Plenty of outdoor activities keep campers and day-use visitors busy, including swimming in the springs, fishing, snorkeling, hiking and boating. Salt Springs Recreation Area is one the recreational jewels of the Ocala National Forest, with a spectacular natural mineral spring that gives the area its name. Just something to think about as you’re relaxing in the cool clean waters of Silver Glen State Park.Camping at Salt Springs & visiting Silver Glen Springs with motorboat From the few mound sites not removed much has been learned about the Timucua Indians and their predecessors. Sadly most of the mound was mined away in the 1930’s and 40’s for road building material. The other, a “U” shaped mound surrounding the spring boil, is referred to as the “Amphitheater”. One early account described two mounds, one measured some 900 feet long, 600 feet wide and 25’ tall where the spring run enters Lake George. These mounds are believed to have been built or accumulated by Native Americans that once lived here. This was evidenced by several large shell mounds on land around the spring run. Archeologists have found artifacts dating back to pre-Columbian Native American habitation. It’s estimated Silver Glen Springs has been a popular swimming hole for the past 10,000 years or so. Swimming, snorkeling, canoeing are all permitted and there are even a few hiking trails to enjoy. The spring’s two vents produce an average 65 million gallons of water daily. ![]() You can actually see rainbows shine across the bottom when the sun hits the clear water just right. The Glen has the cleanest water of all the springs in Northwest Florida. Once anchored the emerald and turquoise waters of the springs are stunning and at a constant 72 degrees quite refreshing on a 93 degree Florida afternoon. If possible we recommend visiting during the week and avoiding weekends and holidays. We picked a weekday for our trip so finding a place to anchor in the middle of the run was no problem. There is a well marked channel forming a circular path in and out. Follow the green and red buoys on your port side to enter. Once we enter the run it’s idle speed the entire 3,300 feet to the spring boil. Keep a sharp eye on the shoreline and chances are you’ll see deer, turkeys and even some wild hogs.Ī heading of 320 degrees out of the “Cow Pen” put us right in the Silver Glen Spring Run. The only signs of civilization are the occasional channel marker. It’s roughly 20 miles or so of undeveloped, untouched Florida. One big reason we enjoy using this ramp is the boat ride is absent any slow speed zones till you hit Astor. Heading north the slow speed zone ends just around the first bend, about 700 yards or so. Parking can be an issue so getting an early start is recommended. While the boat ramps are steep, they’re in pretty good condition on a quiet cove just off the river so there’s no current to deal with. It’s a short 30 minute drive from the marina. Since we wanted to enjoy some time on the river sightseeing we decided to launch at Ed Stone Park just a few miles east of Deland on State Highway #44. ![]() You can watch the video of our day trip to St Johns River HERE! ![]() No better place to spend a hot Florida afternoon than a cool 1 st magnitude spring. While just being on the river makes for a great day, we picked Silver Glen State Park as our destination for a little swimming and snorkeling. This 311 mile river is just a short 20 mile trailer trip to the east of Mount Dora. Our Central Florida Boating Destinations article mentions a number of popular day cruise spots, one of them is the St.
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