Rainbow Springs State Park’s campground is located along the Rainbow River. Rainbow River camping takes place at a separate facility a few miles from the main headspring and day use area.

Rainbow Springs camping sites have water and electric (20, 30, and 50 amp), and are equipped with sewer hook-ups. Maximum RV length = 103 ft. ADA accessible restrooms are available. A dump station is located between the upper and lower campgrounds. Pets are welcome in the campground but are not permitted in swimming areas or buildings.

Amenities include a recreation hall, showers and restrooms, laundry and playground. Access the river from the campground to fish, swim or paddle. Canoes and kayaks are available for rent from the campground office.

Rainbow Springs State Park Campground

Great time. Relaxing day tubing down the river. 

Tubing

We live only about an hour away so this is a quick weekend getaway. Be sure to make your reservations online far in advance. It fills up quick! This place is no secret.
Access to the river is what draws people to this campground. There is a swimming area with steps into the water or You can float for 2 hours or 4 hours depending on how adventurous you are feeling. Don't forget to park a vehicle at the bottom so you can get back or you will have to pay for a shuttle service @ $10 PP.
It is always clean here and quiet. Don't ever see any rowdy parties like some springs in FL. There is a camp store on site which is very convenient too. 

One of our favorite places to camp

The water here is the most amazing shades of blue and green. Even logs submerged are worth snorkeling to explore. Not sure where the "rainbow" name comes from but these are freshwater springs perfect for swimming and exploring. It's pretty popular for day-use so can be crowded, but the river is right next to the campground so a great choice in this region. Campground is small which is nice but that means you absolutely need to make reservations during much of the year. Mixed shade and privacy, but pretty standard amenities for state parks. Great Florida feel but not the most secluded site ever. 



Incredible water colors, pretty small campground

Took a day trip while visiting friends that live in Gainesville to Dunnellon. Was an easy drive. Spent the day kayaking in April on the Rainbow River. We rented kayaks for a reasonable price. The Rainbow River flows south. The location where we started was south on the river about 4-5 miles from Rainbow Springs. It was a easy kayak paddle upstream as the current is not overpowering and easy to paddle against. We spent some of the afternoon Rainbow Springs State Park to picnic and hangout on shore. Beautiful area and clear water. Note, we did not camp at the state park and only spent a few hours but enjoyed our time. This was my first time kayaking in Florida. Awesome experience! Bring a GoPro or waterproof camera/phone to capture Rainbow River.

Great day on Rainbow River

Love this place for tubing for the day.  Very kid friendly.  The have tubes for rent with bottoms!!!  We loved our floats down the river.  They even have picnic shelters in parking area for a lunch after your float.  A couple of families went together with kids and really enjoyed it.  The floats with bottoms were a big help.

Tubing Fun

Rainbow River State Park Campground is up the road a bit from the head spring portion of the park where everyone goes tubing and swimming - make sure to check your GPS that you are getting the correct directions.

There are no mature trees in the camping area. The parks dept just redid this campground in 2009\. All sites , tent and rv have gravel so if tent camping make sure you bring a solid footprint or ground tarp. Being that this facility is still rather new the bathrooms are very nice, Sites have picnic tables, fire rings and hookups for water and electric. Sites are of average side but have no natural buffers( bushes, etc.) between. Tube rentals and shuttles are available. Tubing take out is near the campground making that portion of river trip very convenient.

Rainbow Springs is a Registered Natural Landmark.Taking a drive to the spring head for the day is a must! There is a nice large area for picnicking, Covered pavilions. There are beautiful trails, visitor center and a native plant garden as well.

Get Springs but no Shade

I've been here several times- alone, with tour groups, on my honeymoon- and will certainly go back.

If you go, be sure to rent a canoe and paddle up to the headsprings. On the way back down to the docks, just float beside the canoe instead of sitting in it.

It'll be one of the best days of your life!

Perfect way to see the springs!

One of our favorite local places to go in Florida is the Rainbow River in Dunnellon. The crystal clear spring-fed river attracts people from all over to it's 72 degree water for fishing, swimming, boating, diving, birding, snorkeling and tubing. There are 3 areas of the state park: headspring, tubing and campground.

**Campground Review:** We have been coming here for about 7 years since the re-opening of the camping area. There are 60 sites in 3 loops. They are all level and many now have shade since the trees have grown. They are all full hook-up sites except for the tent sites that have only water and electric. Each loop has a restroom with showers and laundry. During the spring and summer it is very hard to get a site on weekends due to the river being packed with tubers. Recently, they have closed the gate to the campground requiring a code to get in so non-campers aren't sneaking in to use the river. The max # of people per site is 6\. There is a public parking lot a few miles down the road where people can pay the concessionaire a fee for tube rental and tram ride to go float for 2 hours back to the parking lot. This is always packed during the summer and the lot fills up early.

On our most recent stay we were in site #51 which is very secluded and shady. On our first night, there was a massive storm in which we lost power and several trees were toppled in the park. It took all night to restore our power making it a hot and muggy, restless night. A few things had changed since our stay here last year. The pool that had been out of service for 5+ years had been filled in and covered over with grass. The convenience store had been taken out of the office/ check-in area. This was disappointing. You now have to drive into town if you need something like ice, tubes or basic RV supplies. The staff here is still as friendly as always which makes up for it.

**Product Review:** Being a ranger for [thedyrt](http://thedyrt.com) makes it possible for me to get products to use/test while I am camping. This time, I had the opportunity to try out some ONE sunglasses by [Optic Nerve](http://Optic Nerve.com). The styles we chose were Athena and Lunker. My husband and I have actually been wearing them all summer and love them. The styles are attractive and they are very affordable compared to other well-known brands. You can spend much less and get a quality pair that are polarized and durable. Not a scratch on them after 3 months of working in the yard, hiking, zip-lining, camping, boating, tubing, scalloping, shopping and 5000 miles in the RV. With a lifetime warranty and 100% UV protection, you can't go wrong with this brand.

https://www.opticnerve.com/products/athena

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Ranger Review: Optic Nerve Sunglasses at Rainbow Springs Campground

Full hookups. Great for kayaking, swimming and snorkeling! Kids have a lot of fun!

A lot of fun!

Serious cleaning didn’t take any pictures there was saving my battery to take pictures underwater. Camp grounds were clean but As I said before it was very busy with family. At the spring if they could get some real food available for people to eat and drink that would be great

Busy family friendly camp area

We have not camped here, but we went kayaking down the river and it was perfect for a summer (or even winter) day! The water was crystal clear and bright blue in some areas. We plan to go camping here in August because we’ve heard nothing but marvelous reviews. 

Kayaking Fun!

beautiful campground and swimming spring

stayed twice here. first was a walk up site 1. and learned my lesson, now i reserve so i can get a good site. bathrooms are great. has a nice swimming area in the campground area for campers and tubers entrance is here so great spot to people watch. definitely doing this one yearly.

loved it

We had a great time at this park. We stayed in a pull through site and there was plenty of room for our truck and rig.  Although it’s not a huge park it was very organized with lush sites for privacy. The staff was very friendly and accommodating.  They offer their campers the ability to rent canoes and kayaks to launch off their private dock, this really saves you from dealing with crowds during the peak season.  Great place to stay we loved it.

Fun and Friendly 

We loved finally getting to go!  We’ve had our camping trip booked for months and it was worth it.  The campground is in a separate location from the spring head.  With our camping pass we were able to get into the springs with it as it covers both.  We went early to the spring so there weren’t many people there which was nice.  It’s chilly, but the swimming was perfect.  Later we launched our kayaks from the campground. The River is full of Tibet’s and boaters, but we saw lots of wildlife while out on the water.  Later we went back to the spring head to explore.  Many people were swimming and cooking out on the large lawn.  Just have to plan your trip around the type of person you are.  We loved this state park.

Bucket List Park

This is an awesome campground with lots of things to do.  There are 2 loops.  One is mostly RVs and one is tents.  The sites are pretty big and most are well separated.  Bathhouse is fine.  The actual spring is quite a drive from the campground.   But definitely worth the visit.  It’s the site of a previous private venture that included a zoo.  So you can still wander around the area on paths and see the old cages and other features.  The garden is actually very nice.   We also opted to rent kayaks and paddle up to the springs one day.  The Rainbow river current is pretty strong.   So the trip back was much faster.   It’s also pretty cool to snorkel in the river.  State law requires that you display a diver buoy while snorkeling.  Again watch that current.   

During the summer they have float trips down the river and a tram back to the campground.  We rode bike down the tram road off season which was nice.  Lots of wildlife.  We heard coyotes and there are a fair amount of wild boar.

So much to do

Nice, big sites, many full hookup, stays booked year round and can be difficult to reserve. Not for you if you are looking for peace and quiet 

For the floater

One of my favorite places in Florida. Beautiful 72° springfed river. Take a 4hour tube ride down a crystal clear spring fed river.  Full of wildlife, fun, families, snorkeling, little to no paddling since your going down river, they will pick you an your tube up to bring you back to your vehicle, and just enjoying the perfect Florida weather even in November.  Definitely worth the visit. You'll be back for sure. Please read rules in preparation for your day trip. Wildlife and preservation is very important here.

Most Beautiful place in Florida especially for 👪 

Everything is so clean. There are many activities to do, tubing,  cayaking or stay In The spring.
To go to the sprring, be there before 8, because once the park reach capacity, they close all day. 
Have on mind that the tubing area closes at 5. After 5, if you go tubing,  you won't have any place to get off the river

So far, best spring ever

We had campsite 22  and the sites had shrubbery all around and large enough for our truck and 12 tent trailer side we took her kayaks down to the river a new cart is a good idea. 

Great river

Had an amazing time! The day park has an amazing and beautiful walk through gardens and waterfalls. There is a good sized gift shop and a concession store with extremely well priced hot food and snacks. The water is absolutely gorgeous but is deep right off the latter. There is kayaking and SOP rentals on-site. The separate campgrounds (10 min drive) Have a general store, playground, and it’s own swim/boat launch. Campsites are pretty secluded with lots of vegetation. Stayed at 19 (more secluded) and 36 (less but right near bathrooms). 

Gorgeous 

This was one of the best places I could have found for this trip. I’ve been here for days and I have enjoyed everything. The primitive camping is tucked back away from most of the RVs and has a bathhouse with very hot water/ toilets and hot hand dryers. Each site is spaced properly so not each person is too close. I didn’t realize it until the second day of my stay that we actually have water and electric hook ups on site too. There’s a short walk to Rainbow river with access to swim and a kayak launch. They rent kayaks for $16/hr and $5 and hour after but have to be back by 3pm. They have a small market that you can get coffee and small food and snacks/ice from along with forgotten necessities. I bought a few bags of firewood and it was definitely wet and burned horribly. It dropped all the way to 35 degrees for my stay. You are not allowed to collect firewood in state parks also so make sure you bring some in. There’s a publix/walmart 12 minutes away. You also get free access to the state park swimming and hiking access on the other side of the park. The address on here wasn’t correct and took me an extra 30 minutes to find it. The correct address is 18185 SW 94th St Dunnellon, FL  34432. 

Perfect mix of primitive/ luxury 

Rangers were very friendly
Space was very good . 
Scenery is beautiful.
Bathrooms could have been cleaner and not such full dumpsters would have nice . Totally full as your trying to put your garbage in.
Overall very nice and accommodating ✅ 

Nice Campground

Lovely state park, springs and river.  The state park is split on two - with the springs and day use area on one side and the campground on another side with private property in between. Rainbow Springs is spectacularly beautiful but the only access to it from the campground is kayaking or canoeing up the river - or driving to the day use area. The campground itself is fine, some variability between sites with some sites open with little privacy and others more secluded with vegetation around them.  There are very few hiking trails at the campground, but we did find some small fire roads to walk around nearby (unmarked but you reach them via a path off the larger campground loop).  The river gets crowded with kayaks, canoes, and boats on weekends. The springs are  gorgeous.  We met many nice people and ended up sharing some delicious meals with other campers - wonderful people that we’d love to meet again.  We will definitely return - next time with our own kayaks! 

Great campground for kayaks

Campsites are very private although close together, a lot of thick vegetation around, grey water dump stations in each of the campsites. 
The water is pristine, crystal clear and the colors and formations are just breathtaking. 
There’s kayak/ canoe rentals, and tubing as well; and plenty of divers, the upstream current is not joke, so be mindful of that; if you bring your own kayak/ paddleboard you’ll need a cart too, it’s a pretty far walk from where you can park your car to where you can load your vessel in the water. 
There’s a road to the dock/ swimming area at the campground but it’s only open for staff, which was the only upsetting downside, because it could just simply and easily be used by campers. They had one wooden cart available and one broken, not the easiest thing to haul or load in and out. 
Not much at the store and firewood can only be purchased with cash. 
It’s Florida, so have your mosquito repellent ready at all times. 

Breathtaking 

This is the first campsite we ever camped in with our then travel trailer. We had an amazing experience; great to reconnect with nature! The spring is stunning and we enjoyed a two hour tube ride down the spring. The water is cold but it didn’t bother us much. They have an entrance to the spring right by the campground and once you exit, the tram brings you ack to the campground. We brought our own tubes but you can rent their as well. 

New Experiences!

Me and my husband love going here at least once a month. Nicest staff, most gorgeous scenery! Water is blue and clear. Saw plenty of birds and turtles while kayaking. Great rate for two kayaks. Jumped out a few times to cool off (: 
Planning a camping trip for my 21st (: !! Can’t wait!


My absolute favorite place

PROS 

Site 49 level and xtra wide. Picnic table, metal fire ring with cooking grate and pedestal BBQ grill 

  

Non-climate controlled bathhouse 20 steps away from Site 49 

  

Saw a wild turkey walking thru the campground a couple times. 

  

Fairly good night sky viewing as many camper turned off ALL their exterior lights fairly early in the evening. 

  

Firewood sold at Park Store along with other essential camping items 

  

2 bars TMOBILE 

  

CONS 

Entrance gate closed upon our 2pm Monday arrival and emails from the park stated it closed at sunset No gate code had been provided in any of the emails we received from the park. We tried to call the park office, but no answer. So there we sat blocking the only entrance to the campground and no place to turn around. Luckily a registered camper came in behind us, walked up and used his code to open the gate. 

  

Park Office Building Laundry. Filthy. 4 washers and 4 dryers. One washer full of water and unplugged.   

  

Site 49. 100% gravel and weeds with no shade or privacy from any other site or roadway. 

  

Picnic table wooden top and one side bench in unusable condition. 

  

Bathhouse for 17 campsites were 3-piece rooms(toilet/shower/sink), on for females and one for males. Bathhouse in Park Office closed for repairs our entire 7 day stay. 

  

Park Map. I had to specifically request a park map and was provided hand drawn map which was of only the campground.   

No other information provided for the park such as hiking trails, etc. 

  

No park WiFi

Get the Gate Code Before Arriving!

This secret little spot is the perfect escape into the jungle of Florida. You will see wildlife and enjoy being in a remote spot in nature. Great hiking trail! 

Hidden Gem

If you’re tent camping in the tent-only walk-in sites, site 60 is definitely the most private (farthest from the lot but still a short walk in on a paved path). Bathrooms are two single stall/shower combos, but never too crowded. Campground is good for paddling, especially for renting from the concessions (they have single and tandem kayaks, SUP, and canoes). It’s a drive and a separate entrance to get to the head springs area of the park, though there is a small roped off swim area by the boat ramp. We went before tubing opens (April 1 each year), so the Rainbow was less crowded and stunningly clear and emerald. 