Overview
Silver Springs is located in North/central Florida just Northeast of Ocala, and slightly West of the Ocala National Forest. As a Southerner, visiting Silver Springs as a child is a sort of "rite of passage". Pretty much anyone you meet from the Southeastern US has been to Silver Springs at some point in their life. They always remember the glass bottom boats, crystal clear water, alligators, and for those of us old enough to remember, a crazy guy that wrestled snakes. The Silver Springs of today has changed to a degree, but it's still on the same pristine piece of property and features many of the same incredible wildlife encounters as many years ago.

Silver Springs bills itself as "Nature's Theme Park", and that's a pretty accurate image. All of the rides are water, fauna, and flora themed. If you are looking for an adrenaline rush, you'd better be scared of glass bottom boats. That's what this place is all about. But glass bottom boats are awesome, and don't forget it. Amusement parks around the world try to emulate what this place offers naturally. This is the real thing people!

While visiting Silver Springs, we camped in the Ocala National; Forest at Salt Springs RV Resort, and Salt Springs Recreation Area in Salt Springs, Florida. We saw a bear one evening along the road back to the campground.

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Adventure Journal
Entry Date: December 2010
This year's Christmas Break saw the Tribe heading South for warmer weather. When I was  kid growing up in Georgia, my family vacationed once a year for 3-4 days, usually in Panama City or Fort Walton Beach, Florida. But there was one Summer that Mom and Dad took my best buddy and me on an awesome trip to South Georgia (Okefenokee) and North Florida. Best I remember, we didn't do much exploring on that trip, but I do remember visiting Silver Springs. I remember the park being quite a bit different than what it is today, but this visit proved to be better than my first.

When we first arrived, we didn't recognize the park. It was beautiful, yes, but there is a lot more parking than before. Silver Springs had apparently expanded considerably, but it looked very nice. We approached the ticket office and inquired about admission. Now, as a Southerner with four kids, and being a little cheap (as many Southerners with four children are), I wasn't expecting to pay nearly $180.00 for my family to enter Silver Springs. It certainly wasn't that expensive when I was a kid. However, as the day passed, and the people were so great, and the animals were so unique, and the sights were so amazing, I began to consider cost vs benefit. I compared the cost of a nice dinner for six to a day's worth of entertainment and education, and decided it was probably money well spent.

We initially thought we'd stay for just a short while, but we kept finding neat things to do and interesting people to talk to. Being a weekday in Winter, there were very few people, and there was no waiting. It was like having the park all to ourselves. As a bonus, the park was featuring a "Festival of Lights" event that was amazingly beautiful and fun.

Would I recommend Silver Springs? Absolutely! But, if you want to enjoy the native Florida fauna and flora for minimal cost, visit Salt Springs Run marina and rent canoe for the day. It'll cost a few bucks, and you'll see much of what you'll see at Silver Springs, plus manatee!
                         
The Richardson Tribe

Other Destinations:
Up
Amicalola Falls State Park
Beaches of South Walton.
Berry College
Big Kahunas
Biltmore House
Blairsville, Georgia
Callaway Gardens
Cataloochee Ski Area
Cave Spring
Cedar Creek Park
Charlestown State Park
Chattahoochee Bend State Park
Chattanooga Zoo
Cherry Hill Park
Chester Frost Park
Chieftains Museum - Details and Pictures
Cloudland Canyon
Consolidated Gold Mine
Cohutta Wilderness
Cumberland Island
Dauset Trails
Desoto State Park
Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort
Doll Mountain Campground
Dollywood
Dunnaway Gap
Enota Mountain Retreat
Etowah Indian Mounds
Fall Creek Falls State Park
Florala State Park
Franklin D Roosevelt State Park
Fort Mountain State Park
Georgia Mountain Fairground
Georgia Veterans State Park
Gold n Gem Grubbin'
James H Floyd State park
James Island Park
Jellystone Park- Cave City, KY
John Tanner Park
Lake Allatoona
Lake Winnepesaukah
Little River Canyon Center
Live Oak Landing
Lula Lake Land Trust
Mammoth Cave National Park
McIntosh Reserve
McKinney Campground
New Echota - Cherokee Capitol
Old Stone Fort Archaeology State Park
Pine Moutain RV
Red Top Mountain State Park
Ridge Ferry Park
Rocky Mountain Recreation Area
Rock Town - Pigeon Mountain
Rome GA
Salt Springs Recreation Area
Silver Springs
Stone Mountain Park
Tannehill State Park
Tellus Science Museum
Topsail Hill Preserve
Townsend KOA
Townsend Tennessee
Vogel State Park
Wild Animal Safari
World of Coke

Features	Rating (1-10)	Description
Official website	10	Awesome website. Very well designed. Buying tickets is a breeze!
Local Attractions	9	Ocala National Forest, Ocala, Salt Springs. etc.
*Note: We rate only the amenities we have personally reviewed. No financial consideration or favor has been received for listing in PB&J Adventures' website. We are in no way affiliated with this facility or any other facility we review. Any paid advertising seen on this site was arranged after the destination was reviewed. You can trust the reviews to be unbiased.

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