Blue Spring State Park Campground

Blue Spring State Park is a beautiful area with plenty of interesting and entertaining things to do.
Not only does it offer a variety of nice hiking and biking trails and boardwalks (that enable visitors to access most areas even after heavy rain), but there are also camping grounds, picnic tables, boat tours and canoes to rent - to mention a few...
The park provides areas for parking (at a fair rate), which can, however be a little crowded at times so that a short waiting time in front of the gates might be required.
Aside the beautiful flora and fauna that can be observed here all year long, the springs are also a popular place for manatees that spend the winter months in the warm waters. With a count of over 300 manatees (as it was the case on the day of our visit) - they can be observed from almost every spot along the springs.
The boardwalks can get a little crowded, too. But there is still enough space for everyone to enjoy their visit!

Very cool place! The water is clean, cool and refreshing on a hot day. Manatees were cool to see

The viewing of the Manatee is great! A nice wooden walkway follows the stream (spring run) and you can view the Manatee all along the walk. At the end the spring runs into the St. John's river, where you can canoe. It seems to be popular so arrive early. We camped for three nights. The campsite or nice but be forewarned: expect a train to roll past in the middle of the night blowing it's horn (that's why I gave it 4 stars). Not much else in the area.

Beautiful setting teeming with wildlife.

This park seems to have two lives. Certainly a winter one with lots of snowbirds for a quiet and clean experience. The attraction this time of year is the manatee viewing. There were between 300 and 400 in the spring each day we were there. Lots of day visitors. There is apparently a summer season of swimming and tubing in the spring after the manatees leave for the north.

Our site was really hard packed sand of some sort and fairly level with partial shade. There some sites with full shade. The road is paved and it is quite away around the one way loop. Sites are generally quite private, separated by small bushes and palmettos with occasional palms and oaks. A natural Florida setting for this part of the state. There were numerous big rigs, mostly 5th wheels. We thought the road was wide enough for these to get around fairly well. Make sure you get an approximately sized site for your rig as bushes and trees really define the edges.

Most rest rooms appeared to be newer and in good shape. Ours was extremely well cared for.

Another great Florida state park. We loved seeing the manatees--dozens and dozens of them--and the campground has easy access to the manatee refuge area. The campsite itself really stood out, especially after spending a couple weeks in pretty close quarters. Each site has plenty of space, easy back-in access, and and electricity/water hookup. No sewer, but easy access to a dump station and with only 50-ish sites, no long wait to worry about.
The only negative we might cite concerns the number of people coming to the park. We came on a Tuesday afternoon and had to wait in line just to enter the park. We left on Friday afternoon and the entrance line stretched down the road considerably. A lot of people come to see the manatees, but the facility allows for pretty easy access.

We camped at the state park for two days. I highly recommend this state park. It is well-maintained. Hot showers and washers and dryer‘s are available. The Rangers are very knowledgeable and extremely friendly. If you stay at the campground you can walk down early in the morning and watch all the manatees before the crowds arrive and the manatees swim out to the river to eat. The Ranger told us she counted 405 manatees the morning we were there. There is a nice short walk down a boardwalk to the boil. We were not allowed to swim while the manatees were present however we rented kayaks and enjoyed all the wildlife the river had to offer. The camping sites were very spacious and I did not feel like I was on top of my neighbor. I would definitely go back again.

This park has everything we like: good sites, compelling natural environment, activities within walking distance of the campground, and easy access to internet and services. Sites are generously sized and nicely spaced out, with extensive foliage all around for privacy. The bathhouses are in great shape and typical for Florida State Parks. The only ding on the sites is that the entire campground slopes down toward the spring and many sites are very unlevel in multiple directions. Our particular site had a limestone hump, very soft sand, and a huge tree root that made it almost impossible to get level, and we saw others with "creative" leveling techniques.

We loved the site otherwise, and the campground's location is within easy walking distance of the spring and the manatee viewing boardwalk. This park is VERY popular in winter for manatee viewing, and there were lines to get into the park in the afternoons. We loved being able to walk down right from our site to see whether the sea cows were congregating in the spring run.

The kayaking/canoeing from the canoe launch area is excellent, with the entire park area being a no-wake zone and with lots of side channels outside the main river channel that can be explored. The amount of bird life on the river was exceptional! The park concession rents boats and offers guided tours on a pontoon boat, for those who don't have their own watercraft. In the summer people can swim in the spring and float on inner tubes, as well as diving by certified cave divers. Lots of great water based amenities for any season. We stayed in the middle of March and it was toward the end of the manatee season. As temperatures warmed up the manatees dispersed but the water temperature on the river became very comfortable for kayaking.

Outside the water activities, the park has one nice upland trail (the Pine Island Trail) which is mostly unshaded so best for a cloudy or cool day if you are planning to go the entire distance of 3.6 miles each way. There is also a historic pioneer home to check out. The park is close to a train line (be prepared for train horns at night!) and several small towns, so groceries, gas, and other supplies are readily available. Cell service is as expected for a developed area with good coverage on AT&T, and some over-the-air TV channels from the Orlando market.

We spent two nights here in the campground and it was an awesome start to our road trip! The campsites were spacious with so much vegetation that you forgot you had neighbors. The bathrooms were especially clean and easy to access.

The walk from the campgrounds to the swimming area is reminiscent of a tropical jungle. We loved going for multiple swims a day.

Great opportunity to rent kayaks, canoes or go on boat tours. We came outside of manatee season so sadly didn’t see any. But we did see multiple alligators, snakes, osprey, crane and huge fish!

Well spaced sites with lots vegetation to separate you from your neighbors, close to northern Orlando, spring water to swim in (during summer) and feeling 'out in nature' - what's not to love?

Ok.. well.. a few things.

The campground is amongst hills... so sites that look level, are not. Sites are also very sandy, and even with the best of sand-free mats - you'll get sand in your RV. Oh.. and bugs. Lots of biting bugs. It's also a popular local destination - which means it's always crowded, with lots of kids. Thankfully the sites are well spaced so you can be somewhat insulated.

Sites are very shady and spacious.. and the walkway to the spring area is a quick walk to bliss. During the summer you can float down the river for a bit in refreshing 72 degree water (during manatee season it's closed for swimming). But during the day, the park fills up and is quite crowded (even during pandemic times when they are limiting entrance). So time your floats for opening and closing hours to minimize crowds if you that's your goal.

Oh, and the dump station is just a little pull off the middle road in the campground - it's a bit difficult to reach if you have a short hose (such as from a van!).

All and all.. a cool experience (hah, literally!). Being able to float the springs and be in a nature filled site was amazing. And being close to town - great signal on all four cellular carriers for those who need to keep connected.