In an effort to mitigate the usual Black-Friday-circa-2008 crowds of antsy outdoorsers waiting for entry to our natural springs systems, the Florida State Parks system this March kicked off a new reservation program right here in Central Florida at Wekiwa Springs. It’s orderly, it’s lawful, it makes for an easier day in the sun. What it doesn’t do is appease the last-minute planner or the spontaneous springs-goer. You have to wake up pretty early to beat out a dedicated sunbather, and at Wekiwa, you really have to wake up early days in advance to nab one of these reservations.
This article appears in Best of Orlando (R) 2025.