ride and then toured the area on foot along the nature trail through the gardens and hiking trail. We returned for a second day and rented kayaks which was a blast. There are so many fish and birds to observe and plenty of alligators too! This was our best “fun day” springs.

Rainbow Springs

Before becoming a state park, Rainbow Springs was privately owned and was a huge tourist attraction with exotic animals and manmade waterfalls throughout the grounds, complementing the natural springs. The animals are long gone but the water features still remain and although very pretty, it is a strange mix of manmade versus natural landscape. Nonetheless, this is a gorgeous park with a nice swimming area and enjoyable hiking trails… except for that big rattlesnake we encountered. If you’re hungry after you leave the springs head over to Swampy’s Bar & Grill.

Three Sisters Springs

This gets our vote for the most picturesque spring. It’s located in Crystal River on the west coast of Florida. A boardwalk loop takes you along the springs and adjacent waterways where you can see manatees and get some iconic pictures. This is a critical habitat for manatees so boating and swimming can be restricted when manatees are present. We visited here after our “swimming with manatees” excursion.

What! Did I say swimming with manatees?! That’s right, the Crystal River area is one of the few places where you can actually swim with manatees in their natural habitat. There are several tour companies that can take you out on various excursions where the manatees will be (and how many) is dependent on many factors. To set expectations properly, the manatees often are not in crystal clear waters and there may only be one or two visible at a time, as was the case with us. However, it was an amazing experience being up close with these gentle giants of the sea.

Although the many springs can keep you busy enough, there are so many other things to do in this part of Florida. For example, Ocala National Forest is just east of Ocala and is a huge off-road playground. We really enjoyed spending the day jeeping in the soft silky sand trails.

We also enjoyed the beach towns of the east and west coast. Tarpon Springs, north of Tampa on the west coast is home to the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks. There’s a long history of sponging in this area and the town is adorable with all its shops and restaurants where you can buy natural sponges. The local fare here is Greek, with many restaurants and bakery choices. Hellas was a favorite for us!

And on the east coast is Daytona Beach, another beautiful stretch of beach with lots to do. On the way there, be sure to check out the Daytona International Speedway and do a tour.

If your visiting Rock Springs, Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards isn’t too far away in Clermont and is certainly worth the extra drive. They have daily tours of the winery and a free wine tasting. That “free” wine tasting did cost us but allowed the gift to keep giving!

When it comes to central Florida and the natural springs, this is just a small sample and the tip of the iceberg. So the next time you plan your Florida vacation, consider something different from the big amusement parks. Alligators and manatees are pretty cool too!

Be sure to check out the rest of our pictures from our central Florida adventure.