Blue Spring State Park

One of the day trips we took from Rockledge, Florida was almost 80 miles north to Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, near DeLand.


Blue Spring is the largest natural spring on the St. Johns River, has a constant temperature of 73 degrees, and is a refuge for manatees from mid-November to mid-March. Most of the manatees were gone last week, but we were still able to spot a couple while we were there.


To give you a perspective of one of the spring's natural swimming areas, click on the photo above and you'll discover the white and red object in the upper right corner is actually a snorkler!


The water is crystal clear and you can easily spot fish and manatees.


If you are going to be visiting central Florida, please be sure to put some of the state parks with natural springs on your list to check out.