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Kelly Park (2)
We spent a very pleasant morning at Kelly Park on our recent trip to Florida. Something a little different and a brilliant way to have a good time without spending a fortune.
This 248-acre Orange County park is built around one of the Apopka area’s crystal clear springs. As its name suggests, Rock Springs bubbles up from a cleft in a rock outcropping and, instead of spreading out into a pool, becomes a swiftly running stream that quickly slows to a meander. The popularity of the Park is floating down the stream on a float, on a lilo for small children or even swimming, although this can be difficult for adults as it can be very shallow in parts. In the center is the popular pool where swimming is the thing to do. In summer it can be crowded and if you are an adult only party you may find all the children a little too much.
Prepare a picnic, take food for a barbeque, get your swimming gear ready, hop in the car and off you go.
To reach Kelly Park, take the 429, go all the way north until you come to North Orange Blossom Trail, turn right, go about 1 mile, until you reach Park Avenue which becomes Rock Springs Road, travel six miles until you reach Kelly Park Road, at the corner you will see a grill/bar where you need to stop and hire tubes for your party. They cost $5 for the day, they also require an ID to be left as a deposit, however if you do not want to leave this, they will be happy with a $5 refundable deposit. You then carry on along Kelly Park Road, take a left and the entrance is on the right hand side. Entrance fee is $1, Children under 5 are free.
Once you have parked the car, get yourselves ready for a little walk to the start of the stream flow, launch your float and scramble aboard. If you have very little ones they can be seated on your front, without any danger at all. Be prepared to have to do a little paddling to stay away from the edges. You will see all kinds of wild flowers, butterflies, birds, fish and generally enjoy Florida natural landscape by the water. The whole journey will take about thirty minutes if you do it all in one go, but you may decide to stop in the middle to relax in the sun. Once you reach the end, you can either walk back the start and do it all again, relax in the sun or go for a walk in the forest where you may be lucky enough to see deer and other wildlife.
The stream maintains a constant temperature of 68 degrees so as long as it is sunny in the winter there is nothing to stop you enjoying this in the winter but I would suggest taking a sweater to put on afterwards. One thing I would suggest is not only putting suntan cream on but also insect repellent, they could be a nuisance.
This day out really does make a change from the hustle and bustle of the Theme Parks, ideal for teenagers, small children and adults.
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