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 that have been documented in the upper part of the Silver River. 

O’Leno State Park is one of the few places in Florida where a river disappears underground and reappears a few miles away. Within the park, the Santa Fe River flows underground via Santa Fe River Sink, becoming part of the Floridan aquifer system. 

Rock Bluff is a steep, tall limestone bluff within Torreya State Park that has been exposed by erosional activity of the Apalachicola River. As this large river moves across the landscape, it erodes the underlying rocks creating the broad valley it occupies. 

Falling Waters State Park is the only place in Florida where visitors can see a 70-foot-tall waterfall! When there is sufficient rainfall, surface water cascades over the rim of a large, circular depression before disappearing into a cave.

Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park provides a beautiful exposure of a geological unit known as the Key Largo Limestone. Fossil corals and other ancient marine life are preserved in these rocks and record a unique part of Florida’s geologic history.

Wakulla Spring is located in a region known as the Woodville Karst Plain because the area contains numerous springs, sinkholes and submerged cave systems formed by the dissolving of limestone over thousands to millions of years. 

One of the world's rarest and oldest known trees grows among the bluffs and ravines of Gadsden and Liberty Counties. The Florida Torreya was discovered here in around 1835 by Hardy Bryan Croom, an early botanist.

Florida's springs are windows into the past and places of tremendous natural beauty. No two springs are the same, and each one has its own unique place in human history and in Florida’s ecosystem.

Whether by bicycle, horse, wheelchair, kayak or on your own two feet, trails both within and outside our state parks can lead to a wide variety of adventure and opportunity throughout Florida.

Iconic as sunshine, the beaches and coasts of Florida have come to represent the state. Marshes, beaches and mangroves create unparalleled beauty.

Rocks, sediments, landforms, and water across the state tell a fascinating story. Have you ever wondered why Florida has so many lakes, springs, beaches, and sinkholes? The answer lies within Florida’s vast geological past, which intertwines human history, earth history, ecosystems and economic development.

Whether it’s diving in a spring, floating down a river, or taking a dip in the ocean, there are many opportunities for you to enjoy the water and take a swim throughout Florida State Parks.

It’s the state’s only endemic bird, which means the Florida scrub-jay is found nowhere else, and its need for a specific habitat is one reason why scrub-jay numbers are declining. The only bird species that requires a sandy, scrubby habitat to survive is the Florida scrub-jay.

Florida school groups, including vocational schools, colleges and universities, can visit a state park without paying the day-use entry fee. We also offer the statewide Learning in Florida’s Environment (LIFE) program that brings middle school students out to public conservation lands for science-based environmental education.

Operation Recreation GeoTour, hosted by Geocaching.com, stretches from Pensacola to Key West and includes 71 Florida state parks and trails. Visit 20 caches and win the official Operation Recreation Geocoin.

Letterboxing combines navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a treasure-hunt style game. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly accessible places and post clues on one of several websites to help others find them.