Wekiwa Springs State Park — Attraction in Apopka

I was here for a private event at the youth camp, so can't speak to the springs themselves or the overall park amenities much, but I can speak to the overall things I've experienced.

The check in process for a Tuesday afternoon in March was awesome, with no lines. Attending the private event at the Youth Camp does not require day pass reservations, so getting in was easy and didn't require as much planning as it would have to visit for the day.

The park attendant at the gate was friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful, and gave adequate directions to get me to where I needed to go.

The park itself is well maintained and very beautiful, with a wide variety of wildlife. While here, I have seen sandhill cranes, Sherman's fox squirrels, gopher tortoise, woodpeckers, turkeys, hawks, and others, and the ant situation was surprisingly good for a youth camp, with no fire ants and only scattered mounds of sugar ants near the fire circles.

There is a bear proof dumpster on site, and one member of the group attending brought an unsecured cooler and quickly regretted the decision, as a medium sized black bear raided it the first night. It wasn't dangerous, and it ran away as soon as people came out and "looked big," but if you're afraid of bears, I'd suggest staying in a cabin or RV at night instead of a tent, and definitely use adequate measures to secure your food and animals.

The cabins in the youth camp vary, from bunkhouses sleeping 10 without heat or A/C to the "Main Office" building that looks pretty much like a regular house inside. There are also small 2-bedroom cabins that sleep up to 6 that share a bathroom and have mini-split heat pumps, and one cabin that is stucco construction with 4 bedrooms (8 beds), 2 bathrooms, and a small kitchenette with a potable water sink, and a fridge, microwave, and coffee maker.

There is also a dining hall on site with a serve safe kitchen, but our group didn't have anyone certified to use it, so we had to make do without it.

All the buildings were clean and well maintained, and worked as advertised, but the hot water wasn't turned on everywhere at first and we had to get some of the heaters turned on, but staff was really responsive in helping us get that sorted out, and I'm not sure if that was the park's fault or the event organizers', but it was handled quickly and then the bathhouses all had nice hot showers.

There are other amenities in the youth camp, but this has gotten too long already. Overall, our group had a great time here, and found all the youth camp facilities to be a great value...

Camped here last week for three nights in a camper with 7 people. Spring was crowded but not uncomfortable. Had a great time swimming in the springs, biking, kayaking & hiking. Publix 5 minutes down the road if needed. Had cell signal the whole time but spotty on some trails. Wood available at the ranger station $8. Clean showers and restroom facilities. Beautiful park and we never felt too hot with the springs to cool off in. Rangers and staff were friendly. I woke up very early every morning and jogged a new trail. Had to download the trail map but kept a picture of the trail map sign which helped more than the app. App was great for learning about the speings and wildlife. Wondrous running every morning through the wilderness alone with no footprints on the trail (except bear tracks and other wildlife). We saw many deer, rabbits, turkeys, tortoises, alligators, birds. Also went hiking after dark and saw loads of deer. They stay close to people to avoid predators & actually bed down behind our camper 20 ft away which was a nice surprise in the morning. Small store on-site for drinks and snacks. Nice facilities, food and drinks at Wekiva Island. Definitely worth the paddle. Springs are an Easy 20-30 minute walk from the campground if you like (and def should do). I had a bobcat growl at me on the trail at night which was cool? I never made eyes on it but I backed away slowly. Check-in/out was easy. Rained like clockwork every afternoon but we planned for it and worked around it just fine. Highlight for me was trail running every morning (with my son) and hiking at night (only try if your experienced and prepared). Trails are pretty easy to hike but make a plan and let someone know where your going. Trails can go from dry to wet so be aware, but if you're up early enough you'll have the woods all to yourself. Trails are long and can be up to over 8 miles back to the main roads so check before you start down a trail and train accordingly. We will defintely be back to the springs in the future to...

Beautiful natural springs!! So many people. I went and did "Mill Creek Loop Trail" for the 1st time. It was scary, adventurous and fun!!

At 1st I was by myself, I began on the side of the trail head that you had to go through a gate (not the rope!). It almost looked like it was closed off. I got about .5 mile around (after the first bridge over the creek, which had reddish, brown water). The trail began to look overgrown and more narrow. Plus, I saw huge paw prints in the sand (assuming bear because of the "Caution Bear" signs in the parking lot). I decided to turn my, happy and intact, butt back to my car. Fortunately, on my way back to my car, I ran into a regular who hikes that very trail with his dog. He says he has seen a bear on the trail, but they usually leave you alone, and he has never seen an alligator on that specific trail. He says he's hiked it for the past 10 years every weekend. He carries bear spray, bug spray, SPF and water. Next time, I'll bring some bear spray!!

We ended up doing the whole trail together with his adorable dog. There was some heavy rain the night prior, which flooded a portion of the trail. Like bad. He said he's never seen it so flooded. We decided to crawl around the edges of the "mini lakes" (puddles) near the tree line. Our shoes got wet and his dog decided just to swim through them. It was maybe 2-3yards of puddles of varying depths. That was the worst part.

If it wasn't for him and his dog I wouldn't have done the hike at all. Not by myself. Thanks M & R for being my tour guide and great company!!

Definitely an adventure, I enjoyed the hike very much.

FYI–if your military- active, retired or veteran you get free life time pass to go in. Plus you get a # code to go in if you want to get in before 8am. That let's you pass the long, long line of people waiting to get into the park when it opens at 8am. Of course you need proof of...