The Silver River: Beautiful and endangered.
Early tourists to Florida were awed by Silver Springs, the source of the Silver River, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that this is such a spectacular spot.
And yet, its off-the-expressway location in the center of the state near Ocala means lots of Florida residents and visitors haven’t been here, even though this may be Florida’s most famous spring.
Some of Florida’s springs should have been preserved a hundred years ago as national parks – they’re that special. Perhaps they wouldn’t be so endangered today and they would have gained the appreciation they deserve. Silver Springs in particular is in danger right now.
You can still enjoy the Silver River, for the moment, in a large part because Florida’s state park system in the last decade has developed outstanding facilities at Silver River State Park. You should visit Silver River soon; its future may not be as bright as its past.
Silver River State Park, which occupies land along the river but not does not include the spring itself, offers visitors a variety of activities:
- 15 miles of lovely forest trails that can be walked or ridden on mountain bikes.
- Reasonably priced canoe and kayak rentals on the Silver River, which allow you to paddle to the spring head and enjoy pristine scenery and wildlife along the way. Land around the spring is part of a private commercial attraction, but those in canoes and kayaks are free to explore the waterway and the spring head.
- The best state-park cabins we’ve ever stayed in – for $110 a night, you get a fully equipped two-bedroom house with a huge screened in porch, a gas fireplace, surrounded by a mature forest.
- Beautiful tree-shaded sites for tents or RVs.
- A museum and environmental education center set in a village of historic Cracker buildings that were moved here to tell the story of Florida’s pioneers.
- Horseback riding on trails through a live-oak forest in the park.
In addition, Silver River State Park is a great base for exploring Ocala National Forest, particularly the opportunity to canoe on Juniper Spring, a half hour east, or the Ocklawaha, a half hour north. Staying here, you also could visit Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Cross Creek, a highlight of any trip to this region.
The History of Silver Springs
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| Vintage postcrad depicts one of Silver Springs famous glass bottom boats. |
The beauty of Silver Spring, one of the largest artesian springs in the world, has been appreciated for hundreds of years. The first glass-bottom boat tours started in 1878 – incredibly early by Florida standards.
In the 1930s, six of the original Tarzan movies, starring Johnny Weissmuller, were filmed on location at Silver Springs. In the late 50s and 60s, the clear water made this the perfect location to film more than a 100 episodes of “Sea Hunt,” starring Lloyd Bridges. “Creature from the Black Lagoon” was filmed here; so were scenes from movies ranging from “Rebel Without a Cause” to James Bond’s “Thunderball.”
From its earliest days, Silver Springs was a commercial attraction. In the 1950s, 800,000 people visited a year, according to the Silver Springs Nature and Theme Park, which currently operates the attraction at the spring.
Today, the theme park is still open, but crowds have dwindled and its managers have approached the state to take over management of the spring. Since 1993, the Florida park system has owned the land around the spring and leased it to a series of companies operating boat tours and a water park. A hearing was held on the topic in December 2012, where dozens of speakers supported adding the spring land to the adjoining Silver River State Park. A decision is expected by spring.
The largest threat to Silver Springs is pollution from agricultural runoff and the loss of water flow from the underground aquifer. Nitrate pollution has caused algae to grow, reducing water clarity, and the spring’s water flow has dropped by a third over the last 10 years.
This New York Times article describes the biggest current threat: The nearby Adena Springs cattle ranch and slaughterhouse development has applied for a permit to use 5.3 million gallons of water a day. (The original proposal was for 25 million gallons a day.) Environmentalists have rallied to oppose the development. A decision on the permit has not been made. Here’s a recent update.
With or without the slaughterhouse, this spring and river are not as healthy as they should be, according to a recent investigation by the Orlando Sentinel into the state of Florida’s rivers.
Still, it is stunning place, and well worth visiting — before it is too late.
