Six Florida springs near Orlando, each open to a reservation

This page sets out the Florida springs near Orlando that the office plans trips on, six runs listed from the largest median flow to the smallest. Each entry gives the county where the inn nights sit, the drive from East Colonial Drive to the river itself and what happens on the water.

The order comes from one measure only: the median daily discharge at the gauge on each river for water year 2026, which ran from October 2025 to September 2026. Five runs measured 100 cubic feet per second or more and count as first magnitude; the sixth falls below that line.

What the gauges measure

Each figure on this page is read from a USGS gauge set in the river some distance downstream of the springs. By the time water reaches that point, every vent upstream has added to it, so the number describes the run as a whole and says nothing about any single opening.

Flow is given in cubic feet per second, and the median is the middle day of the twelve months on record. The water that rises from these vents holds at about 72 degrees in every season, according to the park pages.

The six runs, largest flow first

Transparent turquoise water over white sand streaked with long ribbons of eelgrass, cypress and oak forest on low banks under a blue sky

Rainbow River leads at 509 cubic feet per second, with two Dunnellon nights

Rainbow River heads the list with a median of 509 cubic feet per second. The inn nights for this run are two, in Dunnellon in Marion County, and the car ride from the office to the headsprings takes about 2 hours over 97 miles.

On the water, the outfitter posts a single kayak launched at the headsprings for the whole day at $56 per boat, and the park charges $5 per vehicle to enter. The park asks visitors to hold a day-use slot at the headsprings entrance and shuts the gate once it is full.

A broad, glassy blue-green river under moss-draped hardwoods and tall palms, grass beds showing through the clear water

Silver River gives a two-hour guided paddle out of an Ocala inn

Silver River comes second at a median of 491 cubic feet per second. Two inn nights sit in Ocala, also in Marion County, and reaching the river from Orlando means a drive of about 1 hour 45 minutes and 78 miles.

The outfitter leads a two-hour paddle in single kayaks, posted at $55 per boat, and park entry is $8 per vehicle. The launch closes 90 minutes before the park does.

A clear, narrow river winding between cypress and young maples in spring leaf, beds of bright grass in the current and mist far downstream

Ichetucknee River takes three nights and stops launches at 3 p.m.

Ichetucknee River ranks third, with a median of 260 cubic feet per second. Its plan runs three nights in Fort White in Columbia County, and the river lies at the longest drive on the list, about 2 hours 55 minutes and 148 miles.

A guide takes paddlers out in single kayaks for about two hours, priced by the outfitter at $55 per person, and the park charges $6 per vehicle. The north launch takes no more than 100 boats a day, and none go out after 3 p.m.

A wide pale green spring run between banks of ferns, cabbage palms and cypress, with dark patches of eelgrass on the sandy bottom

Wekiva River and Rock Springs Run from Longwood

The Wekiva gauge near Sanford sits below the point where Rock Springs Run flows in, and it recorded a median of 214 cubic feet per second. Two nights are spent in Longwood in Seminole County, and the water is about 30 minutes and 17 miles from the office.

Day one puts each paddler in a single kayak on the Wekiva River for a full day at $47 per boat. Day two moves to Rock Springs Run for up to four hours at $54 per boat, and the landing adds $10 per adult; the landing allows no children under two on that run.

A narrow aquamarine stream winding over rippled white sand between sandy banks laced with roots, under leaning oaks and palms

Weeki Wachee River sends a kayak 2.8 miles one way from Spring Hill

Weeki Wachee River is the last of the first-magnitude runs, at a median of 114 cubic feet per second. Its two nights are in Spring Hill in Hernando County, and the launch is about 1 hour 55 minutes and 80 miles away by road.

The outfitter sends a single kayak 2.8 miles one way and brings the paddler back to the launch afterward, at $35 per boat, while the park admits each adult for $13. The park caps launches at 70 an hour, and paddlers stay in the boat so the banks hold.

A clear blue channel cutting between white limestone banks and cabbage palms, with golden saltmarsh and pines beyond under a gray sky

Chassahowitzka River in Citrus County

Chassahowitzka River is the one second-magnitude run, at a median of 53 cubic feet per second, measured as a tidally filtered figure because the river meets the Gulf tide. The three inn nights are at an inn in Citrus County, and the launch is about 2 hours 5 minutes and 87 miles from the office.

The outfitter guides a two-hour paddle in a clear kayak at $79 per adult. It starts from a campground canal, where parking at the launch costs $10 per vehicle.

Water year 2026 at all six gauges, month by month on one logarithmic scale

Rainbow River, median 509 cfs
Silver River, median 491 cfs
Ichetucknee River, median 260 cfs
Wekiva and Rock Springs Run, median 214 cfs
Weeki Wachee River, median 114 cfs
Chassahowitzka River, median 53 cfs

Each line above is one water year, October 2025 to September 2026, of daily mean discharge at the USGS gauge for that run, drawn on one shared logarithmic scale; the dashed line is the year's median.

A still river at dusk mirroring an orange sky, with cypress and palm silhouettes along the far bank and low mist on the water — At dusk a still river holds an orange sky, with cypress and palm silhouettes doubled on its surface.

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