The 9 Best Springs in Florida for Swimming and Manatees

1. Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River

Best for: swimming with wild manatees | Water: 72 degrees | Region: North Florida | Season: November-March | Access: guided in-water tour

Crystal River on the Gulf Nature Coast is the only place in the country where you can legally swim and snorkel with wild manatees, and they gather by the hundreds in the 72-degree spring water at Three Sisters through the winter. Bird's Underwater and other local operators run guided in-water tours from roughly November through March.

It is about 90 minutes north of Tampa in North Florida. Winter mornings are peak, so book early and expect crowds on cold weekends when the manatees concentrate.

Three Sisters sits inside a national wildlife refuge, so the water stays calm and shallow, which suits first-time snorkelers. Book the early boat with the Bird's Underwater Manatee Dive Center to reach the spring before the day-trip crowds, and pack a wetsuit, since 72 degrees feels cold after an hour in the water.

2. Silver Springs, Ocala

Best for: glass-bottom boats | Water: 72 degrees | Region: Central Florida | Feature: wild monkeys | Boat tour: about $15 adults

Silver Springs near Ocala is one of the largest artesian spring formations in the world, famous for the glass-bottom boats that have run over its clear water for more than a century. You will likely spot the resident wild rhesus monkeys along the banks.

Silver Springs State Park handles the boats and kayak rentals, about 90 minutes from Orlando in Central Florida. Swimming is not allowed at the main spring, so come for the boats and paddling, not a swim.

3. Wekiwa Springs State Park, Apopka

Best for: an easy day from Orlando | Water: 72 degrees | Region: Central Florida | Fee: $6 per vehicle | Draw: swim, paddle, hike

Wekiwa Springs sits just 20 minutes north of Orlando, which makes it the easiest spring escape from the theme parks. You can swim in the spring pool, rent canoes and kayaks to paddle the Wekiva River, and watch for turtles and the odd alligator in the surrounding runs.

It fills fast on summer weekends and can hit capacity by late morning, so arrive early. Pair it with a park day: see the best theme parks in Florida for the Orlando side.

4. Blue Spring State Park, Orange City

Best for: winter manatee viewing | Water: 72 degrees | Region: Central Florida | Fee: $6 per vehicle | Season: cold snaps, Nov-March

Blue Spring is a designated manatee refuge, and on cold winter mornings hundreds of them crowd into the 72-degree run off the St. Johns River. When the manatees are in, swimming closes, and you watch from the boardwalk instead, which is the point of a winter visit.

In warm months you can swim, snorkel, and tube the spring run. It is about 45 minutes north of Orlando, an easy add to a Central Florida trip.

5. Ichetucknee Springs State Park, Fort White

Best for: tubing the spring run | Water: 72 degrees | Region: North Florida | Fee: $6 per vehicle | Note: summer tube capacity limits

Ichetucknee is the classic Florida tubing river: you float the clear spring-fed run under a canopy of trees for a couple of hours, with a tram to shuttle you back. It is a summer institution, so the park caps tube numbers and often fills by mid-morning on weekends.

It sits in North Florida between Gainesville and Lake City. Bring water shoes and expect a cold-water shock going in, even in August. The south entrance puts you on the longer float, while the north entrance launches just below the main head spring for a shorter run.

6. Rainbow Springs State Park, Dunnellon

Best for: clear-water swimming and paddling | Water: 72 degrees | Region: North Florida | Fee: $2 per person | Draw: Rainbow River

Rainbow Springs feeds the clear, aquamarine Rainbow River, and the state park has a swimming area, waterfalls (built long ago but pretty), and one of the best paddling runs in the state. Rent a kayak or tube and drift the spring-fed river past turtles and fish.

It is near Dunnellon, west of Ocala, about 90 minutes from either Orlando or Tampa. Quieter than Silver Springs a short drive away.

7. Juniper Springs, Ocala National Forest

Best for: a forest swim | Water: 72 degrees | Region: Central Florida | Fee: about $11 per person | Draw: historic mill, canoe run

Deep in the Ocala National Forest, Juniper Springs is a 1930s-built swimming hole with an old mill house and one of the most scenic canoe runs in Florida, a narrow, twisting seven-mile paddle. Silver Glen Springs nearby adds another swimming option in the same forest, with a large, deep bowl that draws boaters on summer weekends.

This is the wilder, less-developed spring experience, about an hour from Ocala. Cell service is thin, so download directions before you go.

8. Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, Spring Hill

Best for: kids and the mermaid show | Water: 72 degrees | Region: North Florida | Fee: about $13 adults | Draw: mermaid theater, Buccaneer Bay

Weeki Wachee has run its underwater mermaid shows since 1947, and the state park pairs the theater with the Buccaneer Bay water park and kayak trips down the spring-fed Weeki Wachee River. It is a family favorite about an hour north of Tampa.

Summer capacity fills early, and the river paddle is popular enough that kayak launches sell out, so reserve ahead. An easy pairing with the Gulf beaches on the Nature Coast.

9. Devil's Den and Ginnie Springs, Gilchrist and Levy Counties

Best for: snorkeling and diving | Water: 72 degrees | Region: North Florida | Fee: Devil's Den from about $18 | Draw: underground cavern, cave diving

Devil's Den is a spring inside an underground cavern reached by a stairway through the rock, a prehistoric-feeling snorkel and dive site near Williston. Nearby Ginnie Springs on the Santa Fe River is a longtime scuba and cave-diving hub with clear water and a party-friendly campground.

Both sit in North Florida near Gainesville. Note that Florida's springs cluster in the north and center of the state, not out in the Panhandle, so plan your base accordingly. For a place to stay, see the hotels and resorts directory, and for the wild coast beyond the springs, compare the best national parks in Florida.