Silver Glen Springs — Attraction in Pomona Park

Nice place to visit. It does get crowded during Summer month's & yes, water temp is 72 year round at the swimming area of the spring. Parking space is limited as are picnic tables, about 12 or so & especially public BBQ stationary grills, about 8 or so. Q; What to do? A; Hang out catching sun rays, BBQ'ing, Swimming, Snorkeling which is awesome as very clear water & deep center, Canoeing to name a few things to do. You can see fish abound swimming & if you like to canoe, kayak about, you will love it! You can rent canoes by a couple of hours to a full day (range from $18 for two hours & $ more for half & full day rental). If you own your own canoe or kayak or even a little raft, save $ & bring it. BE AWARE, you will have to carry along all your stuff & gear. About 100+ yards (depending where you park in the parking area determines added distance to the swimming and/or canoe launch ramp area's). There is a cover charge of $6.00 (up from $5.50) for entry per person. I am not familiar with discounts for youth and/or for elderly???? Many pontoon boats as well as other boats anchor just beyond the roped off swimmers area & thus add to the crowds on the area. Have not visited during weekends & Holidays but have been told that especially during hot Summer month's, beyond crowded so best is off peak weekdays. Open at least when I just visited in early Aug 2018 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Worth mentioning, my cellphone had no service there as well so no Pandora music. Thankfully I had saved music player on my phone which saved me but no cell service (cricket/at&t), other carriers??? Additionally, there are no showers, thankfully too, fresh water so no issues like salt water at the beach where a rinse off after a day of swimming is warranted. Also, there are no wash basins like sinks or the like & bathrooms are Port-a-potty stalls & thankfully a large size hand sanitizer container I saw outside on a post where about 6 port-a-potty stalls are. There is a changing room building. Of value, worth mentioning, there are several turkey vulture's hanging around the pinic table areas so be cautious with food and food on the grill as several of these vultures I saw jump up on a pinic table & grab an open bag of potato chips left unattended by a kid. No, the wildlife turkey vulture's won't enact a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS & attack you and/or snatch food off your hand BUT common sense, tend to your cooking & food left unattended while you go off swimming, DON'T DO for several reasons! Vulture's are wildlife that should not be fed & or interfered with but just left to themselves. They won't bother you & neither should you bother them, be aware & just keep food secure, covered, kept out of site, etc., if you are not eating it, put it away & out of site, just common sense! Otherwise, yes, a nice place to visit. There are no lifeguards on duty & a decent area where you can easily walk in the water but know there are areas of the spring that there is a drop off that drop off to deep water thus supervision is warranted particularly of children and/or those whom do not know how to swim. Bring floats, pack a lunch & a canoe if you like & spend a full day enjoying this spectacular place provided by nature's bounty. Enjoy! Take a memory & nothing else & please clean up after yourself, leave nothing but a footprint. Mother nature...

This spring is easily one of the lost gems. The location is easy to get to. There is a ramp/walkway to get from the parking lot to the water and recreational area. It's actually not a big park but there IS a 2 mile trail you can walk through. There are charcoal grills you can use if you come prepared. Bring a wagon to lug your stuff down or you'll be forced to carry it all! Bring a blanket or chairs to sit, as there are no seating areas with tables. The water is pretty clear and the fish easy to see underwater. There is a roped off section for the boats and kayaks & paddle boards. They do offer a daily fee based rental area on kayaks and paddle boards. They have a launch pad area for them separate from the entryway to the main water way. The water is pretty shallow in most areas. Getting to about mid waist or chest at most areas for an adult. The dark spots are the deeper pockets. The rocks are brutal when walking around so wear water shoes and save your feet! The park entry fee is $14 per person and you have to now pay to reserve a parking spot on the weekends for $20 online. There isn't much parking so you can imagine how busy it gets on the weekend. I highly suggest weekday visits. No parking reservation means no extra fees. There is a small shop if you forget anything. And also a changing station by the parking lot and store. There is also a sandy volleyball court. A lot of the shaded areas under the trees are closed off for wildlife preservation currently. BRING YOUR FOOD AND KEEP TRASH IN YOUR COOLER OR ZIPPED BAGS AS THE BUZZARDS WILL RIP INTO YOUR PLASTIC BAGS!

On occasion, there is a big boat that sells hotdogs, burgers and pizza. Beware, though, hot dogs are heated in a crock pot not grilled. (Not the best tasting) pizza is left sitting on a table and not heated up. Doesn't bother my kids but it would bother me as I hate cold pizza. He also sells ice cream sandwiches and ice pops. There WILL be wildlife throughout the park! Ants, bugs, birds, and bears. We saw a baby black bear being corraled by the Wildlife Animal Control and hauled away to be relocated. So be sure to stay away from them if you do see them! And for Pete's sake do NOT let your kids...

Another native here that used to love coming here as a kid, only difference is now that I have kids of my own I don’t come here. Been once in the last ten years, it’s just too expensive. Which is wild since we live just up the road.

The water is crystal clear, some of the clearest water you’ll see in the state. I know I’ve looked. Does that warrant $15 a person? No, quite frankly. A family of 4 on a Tuesday? $60, more than an average tank of gas. Store? Nonexistent really. Bathrooms? You mean full sun porta potties in the parking lot… Speaking of parking.. small lot, hasn’t been paved in decades, but hey let’s charge for that too. Definitely has to have decent paths? Side walks? No. Easily accessible? Not really when it’s one way in and one way out. It about 15 feet wide and usually crammed with people whining about how cold the water it is. Picnic tables? A handful at best. Shade or pavilions? No. Peaceful? fat chance with 100 party boats crammed into the spring run.

People can be enchanted at first glance it’s hard not to, it’s real Florida but this third party sucking every visitor dry crap rubs me the wrong way. Theres ripping off tourists and then ripping off locals… I’ll gladly drive an hour, pay $5 a car load for my kids to jump in and swim around at a state park run spring instead. Again, I get profiting off tourists but no passes for the locals? No discount during for off peak hours? or just perks for state residents? That is sad, but then NOTHING to show for charging such an exorbitant amount is also just gross. Zero improvements in decades, if anything, they’re taking away areas and barely maintaining the open ones. Do better.

*To add, I’m also well aware of the eel grass restoration that needs to happen in the run but the party boaters which get in there for free, needs to stop or they need to rope off more of the run. They need to save the grass which helps our manatee population survive and keeps the water...