Rainbow Springs 1/24/24
Our 3rd outing took us to Rainbow Springs on Wednesday the 24th. Located in Dunnellon, it was about 41 miles SW of camp.
In doing a little research, I discovered Rainbow has a vibrant history dating back to the 1930’s with special “submarine boats” featuring underwater stairs and, of course, mermaids and a host of other entertainment which enabled it to compete with Silver Springs and other hot spots. Definitely Party Central back in the Day! Unfortunately all that faded in the 70’s with the rise of Disney World and other growing entertainment options to the point where all private operations completely shut down for years. Finally it was purchased by the State in 1990 and totally rehabbed into the upscale, elegant operation it is today with expansive gardens and a spectacular swimming hole in the upper spring area. What they don’t tell you in the ads is that it’s a nasty 1/4 mile carry down to the put-in. Ugh! That was killer, but once you finally get down there, it’s a nice P/I and you are instantly rewarded by the magnificent spring. It’s rated by many as the most beautiful in Florida.
The roughly 5 mile run was comparable in many ways to Silver Springs and really outstanding. Although we probably saw some fewer animals than on Silver, the water was gorgeous. Truly a wonderfully peaceful and enjoyable float.
Note the “Sheep Cloud” photo about halfway through this collection. It foretells of a major weather change within the next 48 hours! Fortunately, it held off until Thursday night when the rains came in force, but we were so lucky to have 4 straight days of beautiful, spring-like weather!
The final couple group pics at the take-out show how happy we were!
General Info:
-Highly trafficked during summer weekends. We were lucky to hit it when we did.
-The large, buoyed swimming and snorkeling area reaches a depth of 18 feet.
-Magnitude 1 producing 400-600 million gallons per day. 4th largest spring in Florida.
-Awesome place. Now all they need is golf cart kayak trailers! Haha…
