March 12, 2017
Driving north and east, we first explored Silver Springs State Park, It is a huge springs area and a beautiful park and river. We took a glass bottom boat tour. You could see the bottom very clearly, a great way to see the different springs. Interestingly, there is moss covering the bottom, a result of fertilizers on the farms getting into the aquifer. There were lots of birds, so this would be great fun to explore in a kayak or canoe, but our target was Juniper Springs, so we headed out.
By the time we got to Juniper Springs, we were too late to kayak. They won’t let you on after 1:00. The kayak trip takes about 3.5 hours starting behind the first spring on a very small stream that is crystal clear. The best we could do was to hike a bit, but the trail really didn’t follow the stream, although it was pretty. If we have time we will catch this on the way back north. Both of these springs would be great to explore. In fact, the Florida springs kayak tour would be great fun. The parks are very nice, but you must book ahead as everything is filled.