Beautiful Clear Water and Glass Bottom Boat Ride at Silver Springs State Park in Florida

I was driving from the Cincinnati area to Tampa with my three kids and my teenage sister. I have more vacation time than my husband and he insisted that we shouldn’t stay at home just because he couldn’t go with us. Since I was driving by myself and we were traveling with a toddler, I planned for three days to make the trip. My older two girls are great travelers. We weren’t sure how my sister or Octavia, who just turned two, were going to do. It turned out that they all did amazing so we had enough time to spend a day at Silver Springs State Park before finishing our drive to Tampa. I like to drive for a while in the morning, stop for a good leg stretch in the afternoon, and then finish driving in the evening with worn out kids.

This turned out to be one of my favorite side trips! This place is so incredibly beautiful. We found a post online and it almost didn’t look real. I set the GPS when we got close to the highway exit. We ended up so lost. The GPS drove us to a dirt parking area at the start of a path. It was definitely not the right area. I looked at the map and found where I thought we were supposed to go. I had Ivy give me directions to get there. We made it to the right vicinity. The parking lot was huge and we had no trouble finding a spot. There is a huge sign and a bridge with trees growing through it as you walk in. You pass a fountain before heading to the ticket building.

We were amazed by how beautiful this place was from the moment we walked in. We started with the 30 minute glass bottom boat ride. There is a covered area with fans to wait for the next boat. We were so excited! It was really hot and the boat was even hotter. We were fine but just something to keep in mind if you are planning a trip.

The boats are bench seats around the glass bottomed center. The water is so clear that you can see all the way to the bottom. You can watch the fish swim past and see the plants growing underwater. They have filmed many movies here including The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Tarzan. There are statues on the bottom from one of them.

After the boat ride, we went for a walk along the path to see the “Good Luck” palm tree and see more of the grounds. There were rocking chairs overlooking the water, huge Aloe plants, breathtaking old trees, a small play area, and a huge snake. I’m not a snake fan so everybody in the area knew about it from my screaming.

Many years ago one of the owners set up an attraction that involved an island of Rhesus monkeys. He didn’t realize that they are good swimmers and they got off the island. They are not known for being nice so keep an eye and ear out for them. We thought we heard them on one of the paths and turned around. Better safe than sorry, especially with small children.

We found a drink vending machine along the path and were very pleased. It was so hot! There were also restaurants and an ice cream place near where the boats launch. We had ate just before visiting so we didn’t eat here. We did stop there for water. There is a little museum. It includes one of the Creature from the Black Lagoon costumes.

There is another area to walk on the other side of the water. There are raised wooden walkways over the water. It looks like it normally makes a loop but part of this area was closed when we were there. The views of the water on this side are the best. The picture above of the amazing palm tree was taken here. This may have been one of the prettiest places I have ever been. Do yourself a favor and set aside a few hours to visit the next time you are driving by. It is the perfect roadside stop attraction. The kids were so tired by the time we were done that they fell asleep in the car.

Price was $11 for adults, $10 for the kids 6-12, 5 and under are free.