Alexander Spring

This place is great. Perfect picnic area, kayak rentals, nice walking trails, and, of course the spring. Definitely bring goggles and fun floats. The spring is really deep and plenty of scuba divers seemed to enjoy it. For those that don’t know, the spring is always around 72 degrees. So yes, it will be cold… but worth it!

The natural springs in Florida are beautiful and this one is no exception. It cost $ 6 to get per person, not bad for a family. Inside they have camp grounds, grills, picnic tables, canoe rentals and a little store. The springs are beautiful and stay at 72 degrees. Bring your snorkel and a float and spend the day. They also do not allow alcohol and they check coolers.

Only 5 star so it’s seen.
This park is incredibly disrespectful to Military members! ! The lady at the gate had the nerve to tell my Active duty son that he was not welcome in the park! She insulted my Disable Vet husband and then went on to my Son. I’m extremely outraged by this! Military Supporters beware the lady did everything short of spitting on our Military. Disgusting. Juniper Springs did the same as well!

Just went camping here and loved every bit of it. The campgrounds themselves are very well maintained and the bathhouses are as nice as any campground I’ve been to. There is no electricity, so if that is something you need, be aware.
As for the spring, it is absolutely gorgeous. Shallow water area close to shore to play in, then there is the deep water spring. Deep enough that it’s the only spring in ocala national to allow scuba diving. Make sure to at least bring a snorkel to enjoy the sights.
There are also a couple of different hiking and biking options within and just outside the rec area. The north trailhead of the only biking trail in ocala national is located right across the street. Also the florida trail crosses not too far away.
In summation, i loved alexander springs, I will be back, and I suggest you go as well!

Gorgeous natural spring! As many have said this is a beautiful place to swim. There are some steps to get into the spring and some other areas where you can walk into the spring from the sandy edge. This is a naturally formed spring in the Ocala forest area and it’s quite beautiful. There are many shallow areas to hang out in the water and also the spring head area that is quite deep, but clear and beautiful water. Lots of people hang out at the spring head and dive for fun into the deep end.
To other reviewers that think $ 5.50 is a waste of money to get in, I refute you! It’s lovely and natural and so much cheaper than running your A/​C all day to cool off. It’s also much cheaper than a theme park and so much more refreshing. You are out in nature, so if squirrels, bugs, mosquitoes, some vultures, and possibly other wildlife bother you, this may not be the place for you. You might need some insect repellent and definitely sunblock. The park area has nice picnic tables and small BBQ grills (byob of lighter fluid and matches) so that you can hang out and grill if you like. There is a strict no alcohol policy and your cooler is subject to surprise inspections, so don’t even think about it. The tables will fill up fast in the morning, but some are usually available again in the afternoons.
I didn’t camp here, but there is camping that other people in our group said was great and there are plenty of shared bathrooms available. Also, there is a drop off area closer to the spring if you want to drive your car from the campsite and drop off equipment. There is a small general store with snacks, treats, and drinks. Also you can rent a canoe to take out into the non-​swimming area too. The nature trail/​walk is about 1.10 miles and you can really get away on the path into the forest, very lovely! Really great park and you will have no cell service when you’re there… so ahhh… time to enjoy nature and not the internet.

Before there was Disney, this is why people came to Florida.
Beautiful, clear, cool water.
Go Canoeing. Go swimming in the swimin’ hole.
There is just so much out-​door fun to be had in the Ocala area. YEAH NATURE!

One of the most beautiful places one will ever see. The spring water is amazingly clear. I suggest bringing swim goggles and a tube or raft. This is definitely one of our favorite springs. Not many people know of the natural beauty center florida has to offer. Not far from Disney land one can find some amazing natural family parks.
The water is nice and cool so this is a favorite place to cool off in the summer. A must see.

Our family really loves this place. We camped here last year without the kids but are planning a family camping trip soon.
The springs are fun! It’s great for all ages. The kids always have so much fun. There’s plenty of shade and picnic tables and grills. Great place to spend the day.

If you plan on canoeing, swimming, snorkeling, diving, and cooking out, all in one day… basically spending 5+ hours at this park, then $ 5.50 — $ 6.50 PER PERSON, not car, over the age of 6 yrs. may be cost worthy. If you have young kids that can only take 2 hours max of frigid spring water, ants, brazen igloo thieving squirrels and can’t stand the feel of slimy/​algae grass touching their feet, then pass on this one. I live in Fla, have been to many State Parks, and was appalled at the cost to enter this average spring park. Honeymoon Island is $ 8 per car and rates as one of the most beautiful coastal parks in Fla. and worth every penny to get in.
Alexander Springs is just a park, with picnic tables that happen to have access to a spring, no bear mascot running around taking pics with the little ones, no kick arse DQish kind of snack bar, no museums… No reason to charge per person vs. per car and what you get for the money, is not impressive. Pass.

Just came back from a camping trip here and we really enjoyed ourselves. The campgrounds are very well maintained. All of the facilities are very clean and the staff is super friendly. The water in the showers were hot. They are pet-​friendly except we could not take the dog down to the springs/​boardwalk trail. Good thing is that there are several beautiful trails within walking distance. All of the trails are very well marked, so we felt very safe. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any wildlife because it was hunting season.

Great place to take a family. I have been to many of the springs and really love this one. It works well for me because it is family oriented. I have camped here before but this weekend we went just are day trippers to go swimming and walk on the trail. There are clean changing facilities, showers, bathrooms, and a little store with lots of floats for sale. Now they have a small air compressor to air up your floats for free. DO NOT come without a float of some kind or you need to plan on buying one. Also, bring a mask and snorkel to look around and maybe a ball to toss also.
Yes, they check coolers before you walk down to the water and no they don’t allow alcohol, but that is great because I don’t want to deal with the drunks. There is a great sandy beach type area that is ankle deep perfect for little ones and also a deep, deep hole great for anyone else. You can rent a pavilion or use 1 of the many picnic tables. There is so much space and is nicely shaded with lots of grass to spread out a blanket and spend the day.
The trail is well keep and not to long. There were some side trails but since we were still wearing out suits, I wasn’t going looking to get bite up and scratched up.
I can’t say enough good about this park. It is 1 of my favorites.

What a wonderful recreation area! My husband and I recently camped here and had an awesome experience!
The springs were beautiful and very refreshing to swim in. Anyone would swim here, babies to experienced SCUBA divers. There is a giant opening in the spring that is great for snorkeling. We got to see an otter, various types of fish, and breathtaking flora. There is also a small beach area. Not very crowded during the week, hardly anyone there late in the afternoon/​early evening.
The campground was nice too. Spacious area had a grill, firepit, trashhook, and picnic table. Not a far walk to the nearest bathroom or campground manager in case of emergency. Our pad was very clean. Definitely prepare for insects and critters. Saw a few Lone Star ticks, lots of horseflies, many different spiders, and of course skeeeters. Our pad was close to 445 so we could hear a few cars every once in a while. Saw a few critters and a deer, heard some pitter patter of animal paws in the middle of the night, but no bears. Ocala is pretty serious about bears, so please heed caution and follow the bear rules.
Overall we had an amazing time and are looking forward to coming back!

We went as a family and expected to have a fun time. We made it as far as the «train» which is a pick up pulling tram cars. The disrespectful codger running the train was a condescending jerk. Thus we went to weikiwa and had a good time.

Great camping grounds — be sure you LOCK your cooler. Yep, you heard me.
The «locals» get in there, quite easily.
We arrived one day kinda late, got our camp set up and went hunting for firewood.
As we were behind our camp, we heard a big clunk.
We ran over to see what was the matter and our beer had fallen off the cooler.
We looked around — nothing was there.
We started continued adding wood to our fire and saving some and when we went to cook dinner — the package of chicken was missing.
Interesting since we had it packed under a bunch of other stuff in the cooler… we went looking around and found a cat licking at what was left in the package (2 of the 3 breasts were there — one was missing…) at the end of our camp’s pathway. The cat skiddattled and we threw the rest of the package away and went about our night freaking out how smart that cat was.
He was an orange kitty. But mean. And the rest of the night we had to shoo him away.
We put the cooler and everything else but the fire and the tent in the car, packed all our garbage in a big black trash bag and strung it up until we went to throw it out.
When we went to walk the trash to the trash bins, we walked across a few empty camps and we heard a big BOOM and looked up and saw blue blinking eyes.
WOAH! Apparently a mama bear protecting her cubs — we were still a ways away, but she would have chased and eaten us. We backed up slowly, trash in hand to the car and drove it to the farthest route away from that area.
The whole night we were up with flashlights and fire protecting our territory in hopes that not only a cat wouldn’t get us but the bears! I’ve never run into bears on my camping trips in years past — anywhere.
The next day we spoke with the office folks and they swore that the cat didn’t get in our cooler but the resident raccoon that had a name, but we don’t remember what it was. But that was funny. The cat was just taking the leftovers.
The bears — that’s a whole ‘nother story, but apparently not uncommon in the Ocala National Forest.
They moved us to a new camp since we had 2 more nights to go and low and behold that damn cat found us again. He was not fed, nor did he get close enough to our things, but he was annoying. Beggar.
The park itself was very nice, the canoeing was nice, the facilities were nice, the entire trip overall was good minus a few animal encounters, but we had a good time.

This is one of my favorite spots in The Ocala National Forest. We have been going to Ocala for decades and their are several springs in the area. But this one is our favorite one :). Even on busy days we can find our own little hole to swim. I do not think the price is that bad it’s only $ 5 to dive all day if you want to get your gear wet. Not a whole lot to see for a dive spot but it’s a good place to Re-​acclimate yourself to the water. Got some pretty large bass under the lily pads. Yes you can canoe/​kayak up river but their isn’t much to see in my opinion. Their is primitive camping allowed but never stayed there bc I gotta have my electricity for my ac. The week days are less busy and best. They have grills and tables and plenty space to spread out. Not a place to hike its a place to swim. To me the swimming hole is much better then Rainbow Springs could ever be bc Rainbows swimming hole is always so crowded. I judged this place as a swimming hole not a park as a whole.

Good clean fun. Take a canoe trip and just forget the world. The «beach» area provides for some people watching fun.

A friend and I went to Alexander Spring last summer to go swimming: he lives near Daytona Beach and I in Gainesville, so it seemed a good place in between our locations to meet, but most of the time I go to Little River Springs in Branford, Rainbow River Springs State Park or other springs closer to Gainesville.
As Alexander Spring is a USDA/​National Forest property, I noticed some interesting differences from the county and state park facilities I tend to go to otherwise. For one, it’s a little more expensive – I forget exactly how much, but I know it was more costly a fee than a state park. However, it’s still a fair price and the bathroom facilities include changing rooms and showers which is really nice after changing into boardshorts in Rainbow River Springs State Park’s tiny, unkempt, restroom. The actual springs include a small beach/​pic-​nic area and a large swimming area at the spring-​head leading into a small river which I think you can launch a canoe in but I’m not sure about that. The water is beautiful: clear, just perfectly crystal-​clear. Still, I would recommend Rainbow River Springs State Park in Dunnellon overall as it’s slightly cheaper and the hiking trails there go by some amazing lovely garden-​like and natural areas whereas the ones at Alexander do not. Also, the general set-​up of Rainbow River Springs State Park is better I feel, but if you’re camping in the Ocala National Forest or otherwise in this area, Alexander is still worth checking out. I would just be more tempted to drive an hour to Dunnellon than around the same distance here considering what’s offered at both locations.

As far as general parks, hiking areas, and stuff like that goes, I wasn’t very impressed. The trail was much too close to nearby roads, which took away from my enjoyment of the footpath trail. I’m sure the entrance fees are worth it if you’re into diving, but — other than that — I’d recommend skipping this place and trying somewhere else instead.