On Saturday, November 7, Silver Springs State Park has two events at two different addresses. At 10 a.m., T.J. Fridrich of the Save the Manatee Club speaks in the Meeting Room of the Lundy Building, which the state lists at the main entrance, 5656 E. Silver Springs Blvd. On the same day, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Ocali Country Days Festival runs at the Silver River Museum, which you reach through a separate gate on NE 58th Avenue.
Neither event is hidden. But they run at the same time in places you can't walk between in a few minutes, and that's true of the whole season. Silver Springs State Park works like two parks under one name. This fall, most of the history and heritage programs are on the Baseline Road side.
Two addresses, one park
Florida State Parks lists the gates separately, and each one has its own set of activities.
- The Main Entrance, 5656 E. Silver Springs Blvd. This is the headspring side. It has the viewing deck, paved river walks, the ornamental gardens, a restaurant overlooking the spring, glass-bottom boats and the concessionaire's canoe and kayak rentals.
- The Camping Entrance, 1425 NE 58th Avenue. This side has river access, nature trails, three rentable picnic pavilions with grills, a playground, a 59-site campground, 10 cabins, the pioneer cracker village, the ranger station and the Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center.
Florida State Parks places the museum off Baseline Road, County Road 35. A route guide from a local orienteering group describes NE 58th Avenue as Baseline Road and puts the campground entrance about a mile north of SR 40. The Silver Trail starts at the main entrance and links every part of the park, including both entrances. The Camping Entrance has its own trailhead parking.
The museum keeps a different schedule from the rest of the park. It's open to the public on weekends and most holidays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $2 per person, and children under 6 get in free. Marion County Public Schools runs it in cooperation with the park.
The Baseline Road calendar, in order
Most of the fall programs that have a fixed date and a specific place are on the museum side. In order:
- The Stories We Tell: Indigenous History & Theater, Saturday, October 10, 1 to 3 p.m. This is at the Silver River Museum, with The Thanksgiving Play director Vickie Ramirez and museum director Scott Mitchell. It's free, but space is limited and you need to RSVP by October 9.
- Ocali Country Days Festival, November 7 and 8, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 per person, and children 5 and under get in free. The festival advertises live music, vendors, crafts and food, plus 1800s living-history exhibits, pioneer cabins, old-time craft demonstrations, sugar-cane syrup making and museum tours.
- Pioneer Village tours, November 14 and 28, 10 a.m. to noon. These are guided walks through the 19th-century cracker village. Regular park admission applies.
- Pioneer Village tours, December 12 and 26, 10 a.m. to noon. These follow the same format. A tour the day after Christmas works well for a house full of visiting relatives.
The sources list two different festival weekends. The state's event description says November 8 and 9. The museum's own page and the state's separate daily calendar entries both say November 7 and 8, so we'd plan around Saturday and Sunday the 7th and 8th. The same state listing says park admission is free during the festival, while the museum's page lists only the $10 festival ticket. Bring a little cash in case the gate charges anyway.
What stays on the SR 40 side
The headspring side has the water, along with two programs that have fixed times.
Glass-bottom boats run daily, all year. The 30-minute trips leave every 15 to 20 minutes and cost $17 for adults and $15 for seniors 55 and older and for children ages 3 to 12. The 90-minute extended tours leave at 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. and cost $35 for adults and $30 for seniors and children. The concessionaire recommends reservations and keeps a limited number of walk-up seats. It also warns that trips can be rescheduled or canceled for weather.
The First Saturday Speakers Series meets at 10 a.m. in the Lundy Building Meeting Room, and it's free with the $2 park admission. In November, the Save the Manatee Club talk marks Manatee Awareness Month. On December 5, Jason Ballard of the FWC Landowner Assistance Program will talk about prescribed fire and wildlife habitat on private land.
The Spellbound Silver Festival and Ball runs Friday, October 30, from 7 to 10 p.m. Park admission is $5, and the VIP Fantasy Ball Dance is $30. The event is listed at the 5656 E. Silver Springs Blvd. address, and its description places the activities around the headspring.
The Wednesday Walk on the Wild Side is on the calendar every week through December 30, from 10 to 11 a.m., with a ranger or volunteer leading a walk on the park's trails and paths. The listing says "Silver Springs" but doesn't name a gate, so call the ranger station before driving to either one.
What each gate costs
Entry is cheaper if you arrive on foot or by bike, and the two boat launches are priced differently.
Item | Posted fee |
|---|---|
Vehicle, two to eight people | $8 |
Single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle | $5 |
Pedestrian, bicyclist or extra passenger | $2 |
Silver River Museum entry | $2 per person |
Personal canoe or kayak, headspring launch | $4 per vessel |
Personal canoe or kayak, Camping Entrance launch | No launch fee |
The free launch takes some walking. On the Camping Entrance side, you carry your boat along the river trail to the water, a walk the park lists at 0.6 miles. The headspring launch is right at the water, but the park warns that it gets very crowded on weekends and holidays and asks paddlers to load and unload quickly.
The concessionaire's rentals start at the main entrance at 8 a.m. every day. A single kayak costs $30 for the first hour or $45 for two hours, and a clear tandem costs $60 or $75. The fee schedule lists a separate five-mile downstream paddle package with a shuttle back.
How the river connects the two gates
The Camping Entrance launch sits about 1.8 miles downstream from the headspring. It's the only place on the river where canoes and kayaks can get out between the headspring and Ray Wayside Park. If you put in on the Camping Entrance side, you have to fill out a float plan at the ranger station, 1425 NE 58th Ave., before you get on the water. Paddlers who start at the headspring have a 1.1-mile Fort King loop around Ross Allen Island. The longer route runs 5 miles from the headspring down to Ray Wayside.
The colder months matter here. A 2024 Spectrum News report described manatees sheltering along the Silver River in winter and said the clear water makes them easier to see. The park also says sightings while paddling are possible but not guaranteed. The November 7 manatee talk in the Lundy Building is a good primer before a December paddle.
Funded but not yet scheduled
The headspring side may change in the next few years. In late May 2026, budget negotiators in the Legislature agreed on $2.5 million for a swimming area at Silver Springs State Park, as Florida Politics reported. The Governor's summary of the signed Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget includes "dedicated swimming areas at Florida's Historic Silver Springs" in its state parks section. In January, the Ocala Gazette reported that the water management district had finished its permitting work and DEP was waiting on the funding. We haven't found a construction start date or an opening date in any source published since then.
One feature on that side is closed right now. The park's alert says the Sea Hunt Deck has been closed since October 23, 2025, and the new trail system is open with all trails in use. The park is open from 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year. The canoe and kayak launch closes 90 minutes before the park does, which in December means paddlers need to be off the water earlier than many people expect.
This fall's park calendar adds to the Silver Springs Shores routine in our summer guide to the neighborhood and the activities around the Country Club at Silver Springs Shores.
The team at Next Generation Realty lives and works in this part of Marion County. If you have guests coming in for Ocali Country Days or the holidays and want help working out a weekend near the Shores, from which park gate to use to where to eat afterward, Contact Us. We're happy to share what we know about the Silver Springs Shores area.
