It is just hard to imagine better in terms of amenities, privacy and quality without paying significantly more.

Having stayed at many different campgrounds, the campsites at Rainbow Springs are certainly up there in terms of best campsites stayed at. There are thick berms and plenty of space between campsites. Site Quality gets a 5 out of 5 as quality and privacy of the various sites is outstanding. Like most Florida State Parks, the campground is well maintained and cleaned by the campground hosts, and there is a security gate with passcode to enter the campground area. There are modern bathhouses with laundry machines and each of the RV sites has 20, 30 and 50 amp electric, water, and sewer hook-ups. The main park road and campground loops are paved and in excellent shape. Next in our review is Infrastructure & Amenities which we are giving a 5 out of 5.

For us this caused confusion and a delay in receiving our package as it had to be brought over from the day-use area. If you do have a package or mail sent to yourself while staying at the campground, make sure you have the package sent to the campground and not the main day-use area accidentally. The other issue is receiving packages or forwarded mail at the park. Not a huge issue, but a step or so more than the very easy process in other Florida State Parks where you never leave your vehicle. This meant leaving the vehicle to interact within the building to receive our site tag. We give this only a 4 out of 5 mainly because there was no ranger station at the main entrance, and we had to proceed to the main building to check in. There are five criteria we look at when rating a campground. In this regard, hiking is somewhat limited, although there is a nice nature trail loop near the campground. There really is no obvious drawback to the park or campground that we noticed, save that the campground is located the 6-mile drive away from the head spring and there are no foot trails between the two areas within the park. There is direct access to the Rainbow River about a ½ mile walk from the campground. The campground area is approximately 6 miles by car from the head spring and roughly 1.5 miles from the tubing extraction area along the Rainbow River. Most campsites are gravel with a few paved lots. Given every RV site has its own city water and sewer connection, there really is no need for a dump station. There is a dump station at campground that was not open. All sites have water, 20, 30 and 50 amp electric and sewer hookups. The campground is a convenient 5 miles from the small town of Dunnellon with groceries and restaurants. One of Many Waterfalls at the Head Spring Day-Use AreaĪs far as the campground area, there are two loops with a total of 49 reservable RV sites. There are some great views of the spring, lakes, waterfalls and natural scenery in the headspring area and it is well worth a visit. When the day-use area is full, no more traffic is allowed access to the area. This part of the park is first-come first-serve and often fills up on weekends and in season. The headspring day-use area is the remains of the tourist attraction from long ago, yet the man-made waterfalls, footpaths, swimming hole and gardens have been well maintained by the state and are a very relaxing place to stroll and recreate. There is a significant tubing business done by the State Park during spring, summer and fall with transport upriver and modern facilities to accommodate many people. Besides the swimming, boating and gardens of the day-use area, a large draw of the park is the amazing tubing, canoeing and kayaking on the crystal-clear Rainbow River. The park has two main areas, the Rainbow Springs headspring day-use area and the campground and tubing area some 6 miles away by car. Florida Wildlife Abounds at Rainbow Springs State Park The attraction remained closed until 1990 when it became a Florida state park. After the Orlando tourism boom of the early 1970’s and the opening of the large theme parks, Rainbow Springs attendance declined, and the tourist attraction closed in 1974. Rainbow Springs was a privately owned theme park that opened in the 1930’s and included a rodeo, zoo, swimming hole, man-made waterfalls, and a gift shop. Rainbow Springs State Park contains 11 distinct natural communities within the 1,000-acres of the park. The spring forms the looking-glass clear Rainbow River which supports a wide array of wildlife. Rainbow Springs has a rich history as a tourist spot and the first-magnitude head spring basin produces up to 600 Million gallons of fresh spring water per day from its various vents.

In this blog we’ll review Rainbow Springs State Park in near Dunnellon Florida just 20 miles southwest of Ocala Florida. Click here to sign up for reminders when new blogs are posted.

Rainbow springs