Jervey Gantt Park as a multitude of athletic fields upon its property. It also has a nice paved…read morewalking area that allows you to walk in a quiet area and, at least when I was here, it appears to be a pretty safe place. I would say that the multitude of athletic fields are probably why most people come here. They all appear very well maintained and overall this was a pretty positive experience. While I would not recommend coming here if you are looking more for a park type environments, these sport fields I am sure are very well received by the community. Again, if you're looking more for a park where you can hang out and chill, this is probably not the place. However, this serves the community well with all these sport fields and I'm sure that the neighbors and community love it. For that I am giving it five stars.

I come here (almost) everyday. It's peaceful and has lots of space. There's about two miles of…read morepaved trail. I tend to weave around the park multiple times. The park will stay lit till around 10pm; so you can run after dark.

I've paddled the Emerald Cut a few times now. Initially I didn't like the idea of paying to launch…read moremy own paddleboard. However, it's only $10 now that I have my own life jacket (saving me additional cost of $5 to use one of theirs, as required). Well worth the low cost for some soul-enriching, communing with nature. I have never made a reservation. I normally arrive around 10:30, most recently on a Friday. Parked for free on Baptist Camp Rd. Just a bit of a walk from there with my inflated paddleboard, but I don't mind the extra exercise. You can unload your stuff closer, if preferable. There are port-a-potties available. You can count on there being a line in the check-in office. Various recreation supplies are available there for purchase. The process moves reasonably enough. A reservation will guarantee your entrance, however, and possibly aide quicker personal info collection. I always plan to do the Emerald Cut in roughly 3 hours round-trip, allowing myself several stops to enjoy the surroundings. You do run into (quite literally at times) novice paddlers along the way, which can be a bit tricky, yet not a real nuisance for me. In general, there's friendliness along the waterway. Slighty rowdy, party vibes in some spots, but also opportunities for solace and zen in various nooks. Encountering wildlife, fragrant elderberry, and other captivating flora along this stretch is always gratifying. It's a popular recreation destination for good reason.

Many tourists don't realize Florida is home to stunning crystal-clear spring rivers--perfect for…read moreswimming, kayaking, and tubing aka "hidden gems". My Hubby and I love kayaking, so we booked an excursion months in advance for Rock Springs through TripAdvisor. Our Tour Operator was Get Up And Go Kayaking located at Kings Landing in Apopka, FL. I LOVE saying Apopka ;) The good news: Apopka is a quick 1 hour drive from Orlando. Make sure you don't miss the turn to King's Landing, because the entrance is located on a narrow dirt road. You must drive past Kelly Park (which fills up fast). There is a Park Ranger located here who will guide you to King's Landing. As you get closer and if you see a parking spot, grab it! Check in is located in the Cabin like office where you will have to sign a waiver. If you do not want to take a clear bottom, guided Kayak tour, you can either rent or BYO Kayak versus taking a semi private, clear, guided kayak tour. NOTE: ONLY use their Sunscreen/lotion which is provided at no cost. It protects the wildlife and the Springs. We wanted the full experience as we have previously enjoyed renting clear Kayaks. Our guide for the morning was: Megan, who was fantastic! Full of energy, information and helpful tidbits about the Springs and its human and wildlife inhabitants. Our group was small and capped at 10. We paddled through both narrow and open stretches, and stopped to swim in the warm, crystal-clear water. One highlight was a banyan tree with an 8-foot natural "jump hole"--such a cool experience! It was a serene, memorable day, and fun fact: this is the very spring featured in the Visit Orlando commercials! Yeah, definitely take a day away from crowded Orlando to relax and enjoy Mother Nature! You will Thank Me ;)

This small and and quaint County Park is an excellent place to take your morning or evening walk…read morewith your fur baby (RioTheBorzoi). The park itself is nestled in between two apartment complexes (Steeple and Tuscany Place) and contains two lakes with continuous streaming fountains, benches and amazing amount of shade by gorgeous pine and oak trees with Spanish moss. The terrain can be challenging depending which route you take and provides that serenity and peacefulness you are looking for on your walk. The park walking configuration is about 1.0 mile if you walk the perimeter of the lakes and all their cross paths (see pictures). You will see an abundance of wild life such as ducks, geese, ibises, squirrels and rabbits through out the park. It is open daily from Sunrise to Sunset. You cannot go wrong with this place and hope to see you there! Cheers

So the City of Ocala Parks Dept in Florida finally put trash cans and dog leash signs at Polly…read morePalmer Park (see photo) and you still have lazy people who throw their trash in the lake or in the trail (see photo).

Great facility! We come here for my son's swim meets. Seats are not super comfortable but overall…read moregreat place.

This pool is probably the best pool I've ever been too. It has a little concession stand, splash…read morepad, outdoor and indoor pool with long course and short course, and very clean. Also love the huge amount of seats they have in the stands. Nice pool.

This park is pretty cool, BUT the ant problem is awful I mean the whole playground is covered it's…read morelike the ground is moving. It also doesn't have shade which is a big downfall for a mostly metal park :( didn't stay long because of the ants and heat.

Fun Activities Center for Adults & Seniors. Art, movies, card, games, trips... most free, but…read moreother activities starting at $5 per class, or minimal cost. Snacks provided; air-popped popcorn is tasty! Really nice, friendly staff. Remodeled facility, easy access. Great place offering a wide variety of FUN!

Searching for True Love & Forgiveness? Talk to GOD and get a…read moreDOG! #ReflectDogs Love & Forgiveness After visiting this dog park it's easy to understand why most of the other ones in the area don't have any dogs at them. Parking is very close to the gate and once you enter the main gate you have a decision of either going to the big park or the small dog park. The big dog park is ginormous with two big sunken fields for the dogs to run and play in. There are some agility items in them and also a nice covered gazebo with benches and picnic tables underneath it. There is a nice wide walking path all the way around the top outside of the dog park with seating and concrete areas with pools on them for the dogs to play in. You can park fairly close and there is a very nice walking trail in case you want to take your dog for a walk

This park is awesome it is attached to a larger recreational park that is probably over 100 acres…read more As previous review were's I do not believe there's anything wrong with this park all the owners and the dogs were well behaved ....my imagination is telling me the person that complained was not a good owner and their dog was not behaved. Spacious park with two sections for large or small dogs .....best I've probably seen

My parents were reminiscing about when they were middle school aged and came here for field trips…read more I was surprised to find out that Silver Springs State Park and the glass bottom boat tours have been around for that long! It was about a 1.5 hour ride from Orlando. Woke up real early on a Saturday (on honestly one of the coldest days of the year) to arrive at the park around 8am. I highly suggest purchasing glass bottom boat tour tickets online about a week in advance atleast since time slots fill up! We purchased the 1.5 hour tour on the boats. Our tour guide was incredible and shared so much knowledge and facts about the wildlife and park. I got to see tons of manatees! Plus getting to see gators, turtles, birds, and even monkeys! The glass bottom gives such a cool perspective on viewing the wildlife and plants underwater. Aside from the tour, we walked several trails to enjoy the great outdoors. Also, we had coffee in the morning when we first got here and lunch after the tour. The food was pretty good and filling. At the gift shop I made sure to leave with a magnet and Christmas ornament to remember such a great day here.

What a breathtaking location! From the parking lot, it doesn't look like much. They are redoing the…read moreentrance sign, and from the outside, it seems like the place might be pretty rundown. However, once you walk through, you are quickly transported. The entrance to the park is only two dollars per person, and honestly, in my opinion, they could charge just a little bit more. The glass-bottom boat tours run faster than you might expect, so if you have the time (which we didn't during our visit), opt for the longer boat ride; it doesn't cost much more. They also have little shops to explore and plenty of outdoor seating so you can take in the beautiful surroundings. If you're a water lover, make sure to plan ahead and reserve a crystal-clear kayak or paddleboard to enjoy the water--it'll be worth every penny. The only hiccup in our plan was that we booked everything on the day of our visit, so we ended up with a shorter tour on the glass-bottom boats and got locked into the last kayaking time slot. The woman at the reservation desk for the kayaks was not very pleasant. She told us that despite showing a 5 o'clock slot, they were no longer taking reservations. I showed her the option on my phone, but she still refused to let us sign waivers. Luckily, we found the manager in charge of the rental hut, who advised that we could still make our reservation online. I showed him on my phone, and although we'd have to pay full price and probably have less than an hour, that was perfectly fine with us since we were in the last slot. The lake was practically empty, so we had the entire waterway to ourselves--so beautiful and peaceful. Honestly, it felt like we were in another country, surrounded by nature. If you don't have the chance to kayak, there's also a walking path where you can see monkeys left behind from one of the movies that was filmed on location. We walked part of the path, and it was just as beautiful. Any chance my kids and I get to be outside in nature, we gravitate towards it, putting away our phones to enjoy everything around us. What a great way to spend your day and your vacation!