The cost is $39 for "Wanna Go" members and $50 for others. For those with your own boat, it's $29 for "Wanna Go" members and $40 for non-members. There's also a $5 per person park entry fee.
We're usually on the water for about 4 - 5 hours.
*Please note - there are no disposables allowed on this river (see "what to bring" below).
For tour dates, please check our website calendar at: www.adventureoutpost.net
For tour dates, please check our website calendar at: www.adventureoutpost.net
Description
The water of this spring run seems more clear and blue than most - probably because of the wide open canopy which allows plenty of sunshine, and the white sand bottom - so you'll see lots of fish and plenty of healthy eel grass meadows. There are also many waterbirds (including an unusually large number of cormorants and wood ducks). A couple of families of otters make the odds pretty good for sightings. Houses line much of the west side this river, but they aren't too distracting.
River Lore
For well over a century, as adventurers and nature lovers beat a path to the shores of Silver Spring, her sister spring, the Rainbow went relatively unnoticed. A surprising fact when you consider that it's Florida's second largest spring, gushing an average of 763 cubic feet per second. Maybe it's the name. The Indians called it Wekiwa, which means, simply, "the spring of water." This seemingly uninspired name was as common in the lexicon of Florida's natives as the name Blue Springs is today. When white settlers displaced the Indians, they changed the springs name to... you guessed it, Blue Spring.
In 1890, when the area became ground zero for Florida's huge phosphate boom, a health resort with a large hotel was built on the high slope overlooking the spring basin. Among other things, the resort offered boat rentals and passenger steamboat service to Dunnellon, a few miles downstream. It wasn't until 1937 that the springs promoters, feeling the need to give this beautiful spring an identity of it's own, renamed it Rainbow. But, the change didn't come easy. Even today, you'll still find many locals who call the river Blue Run.
In 1950, the hotel was destroyed by fire. Ten years later, the spring caught the attention of two mega-corporations, namely S & H Greenstamps and Holiday Inn, who bought 55 acres around the head spring. The hotel was rebuilt and the property was developed into a full scale tourist attraction, complete with river boat rides and log rafts. They even offered river tours in a small, air conditioned submarine! The park closed in 1974, and after sitting idle for 15 years, was bought by the state.
Rainbow Springs State Park opened in 1995. High, dry banks along most of the river bank, have allowed property owners to build homes close to the water. But, with it's exceptionally clear, blue waters and lots of birds and other wildlife, the Rainbow is still a beautiful paddle. Difficulty: The first hour of this trip is a round trip paddle up to the spring head and back. The upstream paddle here is against a moderate current - not quite as strong as Silver, but close. Aside from that, this river's a breeze. It's plenty wide and the curves are long and easy.
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