Kelly Park - Rock Springs Tube Run in Apopka, Florida

Located in Apopka, Florida is Kelly Park, which has the Rock Springs tube run.

This is a free-flowing natural spring and has a water temperature of around 68 degrees all year long.

This is a great place to go tubing, swimming, and just hanging out in the hot Florida sun!

You can see in the photo below that Kelly Park is located in a large forest of trees. 

The view from above is amazing.

The water stays at 68 degrees throughout the year and it comes from a natural spring so the water is crystal clear.

Kelly Park opens at 8:00 AM. We got there at 7:30 AM and the line was already really long. They close the entrance to the park once they reach the maximum capacity so you want to get there early.

At the top of the road you could rent tubes. You have time since you are waiting at a standstill for the gates to open. We brought our own so we didn't to that.

We found that tubes work best. The pool noodles couldn't keep you high enough to miss bumping into rocks. Next time we will only do tubes and leave the pool noodles. Tubes must be less than 5 feet in length and in width.

We finally pulled up to the guard gate and paid our entrance fee of $5.

We recommend wearing closed toe water shoes to protect your feet. You can go barefoot, but certain parts will hurt your feet.

We parked our car and headed toward the tubing area. You'll see this sign showing more parking areas, a playground, a drop off zone, concessions, and restrooms.

As we headed toward the spring, we saw that they have pavilions with picnic tables and a building with bathrooms and concessions.

All of the sidewalks are well marked so you know where to go. We saw this sign showing us to go to the right towards the head of the spring.

As you get to the head of the springs, you'll see a staircase. Follow that to the springs. It's going to take 15 to 20 minutes to tube down the spring, but you can go as many times as you want. It's a short walk back after tubing down to the end.

Once you reach the head of the spring, there are three different places you can get in. You can turn right and go in at the head. You can cross the bridge and enter on some flat rocks, or you can turn left and get in from a large flat rock area.

We chose to enter at the head of the spring.

When you reach the head of the spring, you can see the cave that the natural spring comes out of

Then we all got in and started tubing down the spring.

We then hit a shallower area that had a lot of rocks. It was no problem in the tubes, but the pool noodles didn't really help avoiding the rocks.

Once we got past that part of the spring, it got a little deeper and was a smooth ride.

As we left the cover of the canopy of trees, the views were beautiful.

Then we came up to the island area. You can go left or right, but the majority of the people go right as it's a little deeper and goes with the natural flow of the spring.

As you get to the end of the island area, you will go under a bridge and that takes you to the main swimming area. The flow of the spring will take you right through this area.

This is a great view of the swimming and tubing area.

As you leave the swimming area, you will see a lifeguard and the large open area goes back to the spring.

As you get to the end, you will see a ramp that you can walk up to exit the tubing area.

Kelly Park ends here, but you can see the view of the spring. This area is called the Emerald Cut and you can kayak or paddle board from farther down the spring.

We kept walking and took the trail back. Most of the trail is paved.

At the end of the trail, you will reach the bridge that you tubed under. Go over this bridge to the island area and cross the 2nd bridge to get to the main area.

Once we crossed both bridges and were in the main area, there are lots of grassy areas to lay out or you can get in and go swimming.

We then took the trail back to the head of the spring and did it all over again.

Overall, we loved our time at Kelly Park - Rock Springs. It's located in Apopka, which is about 45 minutes northwest of Orlando. It's definitely worth the visit!

Kelly Park - Rock Springs Map

400 E Kelly Park Rd, Apopka, FL 32712:

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

Kelly Park - Rock Springs had the following prices for admission when we went. (See the image below)

We had 6 people with us so we paid $5 total.

We also bought 3 tubes from Walmart at $5 per tube, so we spent $15 on tubes. We also bought 2 pool noodles for $1 each. 

Total: $22 for entry, 3 tubes, and 2 pool noodles.

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring a hat to keep the sun off of your face.
• Wear closed toe water shoes to protect your feet.
• Buy tubes beforehand or rent them beforehand because you can't buy or rent them in the park.
• Bring beach towels and some food for while you are hanging out and not tubing.