We love to venture down to Panama City Beach, Florida! The beautiful sandy beaches of the Emerald Coast is a favorite vacation spot for our family.
On our last trip we found an amazing little hideaway. (Stick around at the end of this post and see our video with drone views of this little slice of heaven.)
Ponce de Leon Springs State Park is located just north of Panama City Beach and was the perfect spot for our family to explore on our way home from our beach vacation.
Ponce de Leon Springs, FL 32455
The state park has an insanely cheap admission (only $4 per car load), so I am sure during the hot summer days the park has to be swarming with people seeking refuge from the hot Florida sun. We were visiting in October, so while the water was a steady 68*, we had the springs to ourselves.
The park has a bath house with restrooms, showers, and changing area. Which we found wonderful so that we could clean up and get changed for our long car ride home.
The park area has picnic tables, pavilions, and a volleyball area. There are also nature trails, perfect for warming back up after going for a dip in the refreshing water. The signs as you enter the trail warn you to be on the look-out for alligators, but according to a park ranger it is a rather rare sighting.
The water from the springs comes up from the ground and is a chilly 68* year round. The springs pumps out 14 million gallons of fresh clean water a day!
We were able to dive down near where the water comes up and get a closer look. It was incredible to see all the fish swimming around and enjoying the springs as well. (I highly recommend goggles when you go.)
There is a dive platform so you can show off all your cool dive stunts! There are a couple of ladders for getting back out of the springs easily or for those folks that think easing into the chilly water will be easier. (I am a rip the band-aid off jump right in kind of person.)
I encourage you to go and check it out if you haven’t had the chance yet. As you can see in the video below it is a great time for the whole family.
Florida has many beautiful springs and I encourage you to get there and check some of them out.
Have you visited a springs? I would LOVE to hear about which one you went to.
What a great find! We’ve been to Panama City Beach before but I had never heard of this park. I’m adding it to my destination wish list! Amazing!