Wekiwa Spring is the source of the Wekiva River, a clear, cool spring pool on the northwest edge of the Orlando area, set in a state park of about 7,000 acres. The spring flows at a steady 72 degrees, and the river it feeds, which paddlers enter straight from the spring run, runs about 16 miles north through swamp and hardwood hammock to the St. Johns. The two spellings trace to old maps. Wekiwa is the Creek word for a spring, and Wekiva is a later variant spelling that stuck to the river. The Wekiva basin is one of the last large wild corridors in Central Florida. Black bears travel between the Ocala National Forest and the Wekiva basin, and the river is home to river otters and alligators. The park keeps the spring pool open for swimming. In 2000 the Wekiva and several of its tributaries were designated a National Wild and Scenic River, one of only two in Florida. Growth has pressed hard on it. The springs of the Wekiva basin draw on groundwater that the Orlando area also pumps for its water supply, and nitrate levels rose as the suburbs spread. The Wekiva Parkway, the toll road whose final section completed the beltway around Orlando in 2024, was built with long bridges over the basin so that bears and other wildlife could pass underneath.
Getting there
28.7125, -81.4610
Locations are approximate and may be inaccurate, on private land, or otherwise inaccessible. Check before you travel.
Hear it from the road
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