The Silver River is gorgeous and full of life. We always see the monkeys, gators, and plenty of…read moreother cool wildlife. The clear kayak experience is pretty neat. Definitely recommend checking this park out.

What a great event for our family. The kayak tour was the highlight of our 2 week trip. The water…read moreis crystal clear and FULL of fish and fauna and a few gators! Definitely will be back again when visiting the central Florida area. The staff is super helpful and they take care of everything except the paddling when you book a tour with them. Truly an unforgettable experience for our entire family.

Discovery Kayak is my go-to shuttle service whenever I paddle the Silver Springs Long Run. Over the…read moreyears, I've tried several different shuttle companies, but once I found Discovery Kayak, there was no reason to look elsewhere. Their service is consistently reliable, professional, and friendly. The shuttle is always clean, comfortable, and makes the quick ride back to Silver Springs State Park enjoyable after an amazing day on the water. As a fellow small business owner, I especially appreciate supporting another family-owned business that genuinely cares about providing a great experience for their customers. I highly recommend Discovery Kayak to anyone planning the Silver Springs Long Run. They are an important part of what makes the adventure so seamless and enjoyable.

The Discovery team is great! The scenery was beautiful, the experience was fun, and the memories…read morewere unforgettable. My partner and I ran almost half an hour late to our reservation. Being first-year parents, we always find puzzles to add to the problem-solving game of naps. The day was already off to a rough start. Then to spice up the morning even more, it starts raining and heavy traffic builds. So, we now also need to find rainproof outerwear last minute to take on the adventure. Which is what lead to us being half an hour late. Needless to say, our day was going from bad to worse. That being said, the story does turn around. As we pulled onto the highway to book-it to Silver Springs, Ryan personally called us to make sure we were making it to our kayaking reservation. It was a reservation made well in-advance to celebrate my partners birthday weekend. When it felt like the process was overwhelming us- Ryan was considerate and understanding. Again, getting the baby to nap, getting the right gear for the rain, and getting through heavy traffic in the rain was becoming difficult. We make it to the reservation entirely expecting our 2-hour kayaking adventure to be more like an hour of spoiled moods and bickering back-and-forth. This was my partners first time kayaking and it was looking like the student and teacher dynamic was going to be snippy. Except that didn't happen. Actually Ryan gave us the entire 2 hours to adventure and enjoy ourselves! He told us he understood our position and made us feel heard and tended to. The pre-trail debrief was concise and accurate. The conversations with the team were helpful and supportive. And the kayaking itself turned out to be a really awesome time. Discovery Kayak was great and well worth it.

Atmosphere and Environment: Silver Springs is absolutely…read morebeautiful. The water is crystal clear and bright blue, making it easy to see straight to the bottom. The springs are peaceful, relaxing, and surrounded by nature. Visiting in November made the experience even more special because it is manatee season and we were able to see many of them swimming together from a safe distance. Customer Service: The staff and guide were excellent. They were friendly, knowledgeable, and very attentive. Our guide shared fun facts, pointed out wildlife, warned us when boat tours were approaching, and never rushed us. We were given plenty of time to enjoy the manatees and take everything in. Which made the tour feel calm and well organized. Cost: The tour cost about fifty dollars per person and was completely worth it. Booking online was easy, I recommend booking early, and I have used this company before with great experiences each time. Overall Experience: This was our second time doing this kayak tour and it was even better than the summer visit. The November manatee experience was unforgettable. If kayaking is not your thing, Silver Springs also offers a glass bottom boat tour. This is one of my favorite places to bring my husband. It is beautiful, relaxing, and something I highly recommend.

Sam was awesome. We went for the early tour with clear kayaks and it was amazing. We saw lots of…read moremanatees up close. One even nudged our kayak a bit. With the early session, mist was rising over the water and it was quiet and really peaceful. The water is so clear. Sam was polite and professional and has a lot of experience and knowledge. Highly recommend Sam and Get Up and Go Kayaking.

We had a awesome time!! Our tour guide Chris was GREAT,…read moreNot only did we see some much wildlife, Chis took videos and photos. I would 100% recommend them if you want to kayak tour at Silver springs.

Fun adventure! We had a large group but we still felt like attention was paid to each of us. Very…read moreinformative. Even though we had no monkey sightings (because it was a super chilly day),the excitement of the gators kept us warm!

Michelle was an amazing waitress! the food was great and the establishment was cute and cozy, we…read morewill be coming back again!

We had a great time at the Sugar Mill! The pancakes and sausage were delicious and our server Maddy…read morewas so sweet! (We hope you'll visit Maine sometime, Maddy! Had a great time!

Decided to spend a couple hours Kayaking in Silver Springs this past Sunday. Scheduling…read morerecreational activities are difficult, to say the least; especially when seeking the perfect weather for this type of outing, but everything came together for us. We booked a 2-hour tour, which start on time, at 9 a.m. at 62 degrees and ended, exactly 2 hours later, at 71 degrees. The forecast predicted zero chance of rain with a mild 2-3 mph wind, which kept the mosquitos from biting us, or the current from being an issue, but allowed us to stay cool enough so as not to sweat. We were provided a clear kayak and were very fortunate to get Jessica, a true nature enthusiast and excellent private guide. They did have another tour group with Dylan who had at least a half dozen boats, but we were very lucky to be on our own. Personally, we enjoy doing things this way, as people have a habit of mucking it all up! I did most of the paddling while my wife took pictures and Jessica shared some of hers, as well, including ones of us. We got to see lots of turtles, birds, ducks, gators, cat fish and even monkeys. Unfortunately, Manatee season is between mid-November and the end of March, so no sightings, or otters this time, but worth every penny. Speaking of which, Frank did provide a 10% military discount and was very helpful during the booking process when I ended up on the wrong site. The only two issues, not attributed to anything Jessica did, was the tour boat company honking at tour groups, as if in a hurry (Don't Book with Them!) and other kayakers not paying attention and getting too close to baby ducks. Just as I said before, people; am I right? I highly recommend you use this company and ask for Jessica!

It was very easy to make a kayak reservation on line. My mistake was in getting in the wrong line…read morefor picking up kayaks. This rental is in the grass, end of parking lot not close to the launch area on the river. If in doubt call them & they will direct you to pickup spot. They carry the kayaks for you to the launch area. I would highly recommend them. It was a wonderful experience!

My wife and I had a WONDERFUL experience paddling this spring! Our guide Rachelle was super…read moreinformative, went at our pace, and was so sweet. We saw a bunch of fish, turtles, birds, a manatee, and a gator. Will have to return so we can see the monkeys. I definitely recommend Otter Paddle, you wont be disappointed

We had the absolute best time with Otter Paddle!! They went out of their way to make sure the…read moreexperience was as enjoyable as possible. Rachelle was so fun and taught us so much too! She had great recommendations for other spots to explore. I can't wait to book another adventure with them!!

We had such an amazing trip with Clear Canoeing. Aleigha let us know where the good spots to see…read moremanatees and monkeys and we saw both! The manatees mainly come in the winter but with her advice we where able to see a manatee in the middle of summer.

From the owner: Take a break from the everyday. Enjoy the gift of nature with Clear Canoeing. You will experience a…read morewhole new view of the outdoors.

Really great park. The walking trails are excellent and the swim area is fantastic. You can rent…read morekayaks right there, and there's even a little concession stand for a hotdog or some food plus a gift shop. Easy, family-friendly spot with a lot to do. Highly recommend.

Do not go tubing. The experience was dangerous and life threatening. You go in sign a wavier that…read morebasically "signs your life away" and that the park is not responsible for your safety if anything happens like all waivers do these days. I went with my group and it was a horrifying experience. The tubes are only adult sized and if you bring little kids your kids will not fit. I got stuck multiple times along the shallow vegetation, luckily had a swimmer help me on my side. The workers said it would only be 2 hrs. I ended up getting heat exhaustion due to being out stuck tubing in the river out in the sun for 4-5 hours. Fell asleep basically out in the sun and I got sunburned to a crisp, I did apply sunscreen and still burned. The heat and exhaustion to being exposed for far too long got me to pass out. All of the people in my group had burns as well, even if you applied a tremendous amount of sunscreen. Someone could get seriously hurt or even killed by participating in this activity. I ran into some wildlife along the way such as alligators. Yes it is normal in Florida but the lack of safety is my main concern. No lifeguards or people stationed anywhere along the river to actually Help you if you are going to be drowning. Heck, the whistle attached to my own life jacket that was offered at the beginning was actually broken when I actively tried to use it. These people probably don't get paid enough to be concerned about our actual safety. If you do end up wanting to go down the river try going kayaking along the trail instead. It is much faster and you won't get stuck since you can the paddle to go forward. Even then its better to be safe than sorry, do not go on this experience.

Great business in a perfect location to begin exploring the Eustis/Dora/Harris chain of lakes…read more Their equipment is modern & well-kept, and they give you very through instruction on how to both have some fun AND stay safe and out of trouble on the water. Plenty of waverunners and pontoon boats to get everyone of the water regardless of ability or fitness! Check them out, you'll have a blast.

Rented jet ski last year and after a breakdown on the water and a local boater was able to tow me…read moreback in, was promised a free rental to which I came back to redeem and was told that was never agreed upon. Look on Facebook marketplace for jet ski rentals in this area they are more trustworthy.