Weeki Wachee
So when everyone thinks about Florida they think about the beaches, Miami, and of course Disney World. But there’s more to that in Florida, and I plan on sharing some of those places here. There are many museums worth visiting, state parks like the Everglades for example, and many natural springs. Yes, many natural springs! mostly in the North Orlando area, so if you are visiting the parks this summer make sure you take an hour drive further North where you will find them. It is worth a drive!
This week I want to share with you all my visit to Weeki Wachee state park . Weeki Wachee is about an hour and 45 minutes from Orlando and about one hour from Tampa. If you think an hour and 45 minutes is too much of a drive there are closer springs to the Orlando area like Silver Glen Springs and Blue Springs . Silver Glen springs is one my personal favorites because it is located in the Ocala National forest and you can do a lot of exploring! If you never been to a spring, just so you know the water is 72 degrees year round and crystal clear. Anyhow, a few weeks ago I decided to do an unplanned trip to Weeki Wachee – little did I know that the kayaking companies required reservations in advance mostly for holidays and weekends. Since we arrived early to the park, we were lucky enough to get two kayaks reservations that were cancelled!
Kayaking is definitely the best way to explore the spring if you don’t have a boat. We rented our kayaks from Weeki Wachee Kayaking (the cost is $33 for a day), their office is not in the launching area so they take you to the park entrance and your kayak will be waiting there for you. You can also rent from Paddling Adventures which is within the park or Weeki Wachee the kayak shack . All kayaks launch from the same area so you might have to do a little bit of waiting at first.
Once you get on the kayak you are told that you are not allowed to go in the water the first mile since it’s a state nature preserve, but once you have kayaked more than a mile ,make sure you enjoy a jump in the refreshing water. You can also do some rope swinging, admire nature, and just enjoy other of nature’s beauty! If you are visiting Central Florida I definitely recommend you take a visit to any of our springs!
