Florida’s state parks and springs: the back story

Away from the theme parks and the resort pools, Florida keeps a quieter world in its state parks: freshwater lakes behind the dunes of 30A, springs where manatees gather in winter, a wild river east of Sarasota and an old fort on Amelia Island. Most open from 8am to sunset every day, and several now ask you to book your entry, so plan a little.

Coastal dune lakes

On Scenic Highway 30A, Grayton Beach, Topsail Hill Preserve and Deer Lake state parks protect coastal dune lakes, freshwater lakes that sit just behind the beach. Florida State Parks says these lakes are found in only four countries in the world, and in only two US states, Florida and Oregon. Paddle Western Lake at Grayton Beach for the best view of one.

The springs

Wekiwa Springs, minutes from downtown Orlando, has drawn visitors since the mid-19th century and is Orange County’s longest-running tourist attraction. At Blue Spring on the St. Johns River, where the water is 72 degrees, manatees shelter in the spring run each winter: 14 were counted in 1970, and a record 729 in 2023.

Rivers and wild country

Myakka River State Park, east of Sarasota, covers 58 square miles of wetland, prairie and pine, and its river was the first in Florida to be named a state wild and scenic river. Paddle past alligators and turtles, or ride the back roads by bike. Near Tampa, Honeymoon Island keeps one of the last virgin slash pine forests, and Caladesi Island next door is reached only by ferry.

Forts and history

Fort Clinch, at the north tip of Amelia Island, was of strategic importance in the Civil War, and its cannons still point across the St. Marys River into Georgia; on the first weekend of every month a soldier garrison fires them. At St. Andrews State Park, a sailor shipwrecked in a 1929 hurricane lived in his boat for 25 years, remembered as “Teddy the Hermit”.

In 1970 researchers counted 14 manatees at Blue Spring. In 2023 the count reached 729 (Florida State Parks).

Planning your visit

Wekiwa Springs, Blue Spring and Henderson Beach now need a day-use reservation, and Grayton Beach and Deer Lake can close for a few hours when they fill up. Arrive early, carry cash for honour boxes and water for hot days, and check each park’s page on floridastateparks.org before you drive.

Our advice: pair a theme-park week with one spring morning, at Wekiwa or Blue Spring, and a beach day in a state park on the coast.