Both are close-to-Orlando springs, but they solve different problems. Wekiwa Springs is the better all-day destination — a broad, easy swimming basin twenty minutes from downtown, with the Wekiva River paddling trail starting right at the spring and a genuinely wild river home to otters, deer, and more black bears than you’d expect this close to a city. Kelly Park’s Rock Springs is the better lazy-river tubing trip: a gentle three-quarter-mile run perfect for cheap tubes and kids, thirty minutes out — but everyone in Orlando knows it, and capacity closures before 10am are routine on summer weekends.
Pick Wekiwa if: you want to paddle and see wildlife over a full day. Pick Rock Springs if: you want a short, easy tube float with the kids and can get there at opening.
They sit about 4 miles apart, which makes doing both in one trip realistic. Here is how they actually differ.
| Wekiwa Springs | Kelly Park / Rock Springs | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 8 / 10 | 8.4 / 10 |
| Entry fee | $6 / vehicle | $3 (1-2 people) / $5 (3-8 people) per vehicle (verified) |
| Hours | 8am – sunset | 8am-8pm summer, 8am-6pm winter |
| Magnitude | 2nd magnitude | 2nd magnitude |
| Nearest town | Apopka | Apopka |
| Best for | Orlando's classic swim-and-paddle state park | Orlando's hometown lazy river |
| Good for | Camping, Family-Friendly, Kayaking, Swimming | Camping, Family-Friendly, Snorkeling, Swimming, Tubing |
| When to go | Weekday mornings. Summer weekends hit capacity by late morning and the park closes its gates. | Weekday mornings, hands down — this is one of the most capacity-constrained springs on the list, and summer weekends routinely see cars lined up before the gate opens. If a weekend is your only option, arrive right at opening. |
| Current conditions | Open · Day-use reservation REQUIRED since Sept 2025 · light campground construction possible (bathhouse unaffected, business-hours only) | Open · earliest-filling park in Central Florida on weekends |
Our honest verdict
Choose Wekiwa for the bigger wilderness experience — 7,000 acres, black bears, deer, and even canoe-in primitive campsites along Rock Springs Run, all 25 minutes from Orlando. Choose Kelly Park for a simpler, shorter trip: a 3/4-mile tube run that's easy to repeat, cheaper entry ($3-5 vs. Wekiwa's $6), and a smaller, more manageable park for a half-day visit. Both fill to capacity fast on summer weekends — Wekiwa by around 10am — so this is genuinely an arrive-early pair either way, and many locals treat one as backup for the other.
Capacity-closure timing and campsite details verified via Florida State Parks and Orange County listings.
Wekiwa Springs
Wekiwa is metro Orlando's original spring: a broad, easy swimming basin ringed by lawn and forest, twenty minutes from downtown, with the Wekiva River paddling trail starting right at the spring. It trades the wow-factor clarity of the North Florida springs for convenience and a genuinely…
Local tip: Paddle downstream to Wekiva Island for lunch and loop back. Swim early; the basin gets lively by noon. On the bear warning: sightings in the campground area are genuinely reported often enough to take seriously, not just a sign posted for legal cover. Store all food in your car or the provided lockers, never in a tent, and don't leave a cooler out overnight even for a quick trip to the bathroom.
Full guide, fees & map →Kelly Park / Rock Springs
Rock Springs pours out of a rock face at the top of Kelly Park and runs a gentle three-quarter-mile lazy river perfect for cheap tubes and kids — the closest genuinely great spring run to Orlando, 30 minutes from downtown. Because it is close, cheap, and…
Local tip: Get there early, genuinely early — multiple families describe lining up outside the gate before opening on summer weekends, and the park reaches capacity fast once it does open. There's a capacity hotline you can call ahead to check current status before making the drive, which is worth doing if you're coming any real distance. Water shoes aren't optional here — the spring floor is rocky, and more than a few reviewers learned that the hard way. Bring a waterproof bag for phones and snacks if you're floating the run, and bug spray if you plan to walk any of the nature trails afterward. One small joy worth mentioning: deer sometimes come down to drink at the water's edge while people float by, close enough that kids get genuinely excited about it.
Full guide, fees & map →