3-Day Wekiva River and Rock Springs Run Kayak Loop

The water in Rock Springs Run is so clear and so consistently 72°F year-round that you will look at your thermometer twice, assume it is broken, and then look down at the sandy bottom 4 feet below your kayak to confirm that Florida has not, in fact, secretly become a tropical paradise. It has. You are 35 miles from the Magic Kingdom.

Rock Springs and its longer sibling the Wekiva River form a connected spring system in Apopka that has been running clean through subtropical hardwood jungle since long before Orlando existed. The Timucua people camped here for thousands of years. The springs were a turpentine operation hub in the 1800s. Today the system sits inside a patchwork of state parks and wildlife management areas that have kept the development that devoured everything else at bay — barely, but measurably. The Wekiva River was designated a Florida Scenic and Wild River in 1975. The springs still run the same temperature they always have.

Thirty minutes from the most-photographed stretch of highway in Florida, and you are paddling through an unflooded jungle nobody is photographing.

Overview

The route: A loosely looped three-day trip using Rock Springs Run and the Wekiva River as the two main paddles, with Wekiwa Springs State Park as base camp. The two waterways share a confluence, which is what makes the loop possible.

Total paddling: Roughly 20–24 miles over three days, depending on which side channels you explore. Difficulty: easy. No whitewater, no open water, no significant technical paddling. A person who has never been in a kayak can handle both spring runs. Stamina is a mild factor on Day 2’s longer stretch.

Best time: Year-round is accurate for paddling conditions — the springs maintain 72°F regardless of season. Spring (March–May) and fall (September–November) give the best balance: lower humidity, fewer afternoon thunderstorms, good wildlife activity. Summer is hot and muggy with daily 3 p.m. thunderstorms — not dangerous, but unpleasant. Winter weekends see the heaviest local traffic in the park. Avoid holiday weekends at all costs.

Base camp: Wekiwa Springs State Park campground, 1800 Wekiwa Circle, Apopka. Tent and RV sites available. Book through ReserveAmerica at least 2–3 weeks ahead for weekdays, 2–3 months for weekends.

Permits: State park day-use fee ($6/vehicle). No additional paddle permit required on the Wekiva or Rock Springs Run beyond park entry.

Day by Day

Day 1 — Rock Springs Run: King’s Landing to Wekiwa (8.5 miles)

Start at King’s Landing, 5722 Baptist Camp Road, Apopka. This is the upstream put-in on Rock Springs Run and the most popular access point in the system. Arrive by 8:30 a.m. — the lot fills on weekends by 10.

King’s Landing offers kayak and canoe rentals ($40–55/day range) and a vehicle shuttle service back from Wekiwa Springs State Park at the end of the run — which you will want, because paddling 8.5 miles upstream against even a mild spring current is not fun. Confirm shuttle timing when you rent.

The run from King’s Landing to the park takes 3–5 hours at a relaxed pace with stops. The first 3 miles are the most dramatic — the spring-fed channel is narrow (15–30 feet wide in sections), the overhanging canopy of bald cypress and water oak closes over the water, and the current keeps you moving without effort. Water depth varies from 1.5 to 6 feet. The bottom is white sand over limestone karst.

Wildlife on a typical morning: limpkins calling from the cypress knees, anhingas drying wings on snags, river otters hunting ahead of your bow, alligators on every warm bank (common, not alarming — they sunbathe). The spring system’s high water clarity means you will see bass and gar below the hull throughout.

The lower section widens as Rock Springs Run approaches its confluence with the Wekiva River proper — more room to breathe, more direct sun, slightly warmer water. Take lunch on any sandy bank before the confluence and arrive at Wekiwa Springs by mid-afternoon. Check in at the campground, set up camp, then walk to the main spring boil (Wekiwa Springs) for a late-afternoon swim. The spring basin is 100 feet wide and swimmable with a paid park entry — perfectly clear, perfectly cold, immediately addictive.

Day 2 — Wekiva River Downstream and Back (10–12 miles round trip, or one-way with car spot)

The Wekiva River flows northwest from the park toward the St. Johns River. The downstream paddle from the state park toward the Wekiva Island area covers terrain distinctly different from Rock Springs Run — wider, more open, more tidal in feel as you move away from the pure spring source.

Put in at the park canoe launch (on-site rental also available from the concession, ~$20–30 for a few hours). Paddle downstream toward the Wekiva Island day-use area and the confluence of the Little Wekiva River, roughly 4–5 miles out. The riverbanks in this stretch are mostly undeveloped — the Wekiva Springs State Park, Rock Springs Run State Reserve, and Lower Wekiva River Preserve all run adjacent to the corridor, so development is kept back.

Look for black bears on the banks in early morning — the Wekiva basin has one of the highest black bear densities in central Florida. You are not in danger; they are not interested in you. Keep 100 feet of distance and they will ignore your kayak entirely.

Turn around at whatever point feels right (or arrange a vehicle spot at Wekiva Island, 1800 Miami Springs Drive, Longwood, which has a public launch). Return upstream is manageable given the mild current — budget an extra hour compared to the downstream leg.

Afternoon: explore the spring run channels inside Wekiwa Springs State Park on foot or with a short paddle on Rock Springs Creek directly adjacent to the park’s main spring. Camp dinner — the park has no restaurant — either self-cooked or a 20-minute drive to Apopka for actual food.

Day 3 — Morning Paddle and Departure (4–6 miles, flexible)

Day 3 is a shorter, choose-your-own-pace morning on whatever water you didn’t fully explore. Options:

• Re-paddle the first 2 miles of Rock Springs Run from the park end and float back — the upstream paddle is short enough to be pleasant.
• Take the spring basin snorkel loop: enter the Wekiwa spring boil at 7 a.m. before other park visitors arrive and free-dive the spring vent. The main vent is about 15 feet deep, with visibility exceeding 100 feet when undisturbed. This requires a mask and fins, not a kayak.
• Drive 15 minutes to Kelly Park / Rock Springs (400 E Rock Springs Road, Apopka) for the famous spring tube run — a different entry point into the same system, where a $3 entrance fee gets you a float through a half-mile spring channel in a tube. Fills up fast on weekends; arrive before 8 a.m. to guarantee entry.

Depart by noon to avoid the afternoon storm window.

What to Pack

• Dry bag (at minimum 10L): The spring runs are calm but you will get wet. Phone, wallet, keys in a dry bag, every time.
• Polarized sunglasses: The glare off shallow clear water over white sand is relentless. Polarized lenses also let you see alligators and fish below the surface, which is useful information.
• Water shoes or Chacos: You will be stepping in and out of the kayak in rocky shallow sections. Bare feet on limestone karst at 72°F gets old fast.
• Reef-safe sunscreen: Florida law in state parks and swim areas increasingly restricts oxybenzone-based sunscreens. More importantly, the spring system is genuinely fragile — use mineral-based SPF.
• Bug spray (DEET-based): Wekiwa State Park is mosquito territory, especially at dusk. The spring run itself has wind movement that keeps bugs tolerable; the campground at sunset does not.
• Dry clothes for camp: Wet paddling clothes in a Florida camping context get cold after dark faster than expected, particularly in fall and winter.
• Personal flotation device: Required by Florida law for kayakers under 6. Florida Fish and Wildlife patrols this waterway. Adults should also wear one — spring run underwater obstructions do happen.
• Snorkel gear (optional): Mask and fins open up the spring basin in a way a kayak surface view cannot.

Getting There

From Orlando (30–35 miles, about 40 minutes): Take I-4 West to Exit 88 (SR-434 West), then north on SR-434 to SR-436 West, then north on Rock Springs Road (SR-435) to Wekiwa Springs Road. Wekiwa Springs State Park: 1800 Wekiwa Circle, Apopka, FL 32712.

King’s Landing (for Day 1 put-in): 5722 Baptist Camp Road, Apopka, FL 32712. From the state park, it is a 15-minute drive north. Google Maps navigates reliably.

Kelly Park / Rock Springs: 400 E Rock Springs Road, Apopka, FL 32712. Same general area, north of the state park. Entry fills before capacity (300 vehicles) most weekends — arrive by 8 a.m. or plan on a weekday.

No public transit serves any of these trailheads. You need a car. Parking at the state park is $6/vehicle.

Honest Caveats

Crowds on weekends are bad. Rock Springs Run is the most popular paddling destination in central Florida by volume. On a Saturday in April, you will share the spring run with dozens of kayaks, inner tubes, and the occasional party barge. The forest does not stop being beautiful, but the wilderness experience is reduced. Weekday visits are categorically better.

The thunderstorm window is real. Between June and September, Florida’s interior produces daily lightning storms between roughly 2–5 p.m. with minimal warning. If you see a towering cumulonimbus building to the west while you are on open water, get off the water. Lightning on a Florida river is not a remote theoretical risk — it kills several people in the state per year. Plan to be off the water by 1:30 p.m. in summer.

Alligators require respect, not panic. Every waterway in this system has alligators. They are native wildlife and they are largely uninterested in kayakers. Do not feed them (illegal, and it habituates them to humans), maintain 30+ feet of distance, and do not dangle limbs off the kayak in low-light conditions near thick bank vegetation. Children and dogs require closer attention. The risk is real but manageable with basic awareness.

Kelly Park fills and closes. On warm spring weekends, Kelly Park reaches vehicle capacity by 9–10 a.m. and turns visitors away. This is not hypothetical — it is the norm from March through May. If your Day 3 plan depends on Kelly Park access, arrive at opening (8 a.m.) or skip it.

Campground reservations are not optional. Wekiwa Springs State Park is the closest state park campground to Orlando. It sells out. ReserveAmerica allows bookings 11 months ahead; serious campers set calendar reminders. Last-minute weekday slots do occasionally appear from cancellations.