During a conversation with locals we were asked if we had ever visited one of the areas national parks. We hadn’t so we looked for information on the internet and decided to visit Blue spring national park.

The park is located about 35 miles from Orlando and the main attraction (for us) was the fresh water spring.  

The water rises from the spring at a temperature of around 20c and during the cooler months can become a temporary winter home for manatee.

The spring deposits its water into the St Johns so during the summer the manatee can still be found within the park area. The animals always nearby ready to swim back to the spring area when the cooler months return.

Within the park area is an under cover BBQ area, a supplies shop, cafe and a diving equipment hire shop (face mask flippers etc) which can be used to snorkel / swim in the area of the spring.

The spring itself is open for public use but if the temperature cools swimmers must be prepared to vacate the water for the retuning manatee.

Boat trips are available either by John boat (which last about 2 hours), The crew double up as park guides and provide information on points of interest and they are very informative, or for the more energetic and adventurous canoes or Kayaks are available to explore the St Johns river.

The park is home to numerous types of wild life and visitors can expect to come across anything from snakes to alligators.

The area is a complete contrast to the vision most visitors have to an entertainment park in Florida.

If you are looking for a day of peace and quiet and want to get back to nature a visit to Blue springs or one of the many other national parks might just do the trick.

Brian Pearson