Ichetucknee Springs State Park

The classic Florida tubing river: a slow float down gin-clear, spring-fed water under a canopy of cypress and hardwoods, northwest of Gainesville. It is the best answer to a hot summer day that does not involve a water park. Summer weekends get busy, and the park limits how many people launch. The midpoint launch has been closed for repairs, so tubing currently starts from the south entrance; check the park before you plan a longer float. Outside summer, a paddle or a swim at the headspring is quieter and just as clear.