Surrounding one of Florida’s most picturesque first magnitude springs, Alexander Springs is a prime destination for a summer swim or snorkel
Best Paddling in Florida
Our top destinations for paddling in Florida, based on personal experience
Bairs Cove
A go-to location for spotting manatees at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Bairs Cove off Haulover Canal is also a launch point for bioluminescence
Big Shoals State Park
You hear them well before you can see them: a burble of water that rises to a roar as you approach the Big Shoals of the Suwannee River, Florida’s largest series of rapids complete with hydraulics and holes and Class III whitewater at certain times of year.
Blackwater River State Park
Blackwater River State Park is the gateway to thousands of acres of public lands stretching northward to the Alabama border.
Blue Spring State Park
Blue Spring State Park is well acclaimed for being the best place in Florida to see manatees in the wild, and we don’t mean a dozen or two. Think hundreds.
Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park
History and natural beauty meet under a dense oak canopy at the ruins of one of Florida’s oldest sugar mills
Faver-Dykes State Park
From Faver-Dykes State Park, you can easily explore the estuaries of the Matanzas River. Shaded by oak hammocks along Pellicer Creek, this peaceful park offers camping, hiking and biking trails, and some of the best paddling along this coast.
Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park
Cradling a collection of spectacular springs in a forested glen along the Santa Fe River, Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park is one of the finest places to experience springs up close
Grayton Beach State Park
Cradled in a cocoon of coastal dunes, Western Lake shimmers in the sun. At Grayton Beach State Park, it’s the focus of both passive and active recreation
Hillsborough River State Park
Water in motion: the Hillsborough rapids foam and froth over limestone boulders beneath grand cypress trees in Class II rapids. One of Florida’s oldest state parks, Hillsborough River State Park showcases this masterpiece of nature from an overlook and trail system built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Ichetucknee Springs State Park
A swimming hole as a work of natural art, the deep gash in the earth that is Ichetucknee Spring glows an unearthly robin’s-egg blue, cradled in a limestone bowl within a leafy glen
Indian Key Historic State Park
The original seat of Dade County, settled in 1836, lies in limestone ruins swaddled in a tropical forest within sight of US 1, but offshore. Indian Key takes a little planning to visit, but is well worth the journey.