Rainbow Springs produces 490,000,000 gallons of water a day to form the Rainbow River. The Rainbow River joins with the Withlachoochee River which then flows out to the Gulf of Mexico. The Rainbow Springs Basin encompasses over 700 square miles from Dunnellon north to almost Gainesville, and east almost to Ocala. Some of the rain falling in the Rainbow Springs Basin soaks into the the Florida Aquifer and then percolates up to the surface in several places in the Rainbow River. There are around 700 springs in Florida with 33 spring being classified as first magnitude. A first magnitude spring is defined by having a flow of greater than 64.6 millions of gallons of water per day. Rainbow Springs is the 4th largest spring in Florida.
Well that is enough of the facts about the springs. The springs are simply beautiful. The water is crystal clear and support a wide variety of fish, wildlife and plants. The spring are one of the true treasures in Florida. When most people think of Florida, they think of beaches, the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico lined with miles of condos and hotels, and of course Disney World. One has only to travel a few miles inland from the coastline to see the “real” Florida. Florida is a very large state and there are many beautiful places to visit in the state far away from the crowds. Inland Florida is filled with forests, springs, rivers, farms, pastures, all supporting an incredible amount of wildlife. Oh yea, there are bunch of alligators here too.
As for my RV trip here, its going okay. I forgot to bring coffee which was a major disaster since the closest town here is at least an hour bike ride away. The cats seem happy and content. A fly that got in the coach entertained them for quite a while. I’m happy they didn’t knock anything over in their spirited chase of the fly. A strong cold front blew through a few days ago, dropping the temperatures below 40 degrees last night. Today there are strong winds and I am hunkered down inside the RV staying warm. The high winds are causing the RV to sway. I am hoping for better weather the next few days so I can do some cycling. There is some great bicycling in this area especially on the Withlachoochee State Trail, a 46 mile paved trail that runs from Dunnellon south all the way to Trilby. I have cycled hundreds of times on this trail and the trail is probably my favorite place in all of Florida.
We haven’t been to rainbow springs river in around 25-years. The spring area was private back then, but there is now a state park. Ever once in a while I check for house rentals on the river. We have got to get a little more serious about a mini-vac there.
Thanks for the reminder and please continue with the trip updates.
Frank, yes, the area used to be private. I was reading through the history today, was surprised it was not always a state park. Its very nice here, but the weather is cold and very windy, so have not seen a lot yet, next few days are supposed to be better. What I did learn that was very interesting was about the Rainbow Spring Basin. I thought the Florida Aquifer was one large system, but seems to consists of many smaller regions. The Rainbow Springs Basin runs from Dunnellon to almost Gainesville, and over to Ocala, that is part of aquifer that gets replenished around here. The campground had a map with elevation, with some parts of the basin rising to 200 feet, the low point is Rainbow Springs so the water drains here underground. Almost like the continental divide, water on the other side of the high points of the Rainbow Springs Basin flows to other spring basins. Spring basins was a new word for me today. Take care Frank, hope you are doing well.