Silver Springs, Florida: Silver Springs: Glass Bottom Boats
Florida's first tourist attraction opened in 1878 with a glass pane in a rowboat. Became a more nature-oriented state park in 2013. You can still look through the bottom of your glass-bottom tour boat and see the fish in the clear water. Old boat displayed on land.
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Silver Springs
The Gatorman greets children at Silver Springs, home of glass bottom boats and reptile shows. Gatorman is a distant relative of the creatures that yank misbehaving Florida suburbs children down into the swamp and eat them whole.
[Gail Archibald, 09/25/1999]It used to be in Ocala, Florida. I haven't been there since the 70's so it's possible it finally closed. In the 60's you would see signs for it all along the main east coast routes to Florida. At the time Ocala was a bigger tourist deal than Orlando.
The main attraction was glass-bottomed boats, which would cruise on the spring-fed, clear lake that give the place its name. The main thing you could see down there were huge 3-4 foot long catfish, which would rush to the surface to eat doughballs thrown by the tour guides.
There was also a tunnel you could walk through and see a fake sunken ship, which was a prop for the old TV show "Sea Hunt," starring Lloyd Bridges, which was supposedly filmed here. They also had a rattlesnake-milking, alligator-wrassling type of reptile show that had Ross Allen's name on it.
[Jim Cody, 07/10/1997][Previous 5 items] Page of 2
Silver Springs: Glass Bottom Boats
Silver Springs State Park
- Address:
- 5656 E. Silver Springs Blvd, Silver Springs, FL
- Directions:
- Silver Springs Nature Park. I-75 exit 352, then east on Hwy 40 for about nine miles. On the south side, just after the intersection of Baseline and Hwy 40.
- Hours:
- Daily 8 am - sunset (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 352-236-7148
- Admission:
- $2 to enter the park, $11 for a boat ride.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
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Silver Springs is still around, though in recent years it has seemed to cater to snowbirds and senior citizens -- Orlando being an inexorable youth-sucker. Have seen tv spots for a big new wild bear show, though, so they may be on the comeback trail.