Ocala National Forest Springs: A 1930s Mill House and a Parking Spot You Now Reserve

The Ocala National Forest holds the densest cluster of swimmable springs in Florida, and the way you visit them changed recently. Two of the three busiest now require a vehicle reservation on summer weekends. Here is what is actually there and what it now takes to get in.

Juniper Springs

The Civilian Conservation Corps built this recreation area in the 1930s, and the mill house they put up still stands. It now works as an interpretive center explaining how the swimming area and campground were built and how the mill once generated electricity for the campground. Juniper Run, the narrow waterway below it, threads under old-growth canopy and is one of the more demanding paddles in the state, less a float than a steering exercise. Hours run seasonally through a concessionaire, and the boardwalk area has been closed for renovation, so check before you go.

Alexander Springs

A first-magnitude spring holding 72 degrees year round, with a broad sandy basin that stays shallow for a long way out before sloping to about 25 feet at the head. That shape is why families and first-time snorkelers end up here and why divers can still find something to do. The Timucuan Trail runs under a mile with boardwalk sections and two observation decks over the run. Alligators turn up in the basin, which the Forest Service says plainly and visitors mostly take in stride. Gates close when the parking fills.

Silver Glen Springs

A first-magnitude spring pushing roughly 65 million gallons a day into Lake George, and the most striking color of the three. Two short trails leave the swimming area: the Spring Boils Trail, about half a mile round trip on boardwalk over the sand boils, and the Lake George Trail at 2.3 miles round trip. The middens here are thick with fossilized snail shells and are a genuine archaeological site, which is why sections are fenced.

The Reservation System

Alexander Springs and Silver Glen Springs require a vehicle reservation every Saturday, Sunday and holiday from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. The reservation runs twenty dollars per vehicle on top of the per-person admission paid at the gate, and it buys guaranteed entry with in-and-out privileges rather than a timed slot. Passes go on sale online up to fourteen days ahead. Weekdays outside the listed holidays are still first come, first served.

If you want a forest spring without any of that, go on a Tuesday.