How to Spend Your Day at Silver Springs State Park

Silver Springs State Park is one of America’s largest springs. It is one of Florida’s first tourist attractions since the 1870s. This place is beautiful and super fun to visit. Besides the beautiful crystal clear water, there are also tons of things to do such as the glass bottom tours, kayaking, and more. And if you’re lucky, you can also see the monkeys here.

Stats

Where

Main entrance:
5656 E Silver Springs Blvd, Silver Springs, FL 34488

Camping entrance:
1425 NE 58th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34470

Parking

Paved parking

Hours

8 am to sundown
Kayak rentals, glass-bottom boat tours, and Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center have different hours. Please check their website for up-to-date hours.

Fee

$8 per vehicle (2-8 people).
$5 single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle.
$2 pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass.
$4 per vessel launch fee for personal canoe or kayak.
$2 per person for entrance to the Silver River Museum and Environmental Center

Pet-friendly

Pets are allowed in the campground, picnic area, and on hiking trails. They need to be on leashes at all times. Pets are not allowed on Glass Bottom Boats or in any buildings, including cabins, the museum, the education center, restrooms, and the restaurant. Please make sure to clean up after your pets!!

Ideal Time

This place can get busy on the weekend or weekdays, especially if you want to go kayaking. Go early or go on a weekday if you can.

Weather

Video

Important Things to Know

Where Is Silver Springs State Park?

Silver Springs State Park is located in Silver Springs, Florida, about 1.5 hours from Orlando, east of Ocala. You should be able to use the address above to map your way there. There are two entrances to this park: the main entrance and the camping entrance. The main entrance is where the boat tour, headsprings, kayak rentals, and hiking trails are. The camping entrance will take you to the camping area, the Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center, and the free kayak launch site.

When is the best time to visit Silver Springs State Park?

The Silver Springs State Park opens from 8 am to sundown year-round. Depending on what activity you want to do, the hours might vary.

The Glass Bottom Tours run until 6 pm daily
The last paddling rental is at 4 pm daily. All rental boats are due back by 5 pm. If you want to paddle all the way to Ray Wayside County Park, you’ll need to get your rental by noon.
The Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center is only open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays.

Can You Swim At Silver Springs State Park?

Silver Springs State Park is only of the springs where you CANNOT swim in. However, you still can experience the beautiful water by either taking the glass bottom boat tours or by paddling along the shaded springs.

Are There Gators in Silver Springs?

Yes! We saw a few hanging out along the bank as we paddle along the river. Besides alligators, you can also encounter manatees, turtles, armadillos, deer, turkeys, foxes, as well as monkeys!

What You Should Know Before Visiting Silver Springs State Park

Make sure to book your glass bottom boat tours online and in advance, especially the 90-minute boat tour. They sell out very quickly!
Bring medicine if you’re prone to motion sickness but still want to do the glass bottom boat tours.
Give yourself plenty of time to spend here. This place has a lot to see.
Silver Springs State Park holds many fun and unique events throughout the year. Keep an eye on their calendar.

Things to Do When Visiting Silver Springs State Park

Glass Bottom Boat Tours

Since the 1870s, the glass-bottom boats at Silver Springs have welcomed tourists and locals alike. As Florida’s oldest attraction, these boats gave visitors the unique opportunity to see below the surface of the crystal clear springs and the underwater life that inhabits Silver Springs. There are also historical and cultural artifacts along the way.

There are 2 tour options, a 30-minute tour, and an extended 90-minute tour. Walk-ins are available for the 30-minute tour, however, you should probably reserve in advance because they sell out fast. As for the 90-minute tour, you will need to reserve it in advance here. Even the 30-minute tour runs daily, the extended tour only runs on a certain day. Make sure to check the website for updated hours and pricing.

Paddling

This was our favorite activity to do here. The Silver Springs is clear and beautiful. It was such an experience paddling under the thick canopy of tropical trees and through narrow passages. We highly recommend doing this. You can rent or bring your own kayak here for a small launch fee ($4 per vessel launch fee for a personal canoe or kayak). There are several trails that you can do, ranging from a leisure 1.1 mile to the longer one, 10 miles round trip.

Hiking

There are several hiking and nature trails here at Silver Springs State Park. They vary in length, from the short ¾ mile loop Creek Trail, and 1.7-mile Sandhill Trail to the longer, 4.6 miles Spring Connector Trail. If you want to hike, make sure to bring a map, and a GPS device and wear appropriate clothing including hiking shoes, sunscreen, and lots of water. Florida’s sun can get very warm.

See the Wild Monkeys at Silver Springs

Yes, there are monkeys at Silver Springs State Park! This place is home to at least 300 rhesus macaques. These monkeys are native to South and Southeast Asia. Apparently, in the 1930s, the local tour boat operator released 12 monkeys on an island within the park. They wanted to start a Tarzan-themed tourist attraction. Sadly, the attraction never happened so the monkeys were abandoned. The monkeys that reside at Silver Springs State Park are now descendants of the abandoned ones. If you’re lucky, you can see these monkeys hanging around. If you see them, give them plenty of space. DO NOT feed or touch these wild animals!

Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center

To get to the Silver River Museum and Environmental Educational Center, you’ll need to enter via the camping entrance. It is open every Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm. There is an additional $2 per person for entrance. There are interesting exhibits relating to geology, paleontology, archaeology, and natural history of north central Florida, and more. We visited Silver Springs State Park on a weekday so we couldn’t visit this place. Next time for sure!

Besides Silver Springs State Park, some of our other favorite springs in Florida are Blue Spring, Kelly Park Rock Springs, Rainbow Springs, and Wekiwa Springs. They are worth a visit!

These are the gear that we personally use and find them helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.

adventure gear

Lots of sunscreens, we use eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen, Stream2Sea SPF 30. and tinted, organic All Good Organic Sunscreen Butter.
Comfortable shoes
Sunglasses
Food, snacks, and water but no alcohol. For healthy and easy snacks, check out some of our recipes.