Blue Spring State Park, Florida, United States

5Nicole 5:00 PM Jul 1, 2022

Absolutely amazing
What an awesome time we had here. Entrance wasn’t an issue, but we went on a Friday morning. I did read that the park will close once capacity has been reached. There are two sections of the park, one for kayaking/canoeing, and the other for swimming and tubing. We didn’t go kayaking, so my review is only for the other area. You’re able to bring your own rafts and floats as long as they’re under 6 feet. We saw people with pool noodles and snorkeling gear. You can also scuba dive here. If you’re bringing your own rafts, make sure to bring them blown up already or bring your own pump to blow them up, although they will blow them up for you for a small fee. You can also rent rafts for a fee. The swimming area was great, my kids had a blast. The tubing section was small and short but perfect for my kids aged 10, 7, and 10 months (more so for the baby). To go tubing, you walk less than 10 minutes and enter on your own to slowly float back to the swimming area. It was a lot of fun. Water stays at a constant 72-73 degrees all year. We saw manatees, and a ton of different fish!

5Taylor B 5:00 PM Feb 28, 2023

My first visit in 70 years
All I remember about Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Florida, is there were a lot of people doing a lot of things and there was a lot of water. That's the way it was when my family visited the beautiful state park in the early 1950s. But I was a relative newcomer. Botanist John Bartram visited the spring in 1766. The park, located 30 miles north of Orlando, is a popular tourist destination for canoeing, kayaking, fishing, SKUBA diving, camping, hiking, wildlife watching, picnicking and swimming. There are 53 campsites and six cabins that can be rented. The spring in the park, Volusia Blue Spring, is the largest on the St. Johns River and, due to its relatively warm temperature of 73 degrees, attracts many Florida manatees during the winter. In fact, researchers have recorded the life history of individual manatees at Blue Spring since 1978. About 102 million gallons of water flow out of Blue Spring into the St. Johns River every day. The spring runs a few miles long and features a boardwalk that stretches 1/3 of a mile fro the river to the headspring. Besides Manatees, various wildlife that can be seen in the park include alligators, bears, raccoons and various species of birds. In addition, a large plantation-style home that was built upon a shell mound on the property in the mid-19th century has been maintained and features historical displays that visitors can explore.