Great communication and beautiful river! Safety is #1. The owner Dawn is very informative!read more

Best river I've ever kayaked, gorgeous springs and beaches. Untouched nature at it finest. Thanks…read moreto the crew who shuttled us around, yall are awesome! I'll be back very soon.

We went on an airboat tour today and it was perfect. We had my almost 5 year old with us. So much…read morecare and concern went into making sure he was safe. We saw lots of alligators and learned about the area. Couldn't recommend this enough.

We found this place while driving from Destin to St. Augustine. Such a hidden gem! We had a group…read moreof 7 and did the airboat tour. The owner was very kind and got the boat gassed up and in the water for us on short notice. Along the river route he told us the about the history of area, pointed out many gators and showed us where the springs flowed. Highly recommend this place for a canoe trip/ airboat tour.

Wow!! Small park. Big Fun!! If you are in the White Springs area you have to check this place out…read more About an hour and a half west and north of Jacksonville. Just a 1.5 mile trail. 3 miles in all. The scenery is amazing. Beautiful views of the historic Suwannee River all along the trail. Hike ends at the majestic Big Shoals. Your experience will depend on the water level of the river, but ours was pretty impressive. Park is pristine. Trails are well maintained and easily accessible. We went in the middle of the week and were the only people there. It's really hot in the summer,so make sure you have water available. Don't miss the bat house at the very beginning of the trail. If the bats hear your voice they will start moving around and making noise. Great old Florida experience.

Great park and you pretty much have it all to yourself. Nice swimming area with a place to put in…read morekayaks and canoes. Several trails of reasonable distance if you are into hiking. Slightly off the beaten path past White Springs, but if you missed it in my opening statement, it is a nice facility, well maintained, and you will probably be the only human there.

Nice place to float down the river. Clear, beautiful water. Easy hiking trails. A great place for…read morefamilies.

Amazing adventure sliding along the river in a doughnut except your bottom in the water and I was…read morescared of alligators that was also scared of me))) anyways great experience definitely worth driving and we will be back. The only thing is not mentioned on the website you can't swim here it's in the other direction but again you can stop in the middle of the slide and dip in to cool off.

Royal Springs is exceedingly pretty as long as it's not flooded out--which can happen with heavy…read moreseasonal rainfall and the Suwannee River creeping into the spring. When that happens, it becomes murky and not much fun--if even safe for swimming. But when clear, it's very beautiful and there's a dock to jump off into the spring which is always fun. In the warmer months on sunny days this spring can get very crowded and a bit rowdy too: it's not a State Park but a county park (I think, maybe in conjunction with the Water Management District) so it's not as sedate as a State Park, either. Expect a lot of teens and a party atmosphere but that's really part of the fun. If you've ever sought out an "ol' swimmin' hole", this really IS it--but when in its best shape. On several visits the water was too murky from the river getting up high to swim or dive in, though.

On our second day of glamping, January 25th, we were looking at a few things to do and settled on…read moregoing to the Royal Springs watering hole and diving platform. With temperatures around 67F as the high today, we got into shirts swimsuits n towels and piled into the vanmobile for a short drive over from our AirBnB (Margaritaville). Of course we have been having so much fun with lows 40s n 50s, so why not give a dip a try! LOL. Now I dare not jump off the diving platform due to ankle healing, but did follow a stairwell trail down the opposite side to the shallow entry into the water. Tested the water first was about 70 degrees ish...definitely warmer relatively speaking..lol, as the surround air was cooler. Oh and being much dryer air here than in Miami, I was surprised how easily I acclimated to the colder temperatures! We stayed awhile in this watering hole, gorgeous clear water colors, fun watching the shenanigans of my two friends up on the platform psyching each other out while trying to run n jump at the same time only to abort at last second. Eventually they went in. As for me, with water shoes put on, had made way carefully through the shallow are over slippery shallow area to the drop off point into deeper water, staring down and seeing fish swim underneath. Some of us went in, some stayed outside, hanging here awhile and treading water to stay somewhat warm. It was therapudic with the crisp water, the the surround woods, calmness. It was nice! Eventually the cold gets to you as the sun further descends around 4pm, so I got out dried off and warmed up. Not only is there a watering hole here, but after drying off warming up, I made my way down another path to a gentle babbling brook glistening in the sun to which I can see the trail of water coming from the Suwanee river! I also am able to briefly see a jet skier quickly pass back and forth. Later on learned there is a boat ramp as we walked about. This another perk of glamping / living nearby here! Having enough of this outing, we headed back to our AirBnb where I took a HOT shower to warm up my core :D

Had an amazing day on the water. We rented a tandem kayak from Jesse and were so pleased. The m…read morerental included drop off and pick up directly at the push off spot. We saw so many animals and had beautiful weather. Highly recommend Jesse and his company!

Could use tap to pay which is always nice. Easy and quick tandem kayak drop off and pick up. All…read morethe safety basics required. The location is right next to the park gate. Loads of nature to see! Gators, turtles, cranes, like 3 types of heron, tons of different fish and vegetation that aquarium nerds will love to see. Boaters are a nuisance so I would not rent a paddle board unless you're really good at it.

Steinhatchee Outdoor Adventures is a wonderful place to rent kayaks! Amber and "Coletrain"were…read moreextremely helpful in getting us to our drop off point and picked us up promptly. Their store is so cute and their boiled peanuts are delicious! Our group of 6 ladies highly recommend this place!

Had a great time kayaking with Lars, yes like Mars but with an L…read more I was apprehensive at first as to how it was going to go since I have a very limited experience with kayaking. A few times in the past two decades with a few friends who knew what they were doing. It was going to be 4 hours or so on the river. The weather was beautiful and it was so wonderful to soak in all the greens surrounding us. Quite a few herons, osprey, and some kind of warbler. Very nice distance to drive from Gainesville and everyone in there kayak trip today was from Gainesville and they were all very nice. The drive to kayak destination and back in itself was a nice trip with change of scenery and getting out of town on a weekend to avoid the hussles and bussles of every weekend stuff with groceries and errands. Some people saw some alligators and were trying to point them out hiding but we didn't see any on the same trip! We are told that they don't bother people much in general:) When I expreeesed the concern about not being able to keep up with all other kayakers, my husband said that he would leave me behind and if an alligator has not gotten to me on the way back, he will bring me back home if I fall behind. Yes, he is the perfect picture of support!!!! Lars is very laid back and knowledgeable and easy to talk to and we learned a lot during this trip and would love to come back for more. It was such a fun great nature trip!!!!!

The place is long gone and shut down, he was a nice person , then the guy got caught up with the…read morepeople causing overtourism on our river which has contributed to the decline of the river and the area, so good luck with the one guy.

One of our top 5 favorite springs to visit, perfect for the family and great spot to visit when you…read moretrying to cool down from the sun. You can rent kayaks here and go down the Santa Fe. Lots of parking but sometimes can reach capacity on the weekends. No inflatable floats in the spring is kind of lame but you can bring noodles.

This is a small and very accessible park that has one swimming hole open currently. It was quite…read morewarm the day we were there and don't was pretty crowded. Water is a bit chilly but you get used to it. The blue hole (spring source) is about 20-25 feet down - a pretty easy snorkel. Not a lot of current. Shallow areas are good for kids and there is kayak/canoe rentals to paddle downstream to the Santa Fe River. Bathrooms were a bit disgusting. Smelled of raw sewage. A good place to spend a few hours.

Great little spot. Tons of space to have a picnic. Looks to be a hot spot during the summer…read more There's a volleyball net, restrooms & trash cans placed throughout. Even little grills To cook out. We came after it poured down. Not the most ideal LoL it made for a mosquito haven. We went on the short nature trail but water had flooded a lot of the areas to look down at the water. Park ranger on duty at all times during business hours. Glad we came.

Absolutely loved our stop at what was voted the best swimming hole in the U.S by USA Today! We came…read morehere late Sunday morning. There were already a good amount of people and the parking lot was almost full, but there was still plenty of space for people in the springs. There isn't a lot of space to put your belongings as there aren't really any large open spaces, but people pretty much just put their stuff where they can. You can either enter the springs via some stairs that take you right to the deep portion, or you can walk around the springs and enter at a shallower section. If you do go in at the shallower section, be aware that there's quite a strong current that can be difficult to fight against to get into the deep area. I would also recommend chacos or sandals of some kind as there are a lot of rocks in the shallower end that can be very slippery. The water is VERY cold, so be prepared for that, but know that it will also feel amazing afterward and soak any body aches/pains away. The springs are one of the most beautiful swimming areas I've seen--so much beautiful nature surrounding it. If I could go there WITHOUT the loud crowds of people, it would be the most absolutely perfect spot to relax and spend a day. Even with that it was fantastic and I would 100% return.