Why Central Florida locals skip Disney and float a 68-degree spring instead

Kelly Park’s cold water is Central Florida’s best-kept secret

Thirty miles north of Orlando, past the theme park exits and the highway sprawl, a limestone cave pushes 26,000 gallons of water to the surface every minute.

The water comes out at exactly 68 degrees, and it never changes. Not in August. Not in January. The spring has been running this way for millions of years.

For nearly a century, the land around it has been set aside so anyone can float it, swim it, and walk through the forest beside it.

A Johns Hopkins doctor fell in love with this spring

Dr. Howard A. Kelly wasn’t just one of the founding physicians at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

He was also a naturalist who traveled Florida looking at plants and wildlife, and when he found Rock Springs in 1910, he kept coming back.

By 1921, he bought the land around it to protect it as a wildlife preserve and bird sanctuary.

Six years later, he and his wife gave the whole thing to Orange County on one condition: it stays a public park forever.

The limestone surrounding the spring holds fossils dating back 17 million years.

Float a three-quarter-mile river through the forest

The tube run is the reason most people come, and it earns the reputation.

You drop in at the headspring and float about three-quarters of a mile downstream through a canopy of oaks and palms while the current does the work.

The whole ride takes 25 to 30 minutes.

At the end, a short path brings you back to the start, and you can go again. The water is shallow in spots, so you’ll scrape the occasional sandy bottom.

See the spring’s floor 10 feet below the surface

The water clarity here changes the experience. You’re not swimming in murky lake water.

You can see the sandy bottom, the marine fossil shells worn out of the limestone, and fish moving through the eelgrass below you.

Snorkeling the upper spring run gives you close-up views of turtles and fish in water that runs clean enough to feel like a swimming pool.

The main swim area has concrete steps, shallow sandy sections, a lifeguard on duty, and a wheelchair-accessible lift.

Walk trails that feel more like a jungle than Florida

Most people picture Florida as flat and open. The Kelly Loop Trail changes that.

The 2.6-mile loop moves through hardwood hammock with tall oaks draped in Spanish moss, slash pines, and magnolias that close in overhead.

The trail passes sinkholes, formed by the same underground water system feeding the spring, and runs alongside the spring run where you can look down at the water between the trees.

Shorter paths branch off throughout the park if you want something easier.

Camp right beside the springs and wake up early

The park has 26 campsites that work for tents, trailers, and RVs. Each site comes with electric hookup, a picnic table, a fire ring, a grill, and water.

The bathrooms have flush toilets and hot showers. Next to the campground, Camp Joy has dormitory-style group lodging and a kayak and canoe launch.

You can bring your own kayak or paddleboard and pay a small fee to launch from there, but the launch window runs from 8 a.m. to noon, with a mandatory return by 5 p.m.

Florida black bears use this corridor to cross the state

The park connects to a protected wildlife corridor that runs all the way to the Ocala National Forest, and that corridor is one of the most critical routes for the Florida black bear.

You’re also likely to spot wild turkeys, gopher tortoises, barred owls, and bobcats as you move through the park.

Alligators live in the surrounding wilderness and occasionally wander in. Park staff monitor the situation and remove them when needed, so the waterways stay safe.

Congress protected this river system in 2000

Rock Springs Run flows 8.5 miles from Kelly Park before joining the Wekiva River.

In October 2000, Congress designated the entire Wekiva River system a National Wild and Scenic River, which covers Rock Springs Run, Wekiwa Springs Run, and Black Water Creek.

More than 110 square miles of the Wekiva basin are now protected as parks, preserves, and state forests.

The river system supports wood storks and bald eagles, both endangered. A 27-mile paddling trail runs the full length of the Wekiva River.

The Floridan Aquifer makes the water this clear

The spring draws from the Floridan Aquifer, one of the most productive groundwater systems in the world.

As the water rises through limestone, it filters naturally, which is why you can see the bottom of the spring run from the surface.

The constant flow keeps the temperature locked at 68 degrees whether it’s the middle of summer or a cold January morning.

Rock Springs is classified as a second-magnitude spring based on its flow rate, one step below the rarest and highest-volume springs in Florida.

Picnic tables, volleyball, and drones are all on the menu

The park spreads picnic pavilions, charcoal grills, and shaded tables across 355 acres, so finding a spot to eat isn’t a problem. A playground sits near the main area for younger kids, and a volleyball court is close by.

A concession stand runs from spring break through early October. Most pathways through the park are paved and accessible.

If you fly a drone, you can bring it, but you have to take off and land only from the designated main picnic area.

Get there before 9 a.m. or risk getting turned away

The park caps daily entry at 280 vehicles. On summer weekends, that cap can fill within an hour of the 8 a.m. opening.

Some visitors line up at 4:30 a.m. If you don’t make the cut, the first 50 cars that miss the limit get a voucher for 1 p.m. entry.

The fee runs $3 per vehicle for one or two people, and $5 for three to eight.

The park takes cash and Visa, MasterCard, or Discover with a valid photo ID. No pets, except ADA service animals.

Why Dr. Kelly’s gift still matters 100 years later

Most spring parks in Central Florida are now fenced off, developed, or charging steep admission.

Kelly Park stayed different because two people decided in 1927 that the land was worth protecting and gave it away to make that happen.

The daily vehicle limit, the protected wildlife corridor, the National Wild and Scenic River designation: all of it keeps the spring running the way it did when Dr. Kelly first found it.

You float the same water he stood beside more than a century ago.

Float Kelly Park’s springs in Apopka, Florida

You can find Kelly Park at 400 East Kelly Park Road in Apopka, Florida 32712, about 30 miles north of Orlando.

The park opens daily at 8 a.m. Summer hours extend to 8 p.m., with the waterfront closing at 7 p.m. Entry is $3 for one to two people or $5 for three to eight.

Tube rentals are available from vendors outside the entrance. No rentals inside.

Check capacity before you go by calling the park information line, and plan to arrive well before 9 a.m. on summer weekends.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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