Our Florida Springs Adventure-Part 2: Kelly Park/Rock Springs Run

Kevin and I made it to our second spring as part of our Florida Springs Adventure!

Address: 400 E Kelly Park RD
Apopka, FL 32712

Gate Pricing: “$3 per vehicle for 1-2 people, $5 per vehicle for 3-8 people, and $1 for additional person/walk-ins/motorcycles/bikes.”

Even though we’ve only been to two, this is actually my favorite spring we’ve been to so far. It’s very spacious and the current down the river is very relaxing.

We arrived right around 8:30 AM and there were only three family’s in the park pumping their inner tubes up, so finding a place to park and lay our towels out was an absolute breeze. Of course, just like the last spring we went to, when we showed up it was lightly sprinkling and I was freezing to death. If you remember from the last spring we went to, Wekiwa Springs, it was cold and rainy as well.

I would definitely recommend getting there no later than 10:30 AM. This is about the time we left, and as we were gathering our things, it was getting more and more crowded. On the plus side, due to us arriving at 8:30, we were the first people to float down the river!

Hours: Summer: 8 a.m.- 8 p.m.
Winter: 8 a.m.- 6 p.m.

Rock Springs Run is sort of like a natural lazy river and most people will be found floating down the river in an inner tube. On your way there you’re going to find a couple places that are renting out inner tubs as they DO NOT sell them in the park. If you have your own, great! Otherwise we stopped at Ron’s and picked up two inner tubes at $3 per tube. (Cheapest place we found.)

Ron’s Tubes

Keep in mind if you do decide to bring your own tubes, they have an adorable otter sign everywhere saying that your tube can’t be bigger than 5 feet in length. Also, these tubes that we rented barely fit in our tiny Honda. So unless you have an SUV type of vehicle, if a family of four were to pick up four tubes, I’m not so sure you could fit everybody all in.

We had to push the seats all the way up in order to get two giant inner tubes in our car. As you can see, this left Kevin feeling a bit cramped!

You can measure your tube next to the otter to make sure it’s smaller than 5 feet. They have a couple signs within the park.

Rock Springs Tube King will deliver tubes for parties or special occasions!

Like Wekiwa, there is a giant shallow “pool” area that you can float on your tube or splash around in. I considered it the half way point through the lazy river.

Panoramic view of the “pool like area.”

There are a couple of steps and ladders within this “pool” area.

“Pool” area. Also the half way point from the river current.

As you can see, it’s shallow in this area. However, keep in mind that Kevin is 6’2″.

We carried our tubes up to where the river area starts. Kevin didn’t actually think I would get in due to me already being cold, but I forced myself out of my jacket and into the water and I’m so glad that I did.

Walkway down to the river current entrance.

Stairway leading back up to the “wading” pool area.

This cave is where the spring water gets pumped from.

There is an average flow of 26,000 gallons of water being pumped out of the cave (pictured above) per minute and this is why Rock Springs Run stays at a constant temperature of 68 degrees. Brrrr.

The beginning of Rock Springs Run.

Start of the natural lazy river.

They have a couple of pavilions around that can be rented out for parties. Call the office for availability: (407) 254-1902. They also have tent and RV camping availability at this park. There’s an area for volleyball, a place to play horseshoes, and a full sized playground for the kids.

One of the pavilions.

Picnic areas.

Restrooms and snack bar area.

We left around 10:30 AM and it was starting to pack out fast. VERY fast. It went from this peaceful, relaxing float down a river to a loud park with kids running around. Still, very fun, just not as quiet and serene.

Now, are you ready for something fun?!

My husband, Kevin, (Otherwise known as the “The Blissful Mr.”) from here on out will be making guest appearances within my blog. Yippee!

Here are some of the observations and helpful tips that The Blissful Mr. came up with while we were in the park:

In the summer time by noon you can almost bet on it that the park will be at max capacity, so be sure to plan ahead and be there very early. Psssst….they only let 280 cars in at a time.
Bring goggles or a snorkel! I always forget ours, and due to the crystal clear spring, it would be quite the sight to see underwater.
If you plan on staying out until the late afternoon, bring hats. The Blissful Mrs. loves to just float on tubes and I can foresee her getting hot if we ever stay past noon one of these days.
BUG SPRAY! Those pesky no-see-ums are out in full force. Watch out for the horseflies and mosquitoes as well. We both got bit a few times by the skeeters.
I recommend water shoes if you plan on actually getting in the water. There are rocks that I’ve stepped on a few times and it hurts!
We saw this couple that used bungee cords to tie their tubes together and I thought this was a great idea. It can get tiring to hold on to each other’s tubes for an extended period of time.

To learn more about this park click here: Kelly Park/Rock Springs Run

That’s all for now folks! 🙂 Join in on the conversation! Have you been here before? Have any tips?