Rainbow Springs is a Florida state park located about 20 miles southwest of downtown Ocala, along the Rainbow River. This is the swimming area which is a natural spring, and thus the water remains at 72 degrees year round.
There are alligators in these waters, however, so swimmers need to keep their eyes open.
We will be posting more photos of the park in the coming days. You can read all about it here.
45 comments:
Looks like a great swimming place! Does "Alligator repellent" work very well?
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Looks like an awesome place to swim, even with alligators!
looks like great fun and a fine place to bring the children. I assume the threat is more from mosquitos than gators.
It's so inviting. I'm afraid I'd have to take my chances with the gators.
72 degrés ?? Cela m'étonne ! Chez nous si l'eau est à 24 degrés, elle est déjà chaude !
C'est des "degrés quoi" ? Celsius ?
I don't swing quickly to swing with alligator
cela donne envie de se jeter à l'eau ;o)
sauf que j'aimerais pas rencontrer des alligators ;(
I'm back! :-) This place looks fun-filled adventurous but, the risk of alligators would stop me from diving in. I'm quite amazed to see so many people still going for a swim. I believe those are nets arround the swiming area to stop the alligators?
What a great looking ol' swimming hole. Lovely colors and it looks like it just comes right out of the woods.
Do you ever get used to gators around? MB
'Swim' and 'alligator' can't be in the same sentence with myself as the subject. What does happen if you keep yur eyes open and gators arrive? Somebody tries to talk them out? You swim with cutlasess? Snipers are posted all around? You throw them a tourist?
Beautiful blog. I will come here all the time.
seems the alligators have been frightened off!
Holy Moly there is just no way.
Don't get me wrong. It is beautiful...... but alligators and people are just not a good combination in the water. I'm sure it must be a rare if not nonexistent occurrence to have someone become alligator food.... but I would be lucky enough to be the first one.
@ Small City Scenes - the answer is "No!"
I'm scared of water in the 1st place (except actual swimming pools where I see the bottom), but add gators & I'M TERRIFIED! Dear GOD in Heaven, you wouldn't catch me swimming there
Fantastic shot Jacob! This looks a little like Wakulla Springs, which is just south of Tallahassee. I could never get used to the cold water even in the summer. As for the alligators, I always used to tell my relatives visiting from up north not to worry because the alligators know they are supposed to stay on their side of the rope and not come in the swimming area. They were a little skeptical though.
@ Melanie - Excusez-moi, it is 72 degree Fahrenheit!
@ Memphis MOJO - Spoken like a true player of the cards! ;-)
Beautiful colors! I'm afraid I would have to admire this spot from afar, tho. :)
EW! Alligators! The temperature of the water must be just as attractive to them as it is to humans. Keep counting your fingers and toes. ;-)
Okay I was so there til I heard the gator part .. I'll be the one sitting on the blanket
I'm not fond of the weeds I might encounter in our Minnesota lakes and gosh forbid I have a run in with a bullhead! Euwww BLECH! I think the possibility of a meeting with an alligator might put me right over the edge! No thank you Sir!
It sure is a pretty place to look at, tho!
Alligators!? Yikes! Looks like a great place, though.
alligators!?
A pretty place to swim, I expect. Swimming with alligators would be a lot like swimming with sharks.
The water has a beautiful color--swimming with alligators is scary. Nice capture!! Wish I could swim there right now, minus the alligators.
How fast are those 'gators anyhow? Keeping an eye out is a bit difficult when your eyes are at sea level - so to speak.
Everything sounded so perfect... and then, alligators!
As beautiful as it looks, I think I'll give it a miss. I don't like teeth. The colours are amazing!
The pool is great, but with the gators... Is it at least required that the gators go under some medical tests before using the pool with the humans?
God bless you!
Cezar
A natural swimming pool! That's how I like them! And the place is gorgeous! As to the alligators, well... no big deal! LOL! They didn't attack me either when I was swimming in some of the Amazone rivers... :-)))
@ Per Stromsjo - The can move quite fast...especially underwater...on land they can reach speeds of 35 mph!
@ JM - In the Amazon, wouldn't you be more worried about crocodiles?
Um, aligators? you're kidding, right? Think I'll stick with swimming with 60 pound muskies.
I had heard of the springs but had no idea how nice they are. It's no wonder it's popular...alligators or not. (trying to capture a gator to post?)
Wow, that looks so inviting. Why on earth are the most beautiful areas also often the most dangerous ones? I don't know who said this but I guess there's truth in it...
The image is so striking! It looked very inviting, but then I read it. I thought maybe that was an alligator net, something like the shark nets they have in Australia. As a child I visited your area, and I remember caverns, and some very clear water (oh yes, that would be Clearwater :) I wonder if I even thought about the alligators? We stayed at a motel that had a lake behind it where you could go to an island by pedaling the boat like a bike. They were kid safe, supposedly, and we had a lot of fun. Thinking back, I do think it seemed like perfect 'gator country.
@ Frank - I've got a lot of gator photos...we used to ride bikes at Shark Valley in the Everglades - a 15 mile loop infested with gators. They would lay in the road and you had to ride around them. One day we counted - 150 alligators! They usually won't bother you unless you step on them, but if they attack they can run very fast so we'd get up speed and go around them pedaling away!
Stunning photos mate!
And here I thought you Florida types were all a bunch of softies. Swimming with the gators, I'm impressed. Amazing colors!
I'd be happy to swin with the alligators! I'm so happy there are such things in Florida, nature calling :)
I've been to that river many times since I moved from NJ and I have never seen a gator in the swiming area or in the vecinity. the water is great and is alwasy at the same temperature.
I have been there - and yes even saw an alligator. I was in a kayak and was contemplating going snorkeling but couldn't get up the nerve after I saw about a 5 foot alligator.. The ranger told me that the alligators are not fed so they do not associate people with food and are afraid of people. Apparently it is safe or you wouldn't see hundreds of people tubing down the rainbow river with the toes and hands dangling in the water.
You just have to be sure to swim faster than the guy behind you :-D
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