Today is our 2nd annual “Adventure Day” with our nieces and this time we’re going to Silver Springs! You can read about last year’s adventure at: Adventure Day On Jekyll Island With Our Nieces! Our nieces Caitlyn and Chloe enjoyed Adventure Day so much last year, that we are doing it again.
And just like last year, we gave our nieces a clue of where we’re going. This year we gave them a manatee charm because it’s the time of year to see them where we’re going. But they still have no idea where we’re going. And this time we are bringing our daughter along to Silver Springs State Park!
Planning Adventure Day at Silver Springs
Silver Springs is not just a regular state park, it has the largest artesian spring in the world. And it’s also been the oldest tourist attraction in Florida for over a century. Their famous glass-bottom boats have attracted visitors here since 1878. And I have been here multiple times throughout the years when it was Silver Springs Nature Theme Park. You can read more about the park today at: Silver Springs State Park | Florida State Parks.
My grandparents first brought me and my brother Chris here when we were little kids. And the last time we came together was in 2003 when my boys were little. But now I get to take my brother’s daughters here for the 1st time. And Becky and our daughter have never been either! So our plan is to spend the day fully exploring the main area of the park. We will definitely do a glass-bottom boat tour, which is still very popular here. But for the 1st time, we will be kayaking in the park. And just like in the picture 20 years ago, we will search for the Horse Shoe Palm for another picture. We’ll also walk around the old gardens and check out the newly created 3/4 mile Creek Trail.
You can make reservations for glass-bottom boat tours or paddlesport rentals at: Silver Springs State Park – World Famous Glass Bottom Boats. There was no availability for the glass-bottom boat tours online, but I called and there will be walk-up availability. We just need to check in when we get there. And even though there was availability for kayaks, I went ahead and reserved them at 1:00PM just in case. Between the boat tour and kayaking, we hope to see manatees!
Arriving and Silver Springs Admission
We pull into the entrance around 10:45AM passing where the old Wild Waters Park used to be next door. The parking lot has a lot of cars in it today, but we still find a spot close to the entrance. Since it’s going to be a hot day, we apply some sunscreen before heading in. And going under the large sign, and over the wooden bridge and past the large fountain brings back memories. But before we enter the park, we see restrooms to our left. So, we make a pit stop before getting in line to pay.
At the ticket counter, we pay $2.00 for each of us and also book the next glass bottom boat tour at 12:10PM. The tour costs $13.00 for adults, children 6-12 are $12.00 and kids under 6 are free. So, basically park admission and a glass-bottom boat tour is $15.00 each. Since we have about an hour for lunch, we head back to the car to grab our cooler. On the way back, we stop at the fountain for a few pictures of the girls. Our daughter also sees a large hollowed out cypress tree that she can sit inside.
Picnic Lunch
We brought our lunch because we read online the Springside Restaurant is closed for renovation. And even though they will have a food trailer, we decide to be safe and pack our lunch. Now we just need to find a spot to eat. Once in the park, we pass the main building where the restaurant used to be. We continue past the boat dock to the headspring where there are multiple picnic tables and rocking chairs. We find an open table just on the other side overlooking the water.
Our picnic table not only has great views by the water, but we have the whole area to ourselves. And while eating lunch, I see a bird land in the field near us. Chloe and I walk over to see a red-shouldered hawk grabbing some food before flying up high into a tree. We are also near the Chief Osceola statue but don’t find the horse shoe palm. I thought it was in this area, but no sign of it. Maybe it’s farther down the river for here, but we need to head back to the boat dock. Becky runs our coolers back to the car while we get in line for the boat tour.
Manatees at Silver Springs!
While we are in line waiting to board, we see some manatees just off the dock! The springs are 72 degrees Fahrenheit year round and in the winter it is warmer here than the surrounding waterways. So the manatees like to come into the springs all around Florida.
Manatees, or sea cows, are large aquatic mammals that get to over 9 feet long and weigh over a 1,000 pounds. These gentle creatures are mostly herbivores and feed on the eelgrass in the springs. We’ve already accomplished our goal of seeing manatees, but hope to see more of them on the water.
Silver Springs Glass-Bottom Boat Tour
Though there are 2 tours you can book, the extended 90-minute tour is full today. But thankfully there is still plenty of room for the normal 30-minute tours. And these boats have not changed since as long as I can remember. They have seats around the glass-bottom in the middle. So, everyone can get a great view of what’s underneath.
We are the last to board and sit on both sides near the exit. We’re on the opposite of the boat captain and have great views inside and outside the boat. The boat leaves promptly and our captain moves us toward the manatees. The captain yells at people on kayaks near the manatees to stay clear. We can see the manatees from a distance above the water, and one of them also swims under the boat. Our daughter is so excited so go to see his tail looking through the glass-bottom. And then we start down the Silver River.
Our entertaining captain tells us history and facts about Silver Springs along the way. And takes us to multiple springs on the river while we look through the glass underneath. We can see all the way to the bottom including at the various springs. And we can see the underwater plants, fish and other interesting things easily from our seats.
At one spring, we see what looks like a large log. But the captain tells us it is actually a carved-out canoe made by Native Americans in the area many years ago. There’s actually more than 30 springs on the upper Silver River collectively called Silver Springs. These first magnitude springs produce a flow of 500 million gallons per day!
More of the Glass-Bottom Boat Tour
There are many highlights on this tour. Each spring has some history including the “Creature Spring” where Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed many years ago. In fact many movies were filmed here including 6 Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies and a few James Bond flicks. But not all of the highlights are underwater.
We also pass a place the captain calls Bird Island that has many anhinga and cormorant nests. These interesting water birds can be seen swimming in the water or drying their wings in a tree. On the way back we pass a horseshoe-shaped palm tree hanging over the way near where we picnicked. Could this be it? There’s an anhinga sitting on it just chilling as we pass.
The tour takes us back to the main spring, the largest one called Mammoth Spring. This spring is 30 feet down with 2 main vents in the limestone below. But there’s another secret in the depths. For the TV show I Spy that was also filmed here, they put multiple Greek statues on the bottom. There are only 3 left, and our captain steers us over them. After circling around Mammoth Spring, we head conclude back at the boat dock. The tour took just over 30 minutes leaving us about 15 minutes until our kayak reservation. So we head to the restrooms before I then run my shoes and some bags back to the car.
Kayaking the Fort King Paddle Trail
We make the mistake of going on the boardwalk trail first. But the kayak launch is actually down the dirt trail next to it, or at the other end of the parking lot. So we arrive almost 10 minutes late and get in line. Though we have no issues checking in and leave our keys as collateral. And then we wait to get our kayaks. We reserved 3 adult sit-on-top kayaks for me, Caitlyn and Chloe.
And we also reserved a clear tandem kayak for Becky and our daughter. Similar to a glass-bottom boat, we hope they can see underneath. But we have to wait 20 minutes to get them because they’re so busy. Though our time starts when we hit the water around 1:30PM.
We booked the 2 hour paddle which gives us plenty of time to do the Fort King Trail. From the launch, we turn right before the bridge down this 1.1 mile water trail. This is actually the path of the Jungle Cruise ride that used to be here. And floating down this trail we can see remnants of this old ride. There are fences that used to contain animals, as well as a dock with the sign “Silver Springs Landing”.
But that’s not the only thing still here. In the 1930’s rhesus monkeys were introduced to be a part of the attraction but got loose. And we see some of their descendants are still here today! Can’t think of another place in Florida you can kayak and see wild monkeys. We also see many turtles on logs basking in the Sun, and a small alligator. Everyone’s paddling great including our daughter, and we make it to the Silver River in 45 minutes.
Kayaking Back on the Silver River
We’ve already gone 45 minutes on the Fort King Paddling Trail. And now we get head up the Silver River to the mainspring. Though we will be paddling up current, it’s still a leisurely paddle. And the river is much wider where we can spread out as we pass many springs along the way. Another thing we spot are a couple alligators near the shore. These are a little bigger than the one we saw before. The clear kayak seems to be much better in the clearer waters. Our daughter sees a turtle swim right under her feet.
We keep our distance from the glass-bottom boats as we pass Bird Island again. This time we get really close to see an anhinga dive and swim in the water. There are also plenty of them sunning their wings along the shoreline. Caitlyn and Chloe are paddling ahead enjoying the time together.
Once to the mainspring, we take the little creek back to the bridge. But it’s only been an hour and half and we still have 30 minutes left. So, we paddle back to the headwaters to explore some more. And we have the main spring area to ourselves for a little while, before we head back toward the bridge.
Once past the bridge, we continue to the kayak launch where we started. We arrive about 3:20PM after almost 2 hours on the water. Once out, we return our paddles and life vests and get back our keys. We’re a little wet, so we walk out toward the parking lot to our car. After toweling off and changing shoes, we decide to head back to the park to further explore by foot.
Exploring the Boardwalk and Gardens
After returning from the car, we stop at the Welcome Center and ask about the horse shoe palm. They tell us it is still there by the Chief Osceola statue so we go to find it. But what we find is what’s left of it. The wooden dock it twisted around is no longer here. And looking over the wall we can see one of the pieces is broken or cut. We also can’t find the top of the tree, so looks like this is it.
This palm tree had been pictured in vintage post cards. Leaving sad, we then walk through the garden areas. But even though they are still labelled as such, they are overgrown. We walk past what was the rock garden and the camelia garden on the way to the Sea Hunt Pavilion.
Here they filmed scenes for the show Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges in the late 50’s and early 60’s. And even though some sections are roped off for safety, this is still a nice spot to relax. There are ample benches to sit back and enjoy the river views. They even have an old cut-out where you can take pictures like you’re in a postcard from the show.
Creek Trail at Silver Springs
After leaving the Sea Hunt deck, we continue past the Black Bear Pavilion where they used to have bears. We see a sign for this newly created .75 mile loop trail behind the pavilion. But as soon as we start on it, I realize this is the old jeep safari road. Back when this was a theme park, they had a safari ride where you went past lions and other animals. And they still have the steel grates on the road.
And though this trail is supposed to go to Half-Mile Creek, we don’t see much water anywhere. In fact, it’s just a loop through the woods. We do see a cool “rainbow” tree, but other than that, it’s not a great trail. And even though we’re in the woods, it is close the road and we hear a lot of traffic. Though we got to spread our legs a little bit which is always good. Afterwards, we head to the the exit. The crowds have gone, but the glass-bottom boats stopped running so we leave around 5:30PM accomplishing what we wanted.
Adventure Day Summary
Adventure Day was again a success! And I was excited to bring all of the girls to Silver Springs for the 1st time. Both Caitlyn and Chloe said they loved it and had a lot of fun. It is still a beautiful place, though it has changed since being a theme park. The glass-bottom boats are just as great as they’ve always been. And doing a tour on the water is still the best way to see the springs. Not to mention we all got to kayak here for the 1st time. And though crowded at times, we got to see so much wildlife in and around the water. We did get to see manatees today, along with turtles, alligators and many aquatic birds. And we got to see the monkeys!
However, exploring by land is probably better at the other entrance to the park. There’s not much left from the park’s glory days, including the Horse Shoe Palm. But the natural beauty is still worth exploring. Now we can start planning for next year’s Adventure Day with our nieces!