Review and Rankings

The moment you have all been waiting for....let's go over the state parks in Florida we visited and talk about the upsides and downsides and find out our favorites

 Ranking of the clear springs:

Gary

1.  Rainbow Springs - the clear water.  Being in the water, it's temp.  Easy kayaking

2.  Homosassa - we did see a manatee 💞

3.  Silver Springs - too touristy

Desiree

1.       Rainbow Springs – First time EVER snorkeling.  This place was amazing, water falls, clear springs, a swimming hole, it had it all.  I will say it was strange kayaking in this beautiful, natural place and all of a sudden there were homes on our right.  The gift shop was amazing and not ridiculously priced.  I did some shopping for the grands!

2.      Homsassa Springs – I saw a manatee in the WILD!!!    I hope the Wildlife Refuge is able to finish restoring and reopening the rest of the facility.   It’s sad to see it in disrepair.  There was no opportunity to get in the water here – via boat nor swimming.  Also, the manatee cage inside the refuge was way too small for three manatees.  ☹

3.      Silver Springs – I didn’t NOT enjoy this day.  I loved kayaking in the wild – although you were out there with 100 other kayakers.  Okay, I didn’t love the commercialism.   This must be the place to be, because everyone was HERE!   I imagine at the height of the season it’s a circus and I don’t love crowds.  Also you had to rent the kayak for one hour or two.  Rainbow Springs noted the time (even giving grace for you to walk to the launch and get on the water) and then charged you when you got back.  I much preferred this method.

 Eating out:

Gary

1.  The Freezer.  Best shrimp in the world

2.  Blue Gator - it was good.  Great service. 

 Desiree

Well, this is hardly fair.  Both restaurants had amazing food.  I had the first good burger in aWHILE at Blue Gator.  The fries were yummy, the outdoor dining was perfect and the service was wonderful.  Shout out to Kyle!

But I do love shrimp.  The Freezer was so yummy and so cheap.  There is something about fresh seafood that is just beyond compare. 

I would recommend either place in either town!!!

 A little disappointing....no downtowns.  Dunnellon we didn't see a down town and Homosassa 's historic district was non existent.

 Gary went the entire 5 days without ice cream not a bike ride.

Ross Prairie State Park

Gary

Hated the crushed shell. Uneven sites.  Not impressed.  But it was cheap "you get what you pay for"

Desiree

I did not hate Ross Prairie. The bathhouse had a facelift.  The shower was huge and clean and the water pressure was good.  Yes, it was a little closer to town than I imagined but this wasn’t some place we were planning on hanging out.   Ross Prairie State Park was perfectly centrally located to all of the places I wanted to see.  This made a perfect launching spot for all of my day trips! 

The campground hosts were lovely.  When we arrived he even asked me if I wanted to change sites.  We had booked site 15 on line months ago.  He had site 13 available and it had a nicer yard! 

There was also a picnic table and fire ring.  We couldn’t use the fire ring because of the burn ban.  But it was handy to not have to set up our portable picnic table.

I didn’t hate the crushed shells.  You just had to wear shoes at all times, wipe your feet on EVERY step and leave your shoes at the doorway so as not to drag the mess indoors. 

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