Springs Near Lake City — Closest First

Distances are straight-line miles from Lake City — drive times vary.

North Florida · 16 mi

Ichetucknee Springs

The definitive Florida tubing run.

Family-FriendlyKayakingSnorkeling

$6 / vehicle★ 9.2

North Florida · 23 mi

Suwannee Springs

Historic sulphur springs and 19th-century ruins on the Suwannee.

Free EntryKayakingSwimming

Free★ 6.7

North Florida · 23 mi

Little River Springs

Cheap, uncrowded swimming with a serious cave system below.

Free EntryScuba DivingSnorkeling

~$3 / vehicle (county)★ 7.1

North Florida · 23 mi

Rum Island Spring

A small, free-spirited Santa Fe River swimming hole.

Family-FriendlyKayakingSnorkeling

~$3 / person (county)★ 7

North Florida · 24 mi

Royal Springs

A free, deep, rope-swing swimming hole.

Free EntrySnorkelingSwimming

Free★ 6.8

North Florida · 25 mi

Ginnie Springs

Cave diving and riverside camping.

CampingKayakingScuba Diving

~$25 / adult (seasonal)★ 8.9

North Florida · 25 mi

Troy Spring

Snorkeling over a sunken Civil War steamboat.

Scuba DivingSnorkelingSwimming

$5 / vehicle★ 7.7

North Florida · 25 mi

Gilchrist Blue Springs

The best backup to Ichetucknee — and a top-five spring in its own right.

CampingFamily-FriendlyKayaking

$6 / vehicle★ 8.7

North Florida · 25 mi

Poe Springs

An uncrowded alternative in the High Springs cluster.

Family-FriendlyKayakingSnorkeling

~$2 / person (county)★ 7.2

North Florida · 30 mi

Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park

One of the longest underwater cave systems in the country.

Scuba DivingSwimming

$4 / vehicle★ 7.6

North Florida · 35 mi

Lafayette Blue Springs

A natural limestone bridge over first-magnitude blue.

CampingFamily-FriendlySnorkeling

$5 / vehicle★ 7.5

North Florida · 40 mi

Hart Springs

A well-run county park on the Suwannee with real facilities.

CampingFamily-FriendlySnorkeling

~$5 / person (county)★ 7.3

North Florida · 41 mi

Madison Blue Spring

A perfect blue pool without the crowds.

Family-FriendlyScuba DivingSnorkeling

$5 / vehicle★ 8.1

North Florida · 42 mi

Otter Springs

A quiet RV-and-camping base near the Suwannee.

CampingFamily-FriendlyKayaking

~$5 / person (county)★ 6.9

North Florida · 45 mi

Fanning Springs

An easy roadside Suwannee swim.

Family-FriendlySnorkelingSwimming

$6 / vehicle★ 7.6

North Florida · 52 mi

Manatee Springs

A first-magnitude spring flowing straight into the Suwannee.

CampingKayakingManatees

$6 / vehicle★ 7.9

Central Florida · 55 mi

Devil's Den

The most otherworldly swim in Florida.

Scuba DivingSnorkeling

~$18 / person (reservation)★ 8.5

Central Florida · 56 mi

Blue Grotto Dive Resort

Florida's clearest training cavern — divers only.

Scuba DivingSnorkeling

~$30 / diver (verify)★ 7.8

Central Florida · 76 mi

Silver Springs

Glass-bottom boats and paddling over giant springs — no swimming.

Family-FriendlyKayaking

$2 / person (pedestrian)★ 8.3

Central Florida · 76 mi

Rainbow Springs

The easiest great spring day in Florida.

CampingFamily-FriendlyKayaking

$2 / person★ 8.6

Central Florida · 79 mi

Salt Springs

A warm, mineral-rich basin full of blue crabs and fish.

CampingFamily-FriendlyKayaking

~$8 / person (USFS)★ 7.8

Central Florida · 88 mi

Silver Glen Springs

A Caribbean-blue basin in the Ocala National Forest.

Family-FriendlyKayakingSnorkeling

~$8 / person (USFS day use)★ 7.9

Central Florida · 89 mi

Juniper Springs

A CCC-era swimming hole and Florida's most famous paddle run.

CampingKayakingSwimming

~$8 / person (USFS)★ 8.1

Gulf Coast · 90 mi

Three Sisters Springs

The only legal wild-manatee swim in America.

ManateesSnorkeling

Boardwalk ~$12 (tours separate)★ 8.8

Gulf Coast · 96 mi

Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

Guaranteed manatees, year-round, from an underwater observatory.

Family-FriendlyManatees

~$13 / adult★ 8.3

Panhandle · 99 mi

Wakulla Springs

Jungle-river boat tours and a historic lodge.

Family-FriendlyKayakingSwimming

$6 / vehicle★ 8.2

Central Florida · 100 mi

Alexander Springs

The easiest first-magnitude swim in the state.

CampingKayakingScuba Diving

~$8 / person (USFS)★ 8.2

Gulf Coast · 102 mi

Chassahowitzka Springs

The wildest spring-fed paddle on the Gulf Coast.

Free EntryKayakingManatees

Free (launch fees apply)★ 7.7

Central Florida · 106 mi

De Leon Springs

Swim first, then griddle your own pancakes.

Family-FriendlyKayakingSwimming

$6 / vehicle★ 7.8

Gulf Coast · 116 mi

Weeki Wachee Springs

Mermaids, a water park, and Florida's prettiest paddle.

Family-FriendlyKayakingSwimming

$13 / adult★ 8.4

Central Florida · 116 mi

Blue Spring State Park

Florida's greatest manatee spectacle.

Family-FriendlyKayakingManatees

$6 / vehicle★ 9

Central Florida · 120 mi

Kelly Park / Rock Springs

Orlando's hometown lazy river.

CampingFamily-FriendlySnorkeling

$5 / vehicle (county)★ 8.4

Central Florida · 124 mi

Wekiwa Springs

Orlando's classic swim-and-paddle state park.

CampingFamily-FriendlyKayaking

$6 / vehicle★ 8

Panhandle · 155 mi

Jackson Blue Spring

A first-magnitude spring feeding a five-mile spring-fed lake.

Family-FriendlyKayakingScuba Diving

~$5 / person (county)★ 7.5

Gulf Coast · 162 mi

Lithia Springs

The closest real spring to Tampa.

CampingFamily-FriendlySwimming

$2 / person (county)★ 7.4

Panhandle · 185 mi

Cypress Springs

The clearest water in the Panhandle — reachable only by paddle.

Free EntryKayakingSnorkeling

Free (water access only)★ 7.9

Panhandle · 197 mi

Morrison Springs

The best free spring in Florida.

Free EntryKayakingScuba Diving

Free★ 8

Panhandle · 199 mi

Ponce de Leon Springs

The Panhandle's coldest-feeling, prettiest quick stop.

Family-FriendlyFree EntrySnorkeling

$4 / vehicle★ 7.7

Panhandle · 201 mi

Vortex Spring

The Panhandle's dive resort — training, cavern, and camping.

CampingScuba DivingSnorkeling

~$20 / person (verify)★ 7.2

South Florida · 217 mi

Warm Mineral Springs

Florida's only warm spring — 85°F, not 72°F.

Swimming

~$20 / adult (verify)★ 7