Rainbow Springs Hiking and Kayaking

March 12 – 26, 2026                                        Most Recent Posts:
Rainbow Springs State Park         Yesterday Manatee – Today Monkeys
Dunnellon, Florida                        Manatee and More on the Silver River          

As most of you know I love the Florida Springs State Parks.  I often split my last month in Florida between Silver Springs and Rainbow Springs which are located fairly close together.

They are quite different.  Rainbow Springs has 1 trail at its campground.  Silver Springs has multiple Trails.  They spring runs are very different which I’ll explain later.

Since my main reason for coming to Silver springs is to kayak the spring run and hopefully see one of its residents in particular,  I don’t get much hiking in.  So if I go to kayak in the early morning I try to hike the one trail in the later afternoon and vice versa.

This is my site in the campground. 

This picture will give you a sense of the spacing of the sites.  Winnona is in the site farthest to the right.

For those of us with mirror and thus back-in challenges, this campground is great since as you can see the road is wide and there are not rocks or trees right on its edge.

These travelers were a few sites from me.  I loved that they travel with a little library.  Those who follow me know what a reader I am and that I always visit the library in any town I am staying near.   Now there is a library about 4 doors away.

The nature trail is “maybe” a mile loop and about 1/4 mile from the campground.  So if I hike it twice I can get 2.5 miles.  I’ve always thought a nature trail had informational signs along its way to educate you about the plants and habitat. This one has none.  I’m always disappointed in that.

But even with no information, it’s a nice trail to hike and seldom has anyone else on it.

No signs but at several spots just off the trail I recognized the entrance to a Gopher Tortoise burrow.

In years past the park has not started its tubing concession until April so I have never had tubers on the river when I was here.   This year they have changed their minds and even though it was in the 40’s in the morning when the tram brings the tubers up to put in at the campground,  there were always people on it.   Too cold for me.

March is spring break month so if I don’t time it right, the launch is quite busy.

If I had to compare the two spring runs, Silver River and Rainbow River, I would say Silver River is for nature and Rainbow is for people.

People have houses all along the far bank of the Rainbow..   Silver has none.

This is not a glass bottom boat from Silver springs it is a private dive transportation company which you see all day long dropping off divers and picking them up.

No diving or snorkeling or swimming in the Silver River.

People build houses on the Rainbow.  Some have Great Egrets in their yards.

Snorkelers here.

Many canoe racers on the Rainbow.

Many paddle boarders on the Rainbow.  They are also on the Silver.

Swimmers in the Rainbow, not in the Silver.

Power boats on both rivers though on neither are they allowed to go completely up to the head spring.  Fishermen on the Rainbow.  Fishing is illegal on the Silver.

Here is the point, as you approach the head spring, at which all the activity other than paddle boating stops.

This is the part of the river I like best.  It seems much more relaxing and is definitely less busy.

Boaters obviously are allowed up to the head spring or I wouldn’t be here.  These folks are coming back down as I’m going up.

Interesting kayak.

This swimming area has a life guard and is part of the head spring area which also has several trails.  Unfortunately there is no trail between the campground and the head springs as there is at Silver Springs so if you want to visit it you have to drive over.  But if you are camping your admission is free.

This is the top of the spring run.  A picnic area on the grounds  is just ahead of me.  Time to turn around.

If you don’t camp, there are many home rentals along the shore.  The sign on the left is on the left side bank of the right hand house.

Some folks bring floating lounge chairs with them. 

On one of my later in the day paddles, when I got the kayak out of the water, I saw this Great Blue Heron in the small campground swimming area right next to the boat launch.   I thought his coloring was stunning and he made a wonderful picture.

I sat on the swimmers’ bench very near to him and watched him for quite a long time as the sun went down.  As always he was patient and focused.  He seemed Buddha like.

I was very happy with this pizza I made using up the last of my anchovies.  I recorded it here so I would remember how delicious it was.   In real time, I have just returned from a Plant Strong retreat in Black Mountain North Carolina which I’ll do an entire post on soon. This will be my last anchovy pizza and I’m all in with that.

There were too many pictures from my two weeks at Rainbow Springs to put in one post so I’m dividing them into two.  My #1 reason for coming to Rainbow will be in my next post.

Yesterday Manatee - Today Monkeys

March 1-12, 2026                                                 Most Recent Posts:
Silver Springs State Park                        Manatee and More on the Silver River
Silver Springs, Florida                             Unexpected Trip From Myakka

My stay at Silver Springs in March was cut short by 3 days because of my unexpected hospital stay (see second link above right).   I’ve divided my time at Silver River into two posts and have tried not to overlap.  So if you are hoping to see manatee.  Use the top link on the right.

In addition to its beautiful river, Silver Springs State Park has a fair number of hiking trails accessible from the campground.   One day I took a combination of trails to walk from the campground up to the ranger’s station which is nearly a mile away.

The size of the pine cones always amazes me.

I have no idea who is pulling up the sand to make these but they are all over the trails which are covered with pine needles.

These juvenile long leaf pines will one day be towering pines like their parents.  I think they are so cute. Longleaf pines are highly fire-dependent and require regular, low-intensity surface fires every 2–7 years to survive and regenerate. Fire clears competing woody vegetation, reduces shade, and prepares the soil for seedlings. 

In my previous post (first link above on the right),  I showed most of the waterfowl that I saw and the manatee.   I saw those same types of birds and the manatee pretty much every day I was on the river.  So there won’t be any more pictures of them here.   But I only saw the monkeys on two occasions.

I will make some exceptions.  This gator just seemed so totally relaxed laying across this tree trunk with his head on another tree.  Not a very sort pillow.

One of the most relaxing places in my life.

I much prefer to see the Rhesus macaques monkeys from my kayak.  I have had some concerning encounters with them on land.   They are a non-native, invasive species introduced in the 1930s for tourism and have established a thriving, wild population.    I wonder what he’s thinking about as he scratches his head.

They travel in troops of 50 to 100, are native to Southeast Asia and are aggressive.  Believe me.   They are known to carry the Herpes B virus in their saliva and body fluids, posing a risk to humans.   But still the question most asked of me on the trails and on the water is “have you seen the monkeys”?

They are definitely fun to watch from a distance.

I’m guessing this is an elder.

I took a few short videos of the monkeys in the trees.  They are each less than a minute.  It is difficult to hold the camera still on a moving river.  Click the highlighted links to see either or both.The first one is an adult and a juvenile. 

I’m so sorry in the second one that I didn’t get the camera on in time to get more of him bouncing on that branch. He was just like a kid on a rocking horse.  Look quickly at the beginning and then see if you can follow him all the way to the end.  I tried.

Virtually every time I go by this spot on the river there is at least one Double-Crested Cormorant sitting on the logs.  Today there were 3.

They only have the blue mouths during breeding season.

Alligators definitely eat turtles.  Maybe the turtles  think there is safety in numbers.

I liked this shot in particular.  The last of the monkeys for this year.

Silver Springs has a number of events throughout the year.  I have attended the Knap In several times and have been to the SpringsFest before as well.  This year they were having a showing of the documentary Out of the Mist: A Silver River Story which I really wanted to see.  

So I hiked over from the campground to the head springs area of the park.  I started at my site which is at the bottom of the red line and went to the bridge over the river at the top of the red line.  A total of about 8 or so miles round trip.

If you rent kayaks from the park you will paddle down this section.

The documentary explores the history of Silver Springs State Park through the perspectives of its historic glass-bottom boat drivers. It covers the environmental, economic, and wildlife history of the Florida park.  It was really a beautiful film and one of the boat drivers who had captained for 50 years before retiring this year was in attendance.

I was too busy watching to get photos of the most beautiful parts.  This would be great to see on a big screen.

The film interviews several of the drivers about how things were different early on.

Several people in the film talked about how much they liked the separate park during the years of segregation and how sad they were when Paradise Park closed.  It had everything Silver Springs had and seemed more of a family sort of place.

I thought the faces of the drivers they interviewed were wonderful.

Since this film didn’t have popcorn, I treated myself to ice cream at the Springside Café.    They have food too.  As you can see, SpringFest was well attended.

Heading back to the trail I got one last shot of kayakers on the river.

After my last day on the river, the Kayak is docked and ready to be towed back up to the campground.  Back UP that long hill.

My last two weeks in Florida were spent at Rainbow Springs State Park.  Yes springs and kayaking are the things I love the most about Florida.  In addition to the warm winter weather of course.