Silver Springs offers one of Florida’s premier views of clear groundwater flowing to land surface and an excellent example of the connection between rocks and water over geologic time. More than 30 springs have been documented in the upper part of the Silver River. These springs emerge from ancient limestone formations that frame the upper part of Floridan aquifer system, which underlies the entire state of Florida. This aquifer system provides water to hundreds of springs around the state, including some of the largest and deepest springs in the world.
Mammoth Spring is the largest spring in the park and exhibits a rocky ledge above a vast cavern. The rock formation exposed is called the Ocala limestone, and is a white, chalky, highly fossiliferous limestone that was deposited in a warm, shallow marine environment more than 35 million years ago.
Humans have lived in the Silver River and Springs area for at least 12,000 years. These ancient peoples left behind artifacts showing their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, including knives, scrapers and projectile points. In times just before the European colonization of Florida, this area was part of the Timucuan cultural region. This culture was a trade-based chiefdom which utilized the waterways of north central and northeast Florida. Several ancient dugout canoes can be observed at the bottom of the river and spring.
In the 1820s, the springs became a tourist attraction for adventurous visitors who poled their way along the narrow stream through overhanging cypress and Spanish moss. With the invention of the paddlewheel, Silver River and Springs became a distribution center for Central Florida. Plantations growing vegetables, tobacco and oranges sprang up along the banks as nearby Ocala grew. In the years right after the American Civil War, the springs began to attract tourists from the North via steamboats up the Silver River. Silver Springs gained national attention through journals and guidebooks, and became a mandatory stop on the "grand tour" of Florida. In the late 1870s, Hullam Jones and Phillip Morrell fixed a piece of glass in the bottom of a rowboat and a new enterprise began. Silver River's glass bottom boat tours have been world famous for more than 100 years.
In October 1971, the natural Silver Springs were declared a National Natural Landmark, recognized as a national resource. In 1973 Silver Springs started a wildlife rehabilitation program. At the park, you can see the headspring from a viewing deck, walk along the river on paved trails, see the ornamental gardens, and enjoy an easy stroll through the Real Florida. Visitors may also enjoy a meal from the restaurant with a view of the spring. The world famous Glass Bottom Boat Rides and canoe and kayak rentals are offered through our concessionaire.