1/19/2023 0 Comments Rainbow springs state park![]() ![]() Rainbow Springs became a popular tourist attraction until the mid 70s when the theme parks in Orlando were built. In the 1920s, a gift shop, glass bottom boats, tropical foliage, aviary, zoo, botanical gardens, and a monorail with leaf shaped gondolas were added. Man-made waterfalls were created at the headsprings of the Rainbow River from the piles of phosphate tailings due to the mining process of the phosphate mineral. In 1839, Pioneers settled the headsprings of the Rainbow Springs and began an agricultural community. Settled originally by the Timucuan, the people used the springs for their transportation, fishing, and clean drinking water. (The map below explains it better.Rainbow Springs State Park has a long and interesting history dating back 10,000 years ago. The Campground Entrance is located about 1.4 miles north of the Tuber Entrance on SW 180th Avenue Road. The Tuber Entrance is about 1.1 miles north of County Road 484 on SW 180th Avenue Road. The Head Spring Entrance is on the east side of US Highway 41 about three miles north of Dunellon. To get there: The Head Springs, Tuber Area and Campground each have separate entrances. However, tubers are not allowed to enter the river after 2:15 pm to ensure that they are able to complete their float and be out of the park by closing time. The Tuber Entrance to Rainbow Springs State Park is open from April through September, from 8 am to 5 pm. Rainbow Springs State Park is open for day use from 8 am until sunset every day of the year. Only registered campers are allowed to launch canoes or kayaks at the campground. The campground offers easy access to the river for fishing purposes and canoes are available for rent at the campground. There are three restroom facilities with showers, a playground, central RV dump station and a camp store. Eight of the campsites are universally accessible, as are some of the restrooms. The campground has 60 full-facility campsites (3 are pull-through RV only, 7 are walk-in tent only, 50 are for RV or tent). Rainbow Springs is a National Natural Landmark and the river is a designated Outstanding Florida Water and aquatic preserve. Along the way is a wonderland of moss-draped cypress, river otters and flocks of wading birds. Canoes and kayaks can be launched in the Head Springs Area but tubes are restricted to the Tuber Entrance area, 1.4 miles downstream.ĥ.6 miles long, the Rainbow River flows from the head springs to the Withlacoochee River at Dunellon. Swimming and snorkeling in the Head Springs Area is limited to the marked area on the water. Rainbow Springs State Park offers camping, kayaking, canoeing, picnicking, hiking/nature trail, swimming, snorkeling, tubing and wildlife watching. The old paths were built before the days of ADA guidelines and tend to be steep and rocky. Today, the three man-made waterfalls in the park have been rebuilt and the gardens around them replanted. In 1995, it was opened to the public as Rainbow Springs State Park. It was also local citizens who did most of the repairs. In 1990, local citizens convinced the state to buy the property. But it was the lack of a nearby Interstate Highway and the development of the larger theme parks in Orlando that finished attractions like Rainbow Springs. Several different owners held the property over the years, among them Holiday Inn and S&H Green Stamps. From the 1930's to the 1970's the property was the site of a popular private attraction. ![]() The fourth largest fresh water spring in Florida, Rainbow Springs has seen human use for about 10,000 years. ![]()
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