Silver Springs State Park, Florida: Visitor Guide

Things to Do at Silver Springs State Park

Glass-bottom boats have run here since the late 1870s, when Phillip Morrell fixed a piece of glass in the bottom of a rowboat, according to Florida State Parks. Today Cape Leisure runs the tours for the park from the dock at the main entrance. The boats float over Mammoth Spring, the river's head spring, and other feeder springs, with fish, Native American and Spanish artifacts and old underwater movie props below the glass, as the concessionaire describes it. Prices listed on silversprings.com on October 21, 2026:

Children 2 and under ride free, and park admission is separate. The concessionaire recommends booking ahead because tours often sell out, and asks you to arrive 30 minutes before your departure. Its FAQ says 30-minute tours start at 9 a.m.; the state park's page says 10 a.m., so check the booking calendar for your day. One boat of the nine, the Chief Potackee, takes wheelchairs when it is running. Pets and food aren't allowed on board. More in our glass-bottom boat tour guide.

Rentals are at the main entrance, first come, first served, starting at 8 a.m. The short trip is the 1.1-mile Fort King paddling trail around Ross Allen Island and up to the head spring (one to two hours). The long one is 5 miles downriver to Ray Wayside Park, with a shuttle back. There is no place to get out of the river between the head spring and Ray Wayside except the launch at the camping entrance, about 1.8 miles downstream. Glass-bottom boats have the right of way. Rental prices listed by Florida State Parks on October 21, 2026 (before tax):

Bringing your own kayak, canoe or paddleboard costs $4 per vessel plus admission at the main-entrance launch, which closes an hour before sundown according to the park's amenities page (its main page says 90 minutes before the park closes, so arrive early). The camping-entrance launch is free but is a 0.6-mile carry down the River Trail, and you must file a float plan at the ranger station first. Motors, including electric trolling motors, aren't allowed at either launch. See Silver Springs kayaking for routes and tips.

Florida State Parks says the park's new trail system opened and all trails were open as of October 23, 2025. Most trailheads are at the camping entrance:

• •Silver Trail: From the main entrance; connects all parts and entrances of the park, with a boardwalk through the swamp
• •Mesic Loop (purple): 2 miles through pine forest and oak hammock
• •Sandhill Loop (yellow): 1.3 miles through longleaf pine uplands, parking by the ranger station
• •Flatwoods Loop (green): 2.3 miles, starts at the archway left of the Silver River Museum
• •River Loop (dark blue): 1 mile from the museum to an overlook of the Silver River

Mountain bikers have 4.5 miles of dedicated off-road trail and can use about 10 more miles of hiking trail. At the main entrance, paved paths run along the river and through the rock, camellia, Osceola, reflection and wildflower gardens. The Sea Hunt Deck there was closed as of the park's latest notice. More hikes around the county: hiking in Ocala.

The river has alligators, turtles and many kinds of fish, and the park has a large population of limpkins; it is on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. In the uplands, look for deer, wild turkeys, gopher tortoises and Sherman's fox squirrels.

Monkeys: wild rhesus macaques live along the Silver River. According to a University of Florida IFAS publication, a boat-tour operator known as Colonel Tooey released about six in the 1930s and about six more around 1948; there were about 190 in the park in fall 2015. They have tested positive for herpes B virus, so keep your distance, and don't feed them: Florida rule 68A-4.001 prohibits feeding wild monkeys. See the Silver Springs monkeys.

Manatees: don't count on them. The concessionaire lists manatees among the river's wildlife, but they are occasional, mostly winter visitors: a 2019 Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida release noted that several were seen using the Silver River in the winter of 2017-2018. Our manatees at Silver Springs page has more.

The Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center is at the camping entrance and is run by Marion County Public Schools. It is open to the public on Saturdays, Sundays and some holidays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; admission is $2, and children under 6 get in free. Its galleries cover the area's geology, fossils, archaeology and history. Next door, the pioneer village of 19th-century Cracker buildings is open on weekends.

Coming up at the park: the Spellbound Silver Festival and Ball on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., a Halloween-season night festival around the headsprings with a nighttime spider walk, plus a 21+ Fantasy Ball in the Paradise Ballroom; Florida State Parks lists the fee as $10 per person. The park's events calendar also listed ranger-led programs on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 2 to 3 p.m. (ask at the ticket booth for the meeting spot) and a ranger- or volunteer-led "Walk on the Wild Side" on Wednesday mornings from 10 to 11 a.m. in late October 2026.

At the main entrance, the Spring Side Café is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the gift shop in the Lundy Town Center from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., per the park's amenities page. Coolers and picnics are welcome; alcohol isn't allowed in the park.

The park is open every day of the year. Weekends and holidays are the busiest, and the main kayak launch gets crowded then. Winter gives you the best (still small) chance of a manatee; summer brings heat and biting insects on the trails.