Silver Springs State Park is home to Florida’s oldest tourist attraction (and one of the most famous), glass bottom boats. But, this park offers so much more and is definitely my personal favorite day trip from Orlando. The spring is huge and like all natural springs in Florida, stays a nice 72 degrees year round. Silver Springs clear kayaking is truly an amazing adventure!
The best way to explore this park is clear kayaking. It’s pretty amazing how beautiful the water looks, as you can see it under you while you kayak, especially if a manatee or fish is right under your boat! Here’s how to enjoy Silver Springs clear kayaking.
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Getting to Silver Springs
Silver Springs is located just east of downtown Ocala in Central Florida. It’s just under two hours from Orlando and makes a great day trip to add to your Orlando itinerary.
The park has two entrances: the Main Entrance and the Camping Entrance. You’ll want to use the Main Entrance to access the head springs, Glass Bottom Boats, watercraft rentals, food and retail, and the historic gardens and structures.
The Main Entrance is located at 5656 East Silver Springs Boulevard (State Road 40), Silver Springs, FL 34488.
There are tour options that include transport to and from Orlando, but the easiest way to do this is by renting a car for your trip and heading there before your tour time. There’s a lot to do in Silver Springs State Park besides kayaking so it is nice to have time after to do things on your own and not worry about a tour if you can!
About Silver Springs State Park
Silver Springs has a long history of being important to both humans and animals. Timucua, followed by Spanish explorers and missionaries, as well as the Seminoles, all used these springs throughout history. In more recent history (1920s), people took notice of the Springs and their popularity with visitors and created Florida’s first tourist attraction, Glass Bottom Boats.
This was followed by the construction of a tourist center, shops, and boat dock, which are still standing today! The look and feel of this state park take you back in time with the beautiful architecture.
Several Hollywood movies, including Rebel without a Cause, James Bond Movies, six Tarzan movies, and Creature from the Black Lagoon, were also filmed here. Episodes of television shows such as Sea Hunt were also filmed at Silver Springs.
However, development and pollution impacted this area heavily, and finally in 2013 Paramount handed over the management of Silver Springs to the Florida Park Service. They now preserve both the cultural and environmental resources of the 4,000 acres encompassing the Springs and the Silver River.
Clear Kayak Rentals
In order to clear kayak in Silver Springs, you will have to join a tour or clear kayak from a private company. While Silver Springs State Park offers kayak rentals, they are not clear kayaks. So the best way to rent clear kayaks is to join a tour or rent one from one of the many companies.
If you search for clear kayak companies, several different options will come up. Here’s a few below:
Guidelines to Follow
This post would be incomplete without talking about some of the important guidelines you need to follow. you need to keep a safe distance from wildlife at all times and should respect that they are wild animals, especially manatees which are endangered. Here are a few guidelines:
- Look but don’t touch: Manatees are wild animals that can be easily startled. Avoid touching, rubbing, or scratching them.
- Give them space: If a manatee approaches you, move out of its way and don’t chase it. If you’re in the water, stay one body length away. When paddling, stay two kayak lengths away. Give them space to surface and breathe, as they can hold their breath for up to 20 minutes.
- Avoid noise and splashing: Excessive noise or splashing can frighten manatees.
- Don’t separate a family: Never separate a cow and her calf.
What to Expect
When you arrive, you’ll be greeted with a large parking lot at the entrance. Instead of using the main entrance, you want to head to the back of the parking lot (right as you’re driving in). This is where the kayaking entrance is not the main entrance to the park.
Once there, you’re tour or kayak rental company will have more instructions for you. There are single restrooms (expect a line), water fountains, and a place for you to pay the $6 state park fee.
Since Silver Springs is so clear and beautiful, there’s really nothing like clear kayaking here! You can see the water under you, but you’ll also have the opportunity to see fish and other animals swim beneath you. While we were kayaking, manatees went right under our kayaks!
The other amazing things about kayaking here are all the wildlife you can see. While it’s not guaranteed, we did see a ton of different animals on our tour.
On our tour we saw:
- Monkeys (Monkeys arrived in the area during the 1930s, when a tour operator placed a troop on an island in the river. Little did he know the monkeys could swim, and they disappeared. Some have been found as far south as Sarasota and as far north as Jacksonville. An estimated 400 monkeys roam the riverbanks at any given time.)
- Cormorants, eagles, ibis, cranes, and more birds
- Gar and other large fish
- River otters
- Alligators
- Manatees
On your Own
If you choose to clear kayak on your own, you have four miles of river you can explore. Choose the length of time you’d like to stay on the river and make your reservation in advance. I’d recommend at least two hours to explore the river fully.
You can see the different paths of the river and places you can kayak, along with regulations, on Silver Springs State Park‘s website.
The put-in and take-out spots can get really busy during the high season, so plan ahead to have time to bring your kayak in and out of the water. Wildlife spotting on your own can be tricky, so as you kayak, look along the shorelines and down frequently for wildlife spotting.
Here’s a great option to rent kayaks on your own!
With a Tour
For this activity, I’d highly recommend joining a tour. Not only will it be easier logistically to put in or take out your kayak, but it’ll also be easier for wildlife spotting. You’ll have more opportunities to find wildlife because guides are familiar with the river and where different animals tend to hang out.
On our tour, our guide was also very knowledgeable about what animals we didn’t know the names of and spotting things well before we did. We were able to ask questions and learn more about the history of the park itself.
Our group was a bit bigger than I’d initially hoped, but even with a larger group of 15 kayaks, we were able to see all of the animals.
Plus, our guide took photos of everyone throughout the tour and shared the link with us right after the tour so we had great pictures as we were leaving! They also provided dry bags for everyone.
What to Bring Clear Kayaking in Silver Springs
When taking this day trip, here’s some essentials to bring with you.
- Towels or Quick dry towel (check if your hotel has them)
- Sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher)
- Reusable Water Bottle
- Snacks
- Waterproof phone case
- Hat and sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- GoPro for photos
Other Things to Do at Silver Springs
I know, you’re here for the clear kayak rentals in Silver Springs (which you’ll find more information on in the next section will detail that! For now, I wanted to share all of the things you can do at Silver Springs because I think that this state park is more than just kayaking and worth spending some time at!
Here’s a few other things you can do at Silver Springs State Park.
- Silver River Museum
- The Cracker Village is a replica of a 19th century pioneer settlement and is available for exploration at Silver Springs State Park.
- Hiking and Gardens
- Wildlife and Birding
- Food Options
Closing
Overall, this experience was incredible and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who has the chance! Whether you’re heading on a day trip from Orlando or living locally, you’ll have an amazing time.
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