Silver Springs State Park
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On the way to Tallahassee, we made a quick stop at Silver Springs State Park. Silver Springs has been drawing visitors since the late 1800s and is best known for its glass-bottom boats and remarkably clear spring water. It officially became a Florida state park in 1987, but its history as a tourist attraction goes back much further.
Silver Springs Glass Bottom Boat
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We hopped on a 30-minute glass-bottom boat tour, one of the park’s signature experiences. The water was clear enough to see fish moving through the grass below, along with three underwater statues left behind from filming the 1960s television show I Spy. We also spotted a manatee passing through the spring.
I had visited Silver Springs as a kid in the early 1990s, and the stop brought back memories. I remembered riding the glass-bottom boats and my grandmother talk about how, when she had visited years earlier, the springs were full of fish. After the Rodman Dam was completed downstream in 1968, fish populations declined significantly in the decades that followed. I also remember watching a live Tarzan show with actors, an attraction that no longer exists.
Spring was in full swing during our visit, with azaleas blooming throughout the park and adding color along the paths. I’d read about a population of rhesus macaque monkeys that live in the surrounding forest, descendants of animals introduced decades ago. I kept my eyes peeled, but we didn’t spot any that day.
Silver Springs wasn’t a long stop, but it was an interesting one. A mix of clear water, layered history, and memories from different points in time made it a worthwhile pause before continuing north toward Tallahassee.
I had visited Silver Springs as a kid in the early 1990s, and the stop brought back memories. I remembered riding the glass-bottom boats and my grandmother talk about how, when she had visited years earlier, the springs were full of fish. After the Rodman Dam was completed downstream in 1968, fish populations declined significantly in the decades that followed. I also remember watching a live Tarzan show with actors, an attraction that no longer exists.
Spring was in full swing during our visit, with azaleas blooming throughout the park and adding color along the paths. I’d read about a population of rhesus macaque monkeys that live in the surrounding forest, descendants of animals introduced decades ago. I kept my eyes peeled, but we didn’t spot any that day.
Silver Springs wasn’t a long stop, but it was an interesting one. A mix of clear water, layered history, and memories from different points in time made it a worthwhile pause before continuing north toward Tallahassee.