Rainbow Springs State Park

We finely left Brandon, FL today after long goodbyes to the family and headed 106 miles north to Rainbow Springs State Park outside of Dunnellon, FL to visit our friends Scott and Lori Baker. We first meet the Baker's 3 winters ago as they were work camping at Loma Paloma RV Park in Presidio, TX. The following winter they had to leave early and we took their place for the rest of that season.

Archaeological evidence indicates that people have been using this spring for nearly 10,000 years. Rainbow Springs is Florida's fourth largest spring pumping 600 million gallons of water daily and severs as the headwater to the pristing Rainbow River. Operated for four decades as an attraction, the property was acquired by the State Park Service in 1990 and is slowly being allowed to revert to its natural state. Beautiful floral gardens surround the spring, and the area is immensely popular in the spring when the azaleas are in bloom. The state also acquired Rainbow Springs State Campground, located nearby, which was formerly privately owned. From the campground, you can tube or canoe the crystalline waters of Rainbow River, or fish for largemouth bass and other freshwater species.