Kelly Park Campground-Rock Springs, Apopka, Florida

We camped at Kelly Park Campground, Rock Springs in Apopka, Florida for 3 nights in our 1997 renovated Georgie Boy Maverick Class C Motorhome early August of 2021.

This is not the first time we've visited this campground, and it certainly won't be the last.  Kelly Park is less than 2 hours from our home and we just love visiting this beautiful place.  While there are only 26 sites, they are spacious and set in a nice natural setting.  Within this park you will find the beautiful Rock Springs headspring and run.  The crystal clear water is a chilly 68 degrees year round. 

It's a quick walk or bike ride to the spring for tubing and water play.  Within that parking lot there is a very nice playground as well.  The park has a lot of great trails for hiking or biking.  There are two additional marked trails right across the street which can be easily accessed from the main entrance or the after hours gate.

Reservations can only be made 45 days in advance and weekends do book up quickly.  Kelly Park is a part of the Orange County Parks system.  Orange County Park Reservations

This trip we didn't bring an extra vehicle, we like to bike and walk as much as possible.  

What we did:

Tubing the spring run.  

It only takes about 30 minutes from the time you hop in your tube at the headspring until take out at the 2nd landing.  You can tube half the run and stop at the 1st landing which is a wide open swimming area with beach and grass to relax on.  At the 2nd landing it's just a short paved walk back into the main park area where you can do it all again. 

Snorkeling the Spring run.

Leave the tubes at the campsite and snorkel down the run admiring the beautiful rocks, sandy bottom, turtles and fish as well as the plant life.  

Biking/Hiking:

Bike or hike the yellow trail within the park which takes you all around the park, through the woods and behind the springhead, or pop across the street to the blue and red trails.

We rode our bikes down to Kings Landing (just about 3/4 a mile down the road) for a day of Kayaking.

Kayaking:

We rented a kayak at Kings Landing (reserve a specific day and time online).  There are a couple of options you can book.  Bring your own vessel (kayaks or canoes only) for a small fee, or rent one of their vessels for a short day (4 hours) or a longer 8.5 mile trip downstream with a shuttle that brings you back.  We opted for the 4 hour rental as we preferred to spend our time in the clear Rock Springs Run portion of the river.

We had quite a bit of rain on this trip, but it didn't hinder our fun, we had plenty of sunshine to enjoy! :)

What we saw:  Racoon, deer, gator, turtles, fish, several types of birds and some big foot prints (on a trail hike) of bobcat.

If you'd like to take a look at the sites before booking, we did a quick photo tour of the campground sites only.  Campground Photo Tour