Happenin’
Places › Florida › North Central Florida › Rainbow Springs State Park
Rainbow Springs State Park

Photo: Sphanyx / CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

💧 Springs

Rainbow Springs State Park

Dunnellon, FL · North Central Florida

About

Rainbow Springs is a first-magnitude spring near Dunnellon that pushes out hundreds of millions of gallons a day to form the clear Rainbow River. Swim in the headspring basin at a constant 72 degrees, then wander 1930s ornamental gardens past three man-made waterfalls built into old mine tailings. From April to September a separate entrance launches tubers for the lazy float downriver.

Highlights

First-magnitude headspring basin, a constant 72 degrees year-roundThree man-made waterfalls and 1930s ornamental gardensLazy-river tubing from a separate entrance, April through SeptemberSwimming, snorkeling, and kayaking on the spring-fed Rainbow RiverPaved garden walkways through mossy hammocks and sloping hills

Getting there

19158 SW 81st Place Road, Dunnellon, FL 34432

Related places

Ginnie Springs Springs

Ginnie Springs

High Springs, FL · North Central Florida

Ginnie Springs is a privately owned cluster of seven crystalline springs on the banks of the Santa Fe River near High Springs, where the water holds a constant 72 degrees and visibility so clear that divers call it gin-clear. Float the lazy river run on a rented tube, snorkel the swimming basins, or drop into the Devil Spring cave system that has drawn cave divers from around the world. Summer and early fall bring the clearest river water and the liveliest crowds.

Ichetucknee Springs State Park Springs

Ichetucknee Springs State Park

Fort White, FL · North Central Florida

Ichetucknee Springs State Park protects a National Natural Landmark headspring that pours out cool, sapphire-clear water to form one of Florida's premier tubing rivers near Fort White. Drift the spring run beneath a canopy of cypress and oak, watch for otters, turtles, and wading birds, and cool off in the 72-degree swimming areas at the headspring and Blue Hole. Tubing from the upper river runs only from late May through Labor Day, so plan summer trips accordingly.

Silver Springs State Park Springs

Silver Springs State Park

Ocala, FL · North Central Florida

Silver Springs State Park in Ocala is the home of the glass bottom boat, invented here in the 1870s to peer into one of Florida's largest and clearest artesian springs. Glide over submerged limestone and underwater ruins while watching turtles, fish, gators, and wintering manatees drift below the hull. Paddle the spring fed Silver River afterward to spot wild rhesus macaques in the trees.

Part of these collections

Curated guides that feature Rainbow Springs State Park.

Florida Springs24 places

Florida Springs

Florida sits on top of one of the largest gatherings of freshwater springs on Earth, and they run a constant 68 to 74 degrees no matter the season. Some are first-magnitude giants pushing hundreds of millions of gallons a day, others are quiet blue sinkholes you can have to yourself at dawn. These are the ones worth the drive: the glass-bottom boat tours, the lazy-river tube runs, the cavern dives, and the winter springs where the manatees come in from the cold.

Florida State Parks26 places

Florida State Parks

Florida's park service runs about 175 state parks, and these are the ones worth planning a trip around. Wild barrier islands and sugar-sand beaches, deep springs and dark caverns, 19th-century forts and prairies where bison still roam, from the Panhandle's emerald coast to the coral reefs of the Keys. The definitive short list, not the whole directory.