Troy Spring State Park: Complete Visitor Guide (2026)
Category: Roam
-
Troy Spring is one of North Florida’s most distinctive springs. It is a 70-foot deep, first-magnitude spring basin with a sunken Civil War steamboat and short limestone swim-through. It is one of my favorites for freediving. We visited midday on in July of 2026 as the fourth stop on a spring-hopping day that started with…
-
While Troy and Little River are crowded, Ruth Springs still feels like a local secret. There’s no gift shop or gate, and the crowds are usually minimal. All that’s here is a short walk down to the Suwannee River and a swim in some of the quietest swimming water on this stretch of the river.…
-
Little River Springs is one of the most photogenic stops on the Suwannee River, where crystal-clear spring water meets the dark, tannin-stained river. It is a beautiful place to wade, take photos, let the kids explore, and watch two very different bodies of water collide. It is not, however, one of Florida’s best traditional swimming…
-
If you only do one tubing trip in Florida, make it the Ichetucknee. This state park is a National Natural Landmark fed by 8 major springs that combine to form six miles of clear, cool Ichetucknee River water. It is two parks in one: the South Entrance for tubing, and the North Entrance for swimming,…
-
Here’s the real math behind buying versus renting a boat—and how it changes for Florida hunters and anglers. When your use case is filling the freezer, floating the Santa Fe, and hunting Florida’s backwaters, your conclusion might be different than for standard recreation. Most of the rent vs. buy a boat content I see is…
-
There’s a certain type of American who has been to Disney World 3 times and Yellowstone zero. There’s another kind who drove to the Grand Canyon, took a picture of the South Rim, and left. And then there’s the parksmaxxer – someone who shows up at a unit of the National Park System, that nobody’s…
-
Crystal River Archaeological State Park preserves one of Florida’s most important Native American ceremonial sites, complete with ancient temple mounds, burial mounds, and one of the best river overlooks in Crystal River. We visited in July of 2026, here’s what we learned, including how to work it into a trip built around scalloping. Is Crystal…
-
Three Sisters Springs is one of Florida’s most beautiful natural attractions. Whether you want to swim in crystal-clear water during the summer or watch hundreds of manatees gather in winter, this Crystal River spring deserves a spot on your itinerary. We visited after a morning of scalloping in July 2026, and here’s everything we learned…
-
This is the perfect Crystal River cooldown after a morning catching scallops in the Gulf. We visited in July 2026, and our guide shares everything we experienced and learned. Quick Facts Overview Hunter Springs Park is a small, well-loved park tucked into downtown Crystal River. It is built around one of the 70 springs that…
-
Big Thicket National Preserve is a heavily forested, 113,000-acre National Park Site across nine land units and six water corridors. Scientists have called it “the biological crossroads of North America”. It covers where eastern hardwood forests, Gulf Coast wetlands, pine savannas, and prairie ecosystems converge, creating one of the most biologically diverse landscapes in North…
