While visiting Orlando for a conference, I decided to take a little detour for a nature fix. Wekiwa Springs State Park is one of many parks with springs in the area surrounding Orlando. It looked like the perfect place to enjoy a couple of hours in the sun.
This park has much to do including camping, swimming, kayaking, and what I decided to do on my trip—get lost hiking!
Well, I didn’t exactly get lost, but I did end up going down a trail that was once a trail but is no longer! I went literally off the beaten path. Oops! I guess Google maps isn’t always the most accurate about its park trails.
Where Is Wekiwa Springs Park
Wekiwa Springs Park is North of Orlando, Florida in what is now known as Apopka—formerly Seminole land. Wekiwa is Creek (the language spoken by the Seminole people) for Spring or after Wekiva for flowing water. The head of the Wekiva River is there in the park.
I decided to go to Wekiwa while I was in Orlando for work. I had limited time for exploration but luckily Orlando is surrounded by parks! Just look at this map below to see all of the green and lakes around the city.
I could almost close my eyes, point at the map, and pick a park at random. I wanted to see colorful springs since Florida (especially to the North) is famous for its fresh water springs.
Wekiwa Springs looked big enough to have lots to explore and the water looked just right. I visited Rainbow Springs and other related sites around this time last year. It was about time to see a new one!
The park was about 40 minutes North of where I was staying in southwest Orlando. The way there took me on Interstate 4 where I spotted a billboard in support of Ukraine during the current Ukraine-Russian war.
It was nice to see a politically-oriented billboard that I actually agree with in Florida!
How Much Does Wekiwa Cost?
Most State and National parks have a fee to enter them. Wekiwa had a short 5-10 minute wait in a row of cars that was enough time for me to get the right amount of money out. Oops, I totally did not look this up in advance and had to go scrounging for cash.
Sometimes a short window of time for exploration means not looking up important information in advance! Luckily, I had enough cash on me! They probably would have taken a credit card, too.
I had $6 ready because their website said $6 per vehicle. But I missed the part where it said $4 for a single occupant. So they admitted solo me for only $4. I really appreciated that as a solo traveler!
How Big Is Wekiwa?
Wekiwa park is over 7,000 acres! I didn’t realize just how big Wekiwa Park is until I got there and started walking around. I guess that’s why I ended up a bit lost and strapped for time!
Once I started exploring, I realized there was no way I was going to see all of this park in the few hours I had to spare! Alas, I was down to see at least some of it—starting with the spring!
The springs provides 42 million gallons of water a day to the Wekiva River. The area for swimming is mostly shallow at no more than 5 feet deep in parts. However, the area where the spring is gets very deep and there is even a cave next to it—but cave exploration and SCUBA diving is prohibited.
What To Do At Wekiwa
In addition to swimming in the spring, visitors can opt to go picknicking, camping, horseback riding, bicycling, and they can explore by canoe or kayak.
Horeback-riding is not an option for me as an ethical ecotourist. But canoe and kayak rentals are available right there on the other side of the bridge adjacent the swimming area. The launch area seems to allow personal craft launch as well.
The water was so crystal clear here. I could see tiny fish swimming around!
If I had more time, I would have loved to go kayaking through the park. There is a run called Rock Springs that cuts right up through the park alongside many of the campsites. Rock Springs Run or heading right toward the river head would have been equally fun adventures!
I’ll have to return with the explicit goal of kayaking.
The Start Of The Trail
Instead of kayaking, I decided I had enough time for a short hike. Emphasis on short hike. This was the original intention but it turned into a much longer hike than expected.
The hike started out over the bridge along a boardwalk above wetlands. The Wet to Dry Nature Trail. This is a short trail accessible from the swimming area. I was hoping it would be a bit longer than it was so when the trail turned into a dirt path the meandered alongside the roadway—I kept going. And going.
It was at this point that I pulled out Google maps to determine my path. I saw there was a lake that I could hike to. Coming from the southeast, I could make my way directly east and the north to Sand Lake and back. There was a loop I could take, so I wouldn’t have to retrace my steps.
Google showed a trail that branched off, around and back to the parking lot near the springs. Easy peasy!
The Hike To Sand Lake
With my path set before me, I continued down the dirt trail along the roadside.
Like with other Florida walks, the vegetation in the area filled me with wonder. I am from the Northeast where we don’t have the short palms and longleaf pines of Florida.
Even though I am still domestic, it’s on hikes like this that for just a few moments I can pretend I am on an island somewhere south of the border.
Along the path, I quickly noticed many charred and burned pines. Later I learned that this was due to intentional “Ecological Burning” or burning used to restore the area to its natural condition.
Lightning fires once burned the area every 2-3 years keeping the area as an open grassland with scattered pines. Now rangers light the fires to mimic this process.
The result is some great views of low lying plants with sporadic pines shooting up—and the occasional burned one!
The hike to Sand Lake was full of some nice little nature finds. Mostly I was deeply admiring the pine trees here—their bark, their height, their play with light.
When the trail turned North it turned away from the road for a while. This area felt much more secluded and adventurous!
By the way, I was mostly alone for this hike except the occasional hiking couple. There was also a small group walking through playing music very loudly as they went. Maybe they were afraid of bears? There is lots of wildlife in Wekiwa Park, including bears, gators, birds, deer, otters, and foxes.
Eventually the path followed alongside the road again and then at about the 2 mile mark, it turned in toward Sand Lake.
Phew! That was a pretty hot, sun-exposed walk!
Around Sand Lake And Back Again
I took a clockwise path around the lake to avoid the music-blaring hikers.
The lake had clear signage acknowledging the alligators in the area. I didn’t see any while I was there but I’m sure they were around!
At different points around the lake, there were park benches, picnic tables and BBQs, and other spots to sit and enjoy the surrounding nature.
I sat for a few minutes and then sprang up to head back. The hike there took me only about 45 minutes but I knew I had limited time to get back and the second part of the loop seemed longer.
I crossed the road to get to the other part of the trail on the other side. At first, it seemed like a trailhead but soon the vague remnants of a trail disappeared.
Clearly, the part of the map I marked in red below was no longer an actual trail! And it took longer than anticipated to traverse.
The trail did eventually meet back up with a main trail. I suddenly knew it was merging when I saw a solo hiker coming up it toward me from the distance.
He looked at me curiously as I feigned confidence wandering somewhere out on the field, stepping over spikey palms and dead cacti.
“Hi…” he said as he got closer.
Smile, smile, “Hello!” I said as I stepped over a shrub and hopped onto the trail. Nothing to see here!
I was finally back on the path and feeling a bit exhausted at this point. About 3 miles into the hike and, stupid me, I had no water with me! The sun exposure and the rough trail made me start dreaming of my water bottle left back in my cooler in the car. I really didn’t know I was going to go on a hike for this long!
I made it to the road and decided not to get back on the trail in order to cut down on time back to the parking lot. I needed water and I needed to get back to my conference!
After almost another 2 miles of walking, I made it back to the parking lot. I did 5 total miles of walking in the end which was not at all what I expected.
Back in my car, I guzzled my water, blasted my A/C, and drove back out to the highway.
In Conclusion
Do visit Wekiwa Springs State Park! Do also plan to stay a while to really enjoy it fully. The park is big and don’t trust Google maps for the trail guide or you might get a bit literally off the beaten path. Bring water if you plan to hike and bring your own kayak so you don’t have to rent!
Despite going a bit off-trail, I had a great time hiking and taking in some nature for a few hours while in nearby Orlando. My experience goes to show that you can’t always do everything you want or have it go perfectly smoothly! But even the rough spots can be fun!
I can’t wait to go back to spend more time at Wekiwa park.
