My first stop on Pike’s Big Adventure was this past weekend at Wekiwa Springs State Park. I had heard that there were several beautiful natural springs in Central Florida, something my wife and I have always wanted to experience. Only 20 minutes from our downtown apartment, Wekiwa Springs was the perfect candidate. It’s a natural spring that’s open 8am to sundown 365 days a year, where you can swim, fish, hike, bike, canoe/kayak, even ride horseback.
We started the day early at 7am, as we’d heard that the park fills up very fast on the weekends during the summer. Based on a tip from a listener, we decided to actually park just down the Wekiva River at Wekiva Island. This is a cool spot to hang out, swim, enjoy food and drinks, and also rent kayaks and canoes. We rented our canoe for $45 (not bad for the whole day!) and headed up the stream toward Wekiwa Springs.
After a quick “learning period” (my wife and I struggled to get on the same page as far as who was steering, who should be paddling when, and just overall trying not to tip the canoe). Once we got all of that dialed in, we had a really fun half hour trip upstream to the springs. Since the water was very clear, we saw plenty of turtles and fish underwater. We also floated right by a 7-8ft alligator who was napping on a log. I thought that might freak me out, but he didn’t seem like he was in the mood to bother anyone.
The highlight was definitely a manatee sneaking up under our canoe. I’d never seen one before, so this was a really cool moment.
The springs lived up to all the hype. The water was just as clear as we’d seen in pictures and videos. It felt great jumping in, as the water stays a nice 72 degrees year round. There were a lot of families enjoying it as well.
The trip back to Wekiva Island went much quicker and took less effort as it was a downstream float. We docked the canoe, had a cold beer to reward our rare Saturday morning exercise, and went on our way to fuel up at Sonny’s BBQ!
It was an absolutely phenomenal meal. The Redneck Egg Rolls were to die for. I had the Pork 3 Ways, which was a huge platter of pulled pork, sliced pork and ribs that were all smoked to perfection. We got to meet the official Pitmaster at the Apopka location, Luis. He was a great dude who was very welcoming. The service was great all around. They even had their own house Amber ale, which was just the icing on the cake for me.