Wekiwa Springs State Park near Orlando, Florida
Well having lived in the metro Orlando area for five years, I was surprised to learn about this park after moving back to the Tampa Bay area. I stumbled upon it somehow while looking for a weekend getaway in the RV and I’m certainly glad I did. It is easy to see why there are warnings that the park fills to capacity sometimes on the weekends in summertime.
This little gem of a park is actually quite big. Wekiwa Springs State Park is located in Apopka, Florida – now a suburb of Orlando. There is a great campground here and it is very natural – very “old Florida” feeling – by that I mean before expressways and chain stores and quite frankly a lot of people. There are two “loops” and the one we were in allowed pets since we travel with our two dogs.
We brought our bicycles along and went to the springs area which is really quite nice. There is a place you can rent various gear for snorkeling or canoeing and kayaking as well as sundries at the springs themselves. There are plenty of grassy areas to have a picnic here and people were in the 72F/22C degree water which was very clear and inviting. It was a relaxing “old Florida” feel to the springs area.
Our campsite was nicely wooded and one night we saw a family of deer grazing in the field behind the RV. The sites were nicely spaced and the bathhouses were clean. Our site was plenty big enough for our 30 foot RV and we enjoyed sitting outside though it wasn’t difficult to imagine it wouldn’t be too pleasant during particularly buggy times but we always travel equipped – in this case we really didn’t have many bugs (this was in March).
We took our bicycles to the trail head where there are also horse trails. It is called the Sand Lake Area. A lot of the cycling is on sandy soil making it a little more challenging. And sometimes the bike trail is shared with the horses – so you know what to expect along the route there! We ended up down a hiking trail and turned back due to the narrow path and wet trails. We saw people camping in tents along the way so if that is your thing there appears to be primitive camping available. Easy to get plenty of exercise here and if horseback riding is your thing this is nirvana.
All in all, this is a park well worth visiting for a weekend getaway if you live in Florida. If you are just visiting, it makes a great base for plenty of other activities in the metro Orlando area too. And of course it has excellent value. so happy discovering – see what you can explore soon.
How Do I Travel 
It’s kind of cool to see the picture of the spring from the top of the slope. It looks very familiar when I went there as a kid. I went camping once in Wekiwa and it was very relaxing. Great recommendation!
I’m sure it hasn’t changed much Art. Just did the drive from Key Largo to Long key and that has changed a lot since i last did it in the 80s lol
That… I can only imagine. The last time I drove down to Key West, I was shocked to find between Key Largo and Florida City that US 1 was being widened. That drive for me has so many memories.