Kelly Park Crystal Clear Swimming Hole with Kids





There is a lot of theme parks & attractions near Orlando Florida, but just outside Orlando if you take the ride bring you to the most gorgeous spring with crystal clear water.

This spring is Rock Spring is which is feed off of the Wekiwa River! Truly so beautiful with emerald & blue hues!
It is a popular area to canoe, kayak, tube & swim!

You can read my post about Kayaking the spring at Kelly's Landing HERE


What is Kelly Park?

Kelly Park is just that, a park that has a swimming area to the Rock Springs Run.
It has a playground, pavilions, a concession stand {this wasn't open when we were there}, hiking trails.

It is generally extremely busy. Especially during summer & peak season breaks.
During the summer they are known to hit capacity within a hour of opening. 
You want to arrive early, to avoid this.

We visited the first week of February, I am unsure if it plus the mix of it being very chilly that day starting out but we had the entire place to ourselves for a while. We only saw one other family as we arrived & a couple arrived & left as we were swimming.




Hours:

Summer 8am-8pm
Winter 8am-6pm
The waterfront closes one hour before the park closes.

How much is it to get in?

1 - 2 people : $3
 3 - 8 people : $5
 Busses are $10 for the bus plus $1 per person.
They take cash & card with ID

They do not allow pets or alcohol.



How will I know if they have reached capacity?

They update their websites & you can also call 407-254-1906

Other helpful info per their website:

"Each morning, 280 vehicles will be allowed entry, and an additional 50 vehicles are allowed in after 2 p.m. with an afternoon parking pass. These 330 vehicles equate to an average of 1,350 visitors each day. You must get a voucher in the morning once we hit our initial capacity to be able to gain access at the 2 p.m. re-open time. Only one voucher will be given per car and they are on a first-come, first-served basis."



Can I bring my own floats?

Yes, you can bring pool noddles & tubes.
They must be no larger than 5ft in width & length.
You are able to bring in third party rental tubes.

Can you see how crystal clear it is here? You can really see the blue/green hues I was talking about too!

Are there lifeguards?

Yes, but they are not year-round. When we were there, there was none. There are lots of areas that are shallow, but it can drop quickly to be quite deeper. Def keep an eye on your little ones, & bring a lifejacket if your kids aren't swimming yet, or not strong swimmers.




Alligators & Wildlife

I think that is the number one question everyone had for me. & here's the thing, if there is a body of water in Florida there is ALWAYS a potential of gators. Did we see any on our trip? No. Have others? Yes.

If you look closely at the picture below on the right-hand side you can see the deer drinking in the water! There were at least 4 of them! So neat! Other wildlife that has been seen there is otter, storks, heron, turtles, fish, bear, bobcat {super rare}!



Here is a great video going over the area!