Things to do in Ocala and the springs

Ocala sits about 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes northwest of Orlando via the Florida's Turnpike and I-75, in horse country: rolling pasture, pine woods, and a scatter of first-magnitude springs.

Silver Springs is 10 minutes from downtown, with glass-bottom boats that have run since 1878; Rainbow Springs and Alexander Springs sit inside or near the Ocala National Forest, more than an hour east by two-lane road, not a quick hop between stops.

Spring water holds at a constant 22 C year-round, which is the whole appeal: cold relief in August, the warmest swim in the region come January. Swimming season runs roughly April through October, and weekend entry quotas at the busiest springs fill by mid-morning in spring and summer.