This park, by far of the others, has the most interesting mix of great parts, and not-so-great parts. As indicated by the name, the park is on the river which ends in Silver Springs, an amusement park that predates Disney World. They are both located in Ocala, which is 30 minutes outside of Gainesville. They were both easy to find, and we were actually able to drive through historic downtown Ocala, which I always love to do. I have never been to Silver Springs, but if you want to go swimming it may be the better choice -- there was no swimming in this park. Even if you were allowed, the area they had roped off was very small.The best thing about the park is a man who calls himself "Mr. Sam". He is 79 years ol
d and he works part-time at Silver River with the Marion County school system. He was born and raised in Marion County, at a time when the only people who settled it were "Florida Crackers". He told stories about living with his momma and daddy and six siblings in a two-room house they built. The boys slept on the porch with the dogs and the girls all slept together in the second room. They made all of their own food and clothing. He was a lucky one though, b
ecause his momma chose one girl and one boy who got to attend school (a two mile walk) and he was one of the lucky ones. When he started school, it only went to the 8th grade, but he got luckier still because by the time he finished it went to 12th grade. I have met few other storytellers to surpass the hold this man had on the audience. He only does his speech at the park one Saturday a month, and I strongly recommend you call ahead. He will make your trip and you will never forget him. We were the lucky ones that day.
d and he works part-time at Silver River with the Marion County school system. He was born and raised in Marion County, at a time when the only people who settled it were "Florida Crackers". He told stories about living with his momma and daddy and six siblings in a two-room house they built. The boys slept on the porch with the dogs and the girls all slept together in the second room. They made all of their own food and clothing. He was a lucky one though, b
ecause his momma chose one girl and one boy who got to attend school (a two mile walk) and he was one of the lucky ones. When he started school, it only went to the 8th grade, but he got luckier still because by the time he finished it went to 12th grade. I have met few other storytellers to surpass the hold this man had on the audience. He only does his speech at the park one Saturday a month, and I strongly recommend you call ahead. He will make your trip and you will never forget him. We were the lucky ones that day.The main problem with this park is how you actually get to the river: it is a mile-l
ong walk that vehicles are not allowed on (though it appears they could drive on it if needed). Just so you know I am not exaggerating, they actually give the first hour of the canoe ride to you for free, because it takes half an hour to walk there and half an hour to walk back! It would be nearly impossible for someone to take their own canoe, unless you had a caddy. Also, once you get to Silver Springs, you aren't really suppose to get out because it is their property. Alas, we did not go canoeing there.
ong walk that vehicles are not allowed on (though it appears they could drive on it if needed). Just so you know I am not exaggerating, they actually give the first hour of the canoe ride to you for free, because it takes half an hour to walk there and half an hour to walk back! It would be nearly impossible for someone to take their own canoe, unless you had a caddy. Also, once you get to Silver Springs, you aren't really suppose to get out because it is their property. Alas, we did not go canoeing there. We did, however, enjoy several of the trails. One of them had a sinkhole that was formerly used as a trash dump (hey, it probably seemed like a good idea at the time, the hole was already dug!) The park (funding permitting) is currently working on restoring the sinkhole to its natural state.
It was a nice place to camp, with many very large spots. I believe it was $22.00 a night. There were also several cabins, which we drove past, and they were $105 a night. Maybe next time we will make it to Silver Springs!
Til next time,
The camping bug
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