Water Adventures with Kids in Florida

We pulled these 53 water adventures out of our full catalog of kid-friendly spots in Florida. Every listing has the ages it suits, what it costs, how long to budget, parking notes, and what to pack.

53 adventures found

Crystal River, FL

Three Sisters Springs

The only place in the US where you can legally snorkel alongside wild manatees, plus a boardwalk view for families staying dry.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 6+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Fort White, FL

Ichetucknee Springs State Park

Float a crystal-clear 72-degree spring run through shaded forest on inner tubes - the classic Florida tubing trip for families.

  • Tubing
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Key Largo, FL

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

The first undersea park in the US. Snorkel boats run out to living coral reef, and two calm beaches work for kids not ready for the boat.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 5+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Key West, FL

Dry Tortugas National Park

Seventy miles out from Key West: a vast brick fort on an empty island, ringed by the clearest snorkelling water in Florida.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 6+
  • ~12h
  • Paid

Sarasota, FL

Myakka River State Park

A canopy walkway suspended in the treetops, an airboat across an alligator lake, and one of Florida's oldest and largest state parks.

  • Nature
  • Ages 3+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Stuart, FL

Bathtub Reef Beach

A worm-rock reef sits just offshore and turns the water inside into a warm, calm, waist-deep pool full of fish at low tide.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 3+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Weeki Wachee, FL

Weeki Wachee Springs State Park

The underwater mermaid theatre has run since 1947, plus a spring-fed water park and a clear paddling run down the Weeki Wachee River.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Williston, FL

Devil's Den Spring

Snorkel inside a collapsed underground cavern lit by a single opening in the roof - a prehistoric spring reached by a staircase.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 6+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Altoona, FL

Alexander Springs Recreation Area

A first-magnitude spring in Ocala National Forest with a rare gently sloping sand bottom - the easiest spring entry in Florida for small kids.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Apopka, FL

Kelly Park Rock Springs

A natural lazy river near Orlando: the spring run carries you gently for about twenty minutes, then you walk back up and do it all over again.

  • Tubing
  • Ages 3+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Apopka, FL

Wekiwa Springs State Park

A big spring swimming basin twenty minutes from Orlando, with canoe rentals on the Wekiva River and thirteen miles of trail.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Big Pine Key, FL

Bahia Honda State Park

The best natural beach in the Keys - shallow, warm, clear water off Sandspur Beach, with the old railroad bridge as the backdrop.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Boca Raton, FL

Red Reef Park

Snorkel a shallow boulder reef twenty yards off the sand in water rarely more than six feet deep, with angelfish, parrotfish and green turtles.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 5+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Chiefland, FL

Manatee Springs State Park

A first-magnitude spring running into the Suwannee River, with winter manatees, a boardwalk through cypress swamp and easy swimming.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 3+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Chipley, FL

Falling Waters State Park

Florida's tallest waterfall drops seventy-three feet into a sinkhole and disappears underground - nobody knows where it goes.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 3+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

De Leon Springs, FL

De Leon Springs State Park

Swim in a walled 72-degree spring pool, then cook your own pancakes on a griddle built into your table at the 1830s sugar mill restaurant.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Destin, FL

Henderson Beach State Park

Thirty-foot natural dunes and a wide white beach in the middle of Destin, with dune boardwalks, outdoor showers and covered shade pavilions.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Dunedin, FL

Caladesi Island State Park

A car-free barrier island reached by ferry, with three miles of undeveloped Gulf beach and a mangrove kayak trail behind it.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 3+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Dunedin, FL

Honeymoon Island State Park

Drive-on barrier island with calm Gulf swimming, excellent shelling, an osprey trail and one of Florida's best dog beaches.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 1+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Dunnellon, FL

Rainbow Springs State Park

Swim in a wide, shallow first-magnitude spring with a sandy entry, waterfalls and a paddling run - one of Florida's easiest springs with toddlers.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Fernandina Beach, FL

Fort Clinch State Park

A remarkably intact brick fort with costumed reenactors, plus shark tooth hunting on the beach and camping under live oaks.

  • Nature
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Fort Myers Beach, FL

Lovers Key State Park

Manatees and dolphins in the back bay, a two-mile beach reached on foot, and a five-mile mangrove paddling trail through the tunnels.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 3+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

High Springs, FL

Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park

Florida's newest state park: a clear blue spring with a shallow sandy run down to the Santa Fe River, good for a first snorkel.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 3+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

High Springs, FL

Ginnie Springs

Seven springs on a private stretch of the Santa Fe River, with water clear enough that snorkellers appear to float on air above the sand.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 5+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Hobe Sound, FL

Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Paddle Florida's first Wild and Scenic River through cypress, and climb the sand pine ridge for a view over the whole coast.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 5+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Holt, FL

Blackwater River State Park

One of the purest sand-bottom rivers in the world, with a broad white sandbar on every bend for stopping to swim and eat. Gentle enough for kids.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 5+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Homestead, FL

Biscayne National Park

Ninety-five percent underwater: boat trips run out to living reef and mangrove islands from a visitor centre south of Miami.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 6+
  • ~6h
  • Paid

Islamorada, FL

Anne's Beach

A free roadside beach with warm, ankle-deep water for hundreds of feet and a boardwalk through mangroves - made for toddlers.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 1+
  • ~2h
  • Free

Jacksonville, FL

Big Talbot Island State Park

Boneyard Beach is littered with the bleached skeletons of whole oak and cedar trees, toppled off an eroding bluff onto the sand.

  • Hiking
  • Ages 4+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Jupiter, FL

Blowing Rocks Preserve

At high tide on a windy day, waves force seawater fifty feet into the air through blowholes in the largest limestone outcrop on Florida's coast.

  • Nature
  • Ages 4+
  • ~2h
  • Paid

Key West, FL

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

Key West's best swimming beach, with genuine snorkelling off the rocks and a Civil War fort full of seacoast cannon to explore between swims.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 4+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Lithia, FL

Lithia Springs Conservation Park

A shallow, walled spring pool half an hour from Tampa, with a sandy bottom, a gentle entry and a campground under the oaks beside it.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Long Key, FL

Long Key State Park

A marked canoe trail through a shallow mangrove lagoon in the middle Keys - bring your own boat, because there is nothing to rent here.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 5+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Marathon, FL

Curry Hammock State Park

Shallow, protected flats ideal for a first family paddle, a quiet beach, and the best hawk-watching site in the Keys each October.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Marathon, FL

Sombrero Beach

A free, shaded, sandy municipal beach in the middle Keys with calm shallow water, a playground and real palm-tree shade.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 1+
  • ~3h
  • Free

Melbourne Beach, FL

Sebastian Inlet State Park

Florida's most productive saltwater fishing spot, with a walkable jetty, a calm lagoon beach for kids and surfing on the north side.

  • Fishing
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Naples, FL

Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park

A mile of quiet Naples beach with five separate parking areas so you are never far from the car, and calm shallow Gulf water.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Orange City, FL

Blue Spring State Park

Hundreds of manatees winter in this spring run from November to March, watched from a boardwalk. Swimming opens once they leave.

  • Nature
  • Ages 2+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

Panama City Beach, FL

St. Andrews State Park

A jetty-protected lagoon where the water stays calm and clear - the best beginner snorkelling on the Panhandle, with fish right by the rocks.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 3+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Riviera Beach, FL

Peanut Island Park

An island reached only by water taxi, with a rock-protected snorkel lagoon shallow enough to stand in and a campground on the far side.

  • Snorkeling
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Sanibel, FL

Bowman's Beach

One of the best shelling beaches in America, on an island that faces the wrong way on purpose. Come at low tide after a storm with a mesh bag.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Santa Rosa Beach, FL

Grayton Beach State Park

Sugar-white sand and emerald Gulf water on Florida's 30A, plus a rare coastal dune lake behind the beach that kids can paddle a kayak across.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Sarasota, FL

Siesta Key Beach

Quartz sand that stays cool underfoot even in August, and Gulf water so shallow and calm it works as a giant paddling pool for small children.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 1+
  • ~4h
  • Free

Silver Springs, FL

Juniper Springs Recreation Area

A seven-mile canoe run through narrow jungle-like creek in Ocala National Forest, plus a 1930s stone millhouse and a CCC-built spring pool.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 8+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Silver Springs, FL

Silver Springs State Park

Glass-bottom boats have run over these springs since the 1870s. Paddle the run yourself to find the wild monkeys along the bank.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 3+
  • ~3h
  • Paid

St. Augustine, FL

Anastasia State Park

Four miles of Atlantic beach plus a warm, shallow tidal lagoon that is close to perfect for beginner paddlers, ten minutes from St. Augustine.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 3+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

St. George Island, FL

St. George Island State Park

Nine miles of undeveloped barrier island beach with almost nobody on it, plus calm bay-side water and excellent shelling.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 2+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Thonotosassa, FL

Hillsborough River State Park

Class II rapids - genuinely rare in Florida - viewed from a suspension footbridge, plus canoe rentals in a CCC-built park near Tampa.

  • Kayaking
  • Ages 5+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Tierra Verde, FL

Fort De Soto Park

Five interconnected islands with a shallow lagoon beach built for toddlers, a Spanish-American War fort, and a paddling trail.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 1+
  • ~5h
  • Paid

Titusville, FL

Canaveral National Seashore

Twenty-four miles of undeveloped Atlantic beach next to the Kennedy Space Center, with sea turtle nests and no buildings in sight.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 3+
  • ~4h
  • Paid

Wakulla Springs, FL

Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park

One of the world's deepest freshwater springs, with a riverboat tour past wild alligators and a 1937 lodge that has barely changed.

  • Swimming
  • Ages 4+
  • ~4h
  • Paid