Silver Springs, where glass bottom boat tours began in the late 1870s, is one of the oldest tourist attractions in Florida. The state has owned the land since the 1980s, leasing the springs to a private company. Dwindling attendance and increasing pollution in the water has made the attraction unprofitable and the state has taken over control of the springs. The park is being restored to a more natural state and some of the attractions, such as the small zoo, have been removed. The daily vehicle fee ($8.00) is good for admission to the glass bottom boat spring area and the adjacent park where the campground, picnic area, pioneer cracker village and the Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center and trails are located. Boat rides have an additional fee.
The boat rides are the main attraction at the spring area. The boats are not wheelchair accessible due to steps, very narrow aisles and no wheelchair parking area on the boat. The paved trails in the gardens are all accessible. The small history museum is accessible. The trails in the campground area have roots and deep sandy spots but may be accessible with an energetic helper. The pioneer cracker village and the Silver River Museum and Environmental Education Center are opened on weekends only so I didn’t get to check them for accessibility.
We didn’t visit the campground. Reservations must be made far in advance. More information about the campground can be found on Dave’s and Marcia’s blog - GoingRV Way The parking lots at the springs and trails are large enough for any RV. Park
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Hard to say if it was worth the $8 I guess. For us, being Florida residents, the $14+ fee to camp makes it worthwhile, that's for sure. Next time we will have to give a few of those trails a try and see what we think. Last time, due to rain, we did not even make it over to the boats....guess we need to try since there are steps and narrow isles. Thanks for the update. --Dave
ReplyDeleteI think that we had $8.00 worth of fun and entertainment between both the spring and the trails. $14.00 camping is sweet - too bad we're not residents. :- )
ReplyDeleteMarcia may have to turn around and backtrack if you guys run into any of the soft sand areas on the trails.
Err Karen you dont have to answer this and maybe its here on the blog but..... I read your thing about the ballon accident. I have been confined 24-7 to a wheelchair. How paralyzed are you? Can you transfer to chairs etc by yourself? Its just so bad tgat a lot of the time a little narrow spot or a couple steps stop you from enjoying all of a attraction. I use to sorta fall/slide out of my whellchair and crawl up the steps to get into my recliner on the deck. Was wondering if you could crawl into the boat and tony collapse your chair and put it on the boat. I have a electric wheel chair that you lift the batterry pack.out and it collapses like a regular wheelchair. Hope I havent messed up asking you this, if so my most humble apologys!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about it cowboy. I don't mind answering questions. :-)
DeleteI'm paralyzed from the waist down and have pretty good upper body strength but I'm a chicken about transferring by myself. I'm afraid that my legs will get tangled up.
We used try almost everything but now we skip some of the more difficult or frustrating stuff. Tony could easily pick me up and set me on the bench ( not right now though because we're still being a little careful after the hernia operations) but the risk of tripping on the steps makes it not worth it.
Wheelchairs are left on the dock because of the lack of space on the boats. Mine isn't even collapsible. We wanted it to be rigid enough to stand up to abuse which is does very well - I'm only on my second one after all these years. We go up and down steps ( except for really long flights) and since my wheelchair is narrow I can fit through most of the narrow spaces. I've been able to go to almost of the places on my blog but I put the information about steps and other obstacles for people with electric chairs or without a strong helper.
Thats great Karen I feel much better now and am glad you have good upper body strength. I use my chair some rightalong, hey you do what ya gotta. Tganks for the info you put on here, its not about the handicap info its about the great places you take me in your blog!
ReplyDeleteI remember that boat ride as a child like it was yesterday! Back in those days that was a huge thing....maybe not so much anymore. Wheelchair transfers...don't imagine Tony is much help for sure after the surgery. My sister battling an upgrade for her wheelchair...what a saga. They are so cheap now...so she is having hers rebuilt now. That's one thing you have got to have right for sure! Hope your not seeing the rain....it's hammering us today!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that you must have mentioned it somewhere along the way but why does your sister use a wheelchair? My old one and the new one are both Quickies- a lower level sports model. They are so tough that we don't worry about anything breaking and we just go, over some pretty rough stuff sometimes. Of course if she needs an electric chair everything is more complicated and harder.
DeleteTony's hernia surgery was such a breeze that we'd recommend the surgery for anyone who has been stalling on getting it done since hernias don't heal themselves and can get much worse in time.
Gorgeous weather here! We had a few weeks of rainy, cloudy days in Jan. but mostly it's been wonderful. Hope you get some sunshine!