The Best Outdoorsy Things To Do In Orlando (and Nearby!) is a guest post from Lana from Adventures by Lana.
If you are traveling to central Florida, you might wonder what type of outdoorsy things there are to do in Orlando! Sure, Disney World and Universal Studios exist, but Orlando has plenty of other things to do.
I’ve lived in Orlando for over five years and have enjoyed exploring all the different areas of this incredible city. Even though Orlando is known for its theme parks, there is so much else to see here, especially if you love the outdoors.
From kayaking through Florida Springs to biking the West Orange Trail, there are tons of fun outdoor activities to keep you busy. In this post, I’ll provide a list of my top 10 favorite outdoorsy activities in and around the Orlando area to help plan your next vacation.
Published: December 23, 2023
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Top 10 Outdoorsy Things You Need to Do in Orlando, Florida!
Listed below are the top 10 outdoorsy things to do in Orlando! Enjoy as many as you can during your trip for the ultimate outdoor adventure.
#1. Swim at Wekiwa Springs State Park
One of my favorite outdoor activities in Orlando is visiting Wekiwa Springs State Park.
Wekiwa Springs is the closest spring you can visit from downtown Orlando, located just 20 minutes north of the city center! This makes it so easy to visit, even if you’re only in town for a quick weekend trip.
The State Park is open from 8 am until sundown, 365 days a year! It costs $6 per vehicle to enter, making it affordable for the whole family! I highly recommend arriving as early as possible, especially during the summer.
There are so many things to do at Wekiwa Springs State Park, but the most popular is just lounging on the sloped lawn and swimming in the beautiful, spring-fed water. The spring water stays at a crisp 72 degrees year-round, which feels amazing in the summer. The swimming hole is around 4 ft deep on average, with entry stairs in multiple places. It’s perfect for kids and adults!
Another fun activity is renting kayaks or canoes and paddling down the river! You can rent kayaks and canoes directly inside the park from Nature Adventures. They’ll launch your kayaks, and you’ll be off to enjoy Florida nature and look for gators, turtles, birds, and more!
There are also hiking trails, fishing, and geocaching opportunities within the park in Orlando.
#2 Relax at Wekiva Island
Located just down the road from Wekiwa Springs is Wekiva Island, another great place to check out in Orlando. In fact, as you can tell by the name, Wekiva Island is located along the same river as Wekiwa Springs. If you are visiting Orlando, you can actually visit both of these places in one trip, but they are different!
Wekiva Island is a private, sustainable oasis on the river where you can swim, eat, drink, and relax! The island opens at 8 am every day and costs $5 per person to enter. Similar to Wekiwa Springs, you can also rent kayaks, canoes, plus paddleboards here! From the island, you can actually paddle all the way up to Wekiva Springs, which takes about 30 minutes to an hour. It’s a beautiful paddle and allows you to experience both spots in one day!
Wekiva Island also has volleyball courts, cornhole boards, a food truck, and a full bar! It’s a great spot if you have older children or you are looking for more adult fun 🙂
#3 Bike Riding Along One of the Many Trails
Another great outdoor activity in Orlando is to go bike riding! Many people think Orlando is just an urban city with Disney World, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Orlando has over 45 miles of off-street trails.
My favorite trails in Orlando for biking are the Cady Way Trail and the Little Econ Greenway, which are both located in the heart of Orlando! On each of these, you’ll find paved pathways as you move through cityscapes, parks, and more. It’s a beautiful way to experience Orlando.
#4 Zip lining at Gatorland
Gatorland is another fun outdoorsy activity in Orlando, especially if you have children!
As a Florida native, I didn’t go to Gatorland until I was almost 30 years old! I thought it was a typical tourist trap, but it is actually quite fun.
The property is over 100 acres and just as much a nature preserve as it is a “theme park.” It was founded in 1949 on former cattle land. Contrary to what you might think from the name, there are so much more than gators here! At Gatorland, you’ll find thrilling shows and up-close encounters with all different kinds of animals, like birds, reptiles, tortoises, wild cats, and more!
In addition to animal encounters, one of the most thrilling things the park offers is ziplining! The best part? You will be zip-lining OVER crocodiles and alligators. There are five zip line runs plus a fun swinging bridge you get to cross over. The cost of this experience is $69.99, which also includes admission to the park itself.
#5 Go on an Airboat Ride
If you think you have to visit South Florida to go on an airboat ride, think again! You can actually venture just outside of Orlando in the historic town of Kissimmee to experience it. Here, you’ll find the Central Florida Everglades, a giant chain of lakes, rivers, and swamps that include Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River Valley.
Going on an airboat ride is a classic Florida activity, and there are many different tour options you can choose from near Orlando. The most popular is Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures, which is located on a 32-acre landscaped park. Boggy Creek offers a variety of airboat tours, including half-hour, one-hour, private, sunset, and night tours! They also have a butterfly garden and gem mining experience, which is great for the whole family.
Another option is visiting Wild Florida, a private preserve on Lake Cypress, just 40 minutes outside of Orlando, south of Kissimmee. Wild Florida offers airboat rides, but they also have a gator park and a safari park! On the property, you can see gators, giraffes, zebras, sloths, lemurs, and Watusi cattle!
#6 Swim with Manatees
One of my personal favorite outdoorsy things to do in Orlando is to see manatees! Did you know Florida is the only place in the USA where you can swim with wild manatees? How cool is that?! To see manatees, I recommend heading to one of the many Florida freshwater springs!
Blue Spring State Park is the closest to Orlando, located just 40 minutes north of Downtown. During the winter months, typically November through March, the spring run is closed to swimming and snorkeling to provide a safe refuge for the manatees. So you won’t be able to swim with manatees here, but you can observe them from one of the many observation decks! In addition, you can take a boat ride or kayak through the St. Johns River, where you are likely to see manatees as well.
If you would like to swim with manatees, you’ll need to head a bit further outside of Orlando to the Crystal River / Homosassa Springs area. The whole town of Crystal River is pretty much dedicated to swimming with manatees, and there are several different boat tours to choose from in the area. I recommend Birds Underwater, as they are committed to the manatees and their safety! Tours typically last a few hours and should cost less than $100.
At Homosassa Springs State Park, you can attend one of their manatee programs, which are offered daily and will teach you about this incredible species. There is also an amazing underwater observatory here called the Fish Bowl, where you can see manatees and fish through a giant glass wall!
#7 Kayaking through Winter Park
If you’re looking to get on the water but don’t want to venture far out of Orlando, kayaking in Winter Park is a great option! Winter Park is a swanky, up-scale neighborhood just 5 miles north of downtown Orlando. It’s a great place to shop and eat, but a lot of people don’t realize there’s quite a bit of nature here as well!
Within Winter Park is a dreamy chain of lakes that you can kayak through at any time of year! These lakes are connected by Venetian-style canals that make the most gorgeous backdrop for a kayak tour. You can explore the area yourself or go on an organized kayak tour with companies like Peace of Mind Kayak Tours or Get Up and Go Kayaking. I recommend doing a tour that ends at sunset!
If you’re looking for more adventure, another great place to go kayaking is along the Emerald Cut and Rock Springs Run, which I will talk about more in the next section! Or, if kayaking isn’t your thing, you can opt for a Winter Park scenic boat ride instead.
#8. Tubing at Kelly Park / Rock Springs Run
Another incredible natural spring outside of Orlando is Rock Springs. Kelly Park at Rock Springs is located in Apopka, just down the road from Wekiwa Springs. This county-run park is the perfect place to get outdoors just outside Orlando. It costs $3 per vehicle to enter for 1-2 people and $5 per vehicle for 3-8 people.
One of the most popular things to do inside the park is to tube down Rock Springs Run. You can bring your own tube or rent one just outside the park. Most people start at the springhead, and from there, you will float for about 20-30 minutes down the spring under a beautiful canopy of trees.
Rock Springs Run actually continues on for another 8 miles, so this is also a great place to kayak or paddleboard! The water is clear, and the scenery is truly stunning. You can launch kayaks in Kelly Park, but if you don’t have your own, Get Up and Go Kayaking also runs clear kayak tours along Rock Springs Run.
#9 Go surfing at the beach
I can’t talk about outdoor Florida adventures and not mention the beach! Unfortunately, there are no beaches in Orlando, but there are tons nearby. The closest beach to Orlando is Cocoa Beach, just 60 miles directly east. Only an hour away, you can definitely do a day trip to the beach while visiting!
One of the most popular things to do in Cocoa Beach is go surfing! Cocoa Beach, known as the surf capital of the East Coast, is home to the famous Ron Jon’s Surf Shop. It’s also where famous surfer Kelly Slater is from! Surf culture is huge in Cocoa Beach, so you might as well try it out!
There are tons of surf schools and board rental shops available in Cocoa Beach. So whether you want to take a lesson or just try your own luck, you’ll have plenty of options! If you happen to visit when the waves are flat, or the weather is bad, you can check out the Surf Museum instead.
#10 Go Bioluminescent Kayaking
The last activity on this list of the top 10 outdoorsy things to do in and around Orlando is truly epic! Also located on the East Coast, bioluminescent kayaking is one of the coolest things you can do while visiting central Florida. If you haven’t heard of it, bioluminescence is the light from living critters, in this case, plankton and jellyfish! At certain times of the year, these organisms light up the ocean with their bright blue colors, and it truly is a spectacular show!
The best place to see bioluminescence is to go kayaking on the east coast of Florida, about 45 minutes outside of Orlando on the “Space Coast.” This includes places like Cape Canaveral, Titusville, Cocoa Beach, and the Indian River Lagoon! The best time of year to visit is during the summer months, as the dinoflagellate season peaks in July and August. If you’re visiting in the winter, you will have the opportunity to see comb jellies, another bioluminescent creature! No matter when you visit, seeing bioluminescence is a once-in-a-lifetime show in Orlando.
Enjoy These Outdoorsy Things To Do In Orlando
That wraps up my guide to the Top 10 Outdoorsy Activities In Orlando (and nearby!).
As you can see, Orlando is so much more than Walt Disney World. Whether you are visiting in the summer or the winter, there are tons of outdoorsy things to do in Orlando to choose from, thanks to Florida’s year-round tropical climate!
I love living in Orlando, and I hope you have an incredible adventure here!
Thanks Lana for this awesome article! Read more about Lana below, and make sure to check out more of her travels at Adventures by Lana.
Hi there, I’m Lana! I’m a Florida-based adventure travel blogger. I work a 9-5 job but still visit epic destinations and cross things off my bucket list, and I’m here to show you how to do the same! I love sunshine, salt water, and craft beer!
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