My first visit to Silver Springs was only a few months before, with my dad, for Father’s Day. I was passing by the park on my way to another one & was planning to stop in for the moment to check it off my list. When I pulled up to the ranger’s station I noticed that the entrance was very different than the one I went to on my first visit, so I was intrigued right off the bat.
I parked and got Casey out of the car and we took a walk around what looked like an old Florida Cracker village. Lots of cabins, a smokehouse and an outhouse; pretty cool! During the week the grounds are used for some type of school and closed to the public so I’m happy we were there on a Saturday. My tummy was talking to me so I decided to have lunch under a huge oak tree. While I was eating I thought best to explore the new side of the park I was on.
Weeks before this trip, I found out that Casey was not the best hiker so I chose the trail that was the shortest distance. It led us to the Silver River. While I took the time to soak in the beauty of nature, Casey took the time to rest up for our walk back. We were heading to my car when we got distracted & took a little detour at the end to hangout with a Gopher tortoise. I talked to it and got as close as it would let me. When its mouth started moving in a chomping fashion I quickly decided our visit was complete. The hidden side of Silver Springs did not disappoint. It was a pretty amazing experience.
Before you visit, make sure you check out the parks website for all of the up-to-date park information: https://www.floridastateparks.org/silversprings
