Florida is southeastern state of Unites States and is known for its beaches. We have been staying in Central Florida for 3 years and have visited most of the beaches by now. We were looking for a place which has essence of natural beauty and at the same time offers a great escape for summer. Then we stumbled upon a place named ‘Kelly Park / Rock Springs‘ located 30 minutes away from the hustle-bustle of Orlando.
Yelp had some great reviews of the park. Many people recommend this place for summer outing as it features a free-flowing natural spring that stays at constant 68 Degree Fahrenheit year round. It also offers activities like tubing, kayaking, hiking, picnic, camping, etc. Thus we planned to visit this place with our friends over the weekend. We packed an extra pair of clothes for water activities, bath towels, sunscreen, beach mat, cameras, sunglasses, sufficient water, snacks, cap/hat for the day.
The park usually fills up quickly on summer weekends and closes when it reaches maximum capacity. Park service recommends to visit early to assure entry to the park. Due to some work commitments, we could not start early. We left from Tampa around 9:30 AM local time and reached the park around 11:30 AM. There was a $5 entry fee per vehicle with 3-8 person. Even though we reached late, we were fortunate to get an entry to the park.
After entering the park, one can see a huge ground with shelters and picnic tables. It was quite crowded. We parked the vehicle and decided to explore the park a little. We started with a short trail.
The boardwalk led us to a main pool area with turquoise water. The view was beautiful.
By crossing 2 small bridges, we continued the trail through the park.
It was a short walk which led us to the dead end. It was also the landing area for the tubing activity.
We followed the same trail and returned back to the picnic area. As it was almost 1:30 pm, we had some snacks. Then we changed and got ready to enter the pool. The only tube rental ‘Rock Springs, Grill & Bar’ is located outside the park from where we rented tubes for $7 per tube.
Finally around 2:30 pm, we entered the pool. The water was cold. We couldn’t capture our fun moments in water as we didn’t carry a waterproof camera.
We enjoyed tubing in the spring as its slow current took us along. There was a bridge beyond which tubing was not allowed, so we had to walk down the trail to the start point of the spring to repeat the activity.
The head of the spring is located at the Rock Springs, a clear and swift creek. We started another round of tubing from here. It was so peaceful and soothing. We had fun in the water till 4.30 pm.
There is a snack bar just outside the pool area which offers quick snack options and closes at 5 pm. We had burger, fries and coke. After taking shower, we got ready for another round of trail. From concession area, we headed to rock springs.
The view of crystal clear water and rock structures was compelling. We clicked few pictures and continued our trail to the main pool area.
As it was almost 7 pm, the pool was empty and water was still. Hence we could see beautiful reflection of woods.
We left the park at around 7.30 pm and headed back to Orlando for dinner. We dined in ‘Tabla’ restaurant. The ambiance and food is just amazing. We reached home around 11.30 pm after spending a delightful Saturday.
Pin the below picture for later -> Kelly Park / Rock Springs
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