Silver Springs State Park

This article is about the Florida state park. For the Illinois state park, see Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area.

Silver Springs State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)


Location	Marion County, Florida, United States
Nearest city	Silver Springs
Coordinates	29°12′4″N 82°3′13″W / 29.20111°N 82.05361°W / 29.20111; -82.05361Coordinates: 29°12′4″N 82°3′13″W / 29.20111°N 82.05361°W / 29.20111; -82.05361
Area	5,000 acres (20 km²) ^{(20 km²)}
Governing body	Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Silver Springs State Park, formerly known as Silver River State Park, is a Florida State Park located on the Silver River in Marion County. The park contains Silver Springs, Florida's first tourist attraction.

The Silver Springs attraction dates to the 1870s. In 1985 the state purchased the land surrounding Silver Springs to spare it from development, creating the Silver River State Park. In 1993 the state acquired Silver Springs as well, though it continued to be operated privately. In 2013 the state took over control of Silver Springs, merging it with the adjacent parkland to create Silver Springs State Park.

History

Silver Springs

Main article: Silver Springs (attraction)

State park

Silver River, from within the park

In 1985, the State of Florida purchased approximately 5,000 acres of undeveloped land around Silver Springs to keep it from being developed. The land was turned over to the Department of Recreation and Parks in 1987, creating the Silver River State Park. The same year, Marion County Schools constructed the Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center on the property. There was little else at the park until 1999, when the state began construction on a ranger station, campground, and kayak launch.^[1]

In 1993, the state purchased Silver Springs with the ultimate intention of taking it over. The previous owners continued to operate the attraction under lease. It went through several operators before Palace Entertainment took over management of "Silver Springs Nature Theme Park" in 2002.^[2] In January 2013, after years of declining profits and increasing environmental problems, the state took over control of the park, releasing Palace Entertainment from their obligations. The same year, they merged Silver Springs into Silver River State Park, creating Silver Springs State Park.^[3]^[4]

Ecology

Among the wildlife of the park are nine-banded armadillos, white-tailed deer, wild boar, wild turkey, foxes, American alligators, Sherman fox squirrels and gopher tortoises, as well as coyote, bobcat and Florida black bear.

There is also a colony of non-native rhesus macaques which were introduced to the park in early 1938 by a tour boat operator, known locally as "Colonel Tooey," to enhance his "Jungle Cruise" ride. A local legend that they are the descendants of monkeys used to enhance the scenery for the Tarzan movies that were shot in the area in the 1930s is not true. The diversity of this waterway is among the highest in Florida. Since becoming part of the Florida State park system the increased interest and reduced barriers to entry have brought many new visitors to the park. The damage to the river grasses and wildlife is a real concern.

Silver River

Main article: Silver River (Florida)

Silver Springs, located in the park, drains into the Silver River, a 4.5 miles (7.2 km) stream that flows east from the springs to the Ocklawaha River.^[5]

Recreational activities and amenities

Activities include bicycling, canoeing, kayaking, camping, and wildlife viewing. Amenities include a museum and an environmental center that are open on weekends and major holidays. The park has 15 miles (24 km) of trails, access to the Silver River, ten luxury cabins, and a 59 site, full facility campground.^[6]

Silver Springs Nature Theme Park with its glass-bottomed boats is located on the property of the park, but is run by a private company.

There is a Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center with educational facilities, run by the Marion County Public School System in cooperation with the Florida Park Service. The center has a village of restored or "newly built" 19th-century farm buildings (houses, meeting house, sheds, blacksmith, etc.) and a museum on the natural and social history of the area. Used during the week by the school district for classes, on the weekends it is open to the public. One week, early in November, the center also puts on the Ocali County Days as a fund raiser. This is a 19th-century, living history event with displays, talks, and performances incorporating living historians. For that Tuesday through Friday it is open to public, private and home school-age children and their teachers who have made reservations with the center. The event is open to the general public on Saturday and Sunday and has become a popular annual attraction in the area.^[7]

Hours

The park is open from 8:00 am till sundown year round. The gate remains open until 10:00 p.m. on Fridays for campers.

References

↑ "History". www.thefriendsofsilverriver.org. Friends of Silver River. 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
↑ http://www.ocala.com/article/20130107/ARTICLES/130109801?p=2&tc=pg
↑ Thompson, Bill (January 13, 2013). Star-Banner http://www.ocala.com/article/20130123/ARTICLES/130129891?p=1&tc=pg%20. Retrieved April 8, 2014. (registration required (help)). Missing or empty |title= (help)
↑ Stone, Rick (January 24, 2013). "Silver Springs, Oldest Florida Tourist Attraction, Will Become A State Park". wlrn.com. WLRN. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
↑ Boning, Charles R. (2007). Florida's Rivers. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-56164-400-1.
↑ https://www.floridastateparks.org/hours-and-fees/Silver-Springs
↑ "Ocali Country Days". Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center. Retrieved 2008-10-30. |section= ignored (help)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Silver River State Park.

Protected areas of Florida

Federal

National Parks	Biscayne Dry Tortugas Everglades

National Memorials	De Soto Fort Caroline

National Monuments	Castillo de San Marcos Fort Matanzas

National Seashores	Canaveral Gulf Islands

National Forests	Apalachicola Choctawhatchee Ocala Osceola

National Wildlife Refuges	Archie Carr Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Caloosahatchee Cedar Keys Chassahowitzka Crocodile Lake Crystal River Egmont Key Florida Panther Great White Heron Hobe Sound Island Bay J.N. 'Ding' Darling Key West Lake Wales Ridge Lake Woodruff Lower Suwannee Matlacha Pass Merritt Island National Key Deer Okefenokee Passage Key Pelican Island Pine Island Pinellas St. Johns St. Marks St. Vincent Ten Thousand Islands

Other National Protected Areas	Big Cypress National Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

National Estuarine Research Reserves and National Marine Sanctuaries	Apalachicola NERR Florida Keys NMS Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Rookery Bay NERR

State

Parks	Amelia Island Anastasia Avalon Bahia Honda Bald Point Big Lagoon Big Shoals Big Talbot Island Bill Baggs Cape Florida Bulow Creek Caladesi Island Camp Helen Cayo Costa Collier-Seminole Colt Creek Curry Hammock Delnor-Wiggins Pass Devil's Millhopper Don Pedro Island Eden Gardens Egmont Key Falling Waters Faver-Dykes Florida Caverns Fort Clinch Fort Cooper Fort George Island Fort Pierce Inlet Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou Gasparilla Island George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier Grayton Beach Henderson Beach Highlands Hammock Honeymoon Island Hontoon Island Hugh Taylor Birch John D. MacArthur Beach John Pennekamp Coral Reef John U. Lloyd Beach Jonathan Dickinson Little Talbot Island Long Key Lovers Key Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Mike Roess Gold Head Branch North Peninsula O'Leno Oscar Scherer Perdido Key Sebastian Inlet Skyway Fishing Pier St. Andrews St. George Island St. Joseph Peninsula Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Stump Pass Beach Tomoka Torreya Windley Key Fossil Reef

Botanical Garden Parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Lignumvitae Key Ravine Gardens Washington Oaks

Lakes, Rivers and Springs Parks	Deer Lake Lake Griffin Lake June in Winter Scrub Lake Kissimmee Lake Louisa Lake Manatee Lake Talquin Alafia River Blackwater River Dunns Creek Econfina River Hillsborough River Little Manatee River Myakka River Ochlockonee River Oleta River Suwannee River Blue Spring De Leon Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs Fanning Springs Homosassa Springs Wildlife Ichetucknee Springs Lafayette Blue Springs Madison Blue Spring Manatee Springs Ponce de Leon Springs Rainbow Springs Silver Springs Three Rivers Troy Springs Weeki Wachee Springs Wekiwa Springs Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Wes Skiles Peacock Springs

Recreation Areas	Gamble Rogers Memorial

Museums, Historic sites, and Archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum Constitution Convention Museum Forest Capital Museum John Gorrie Museum Ybor City Museum The Barnacle Bulow Plantation Ruins Dade Battlefield Dudley Farm Fort Foster Fort Mose Fort Zachary Taylor Gamble Plantation Indian Key Koreshan Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead Natural Bridge Battlefield Olustee Battlefield Orman House Paynes Creek San Marcos de Apalache Yellow Bluff Fort Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River Lake Jackson Mounds Letchworth-Love Mounds Madira Bickel Mound Mound Key San Pedro Underwater

Preserves and Reserves	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Anclote Key Cedar Key Scrub Charlotte Harbor Crystal River Estero Bay Fakahatchee Strand Kissimmee Prairie Lower Wekiva River Paynes Prairie Pumpkin Hill Creek River Rise Rock Springs Run San Felasco Hammock Savannas Seabranch St. Lucie Inlet St. Sebastian River Tarkiln Bayou Topsail Hill Waccasassa Bay Yellow River Marsh

State Trails	Blackwater Heritage Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Gainesville-Hawthorne General James A. Van Fleet Nature Coast Palatka-Lake Butler Palatka-to-St. Augustine Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Withlacoochee

State Forests	Belmore Big Shoals Blackwater River Carl Duval Moore Cary Charles H. Bronson Cottage Hill Deep Creek Etoniah Creek Four Creeks Goethe Holopaw Indian Lake Jennings John M. Bethea Lake George Lake Talquin Lake Wales Ridge Little Big Econ Matanzas Myakka Okaloacoochee Slough Picayune Strand Pine Log Point Washington Ralph E. Simmons Memorial Ross Prairie Seminole Tate's Hell Tiger Bay Twin Rivers Wakulla Watson Island Welaka Withlacoochee

Other

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Florida

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

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