The Sanford Riverwalk can be quite nice and peaceful. It offers benches to rest and enjoy the breeze along the water as well as some areas for family activities like picnics, sports games (basketball) and a playground with water fountains for the little ones.
Even though the riverwalk is nothing too spectacular one can always meet a plethora of joggers, people walking their dogs and others just enjoying a stroll along the river.
Blue Spring State Park is a beautiful area with plenty of interesting and entertaining things to do.
Not only does it offer a variety of nice hiking and biking trails and boardwalks (that enable visitors to access most areas even after heavy rain), but there are also camping grounds, picnic tables, boat tours and canoes to rent - to mention a few...
The park provides areas for parking (at a fair rate), which can, however be a little crowded at times so that a short waiting time in front of the gates might be required.
Aside the beautiful flora and fauna that can be observed here all year long, the springs are also a popular place for manatees that spend the winter months in the warm waters. With a count of over 300 manatees (as it was the case on the day of our visit) - they can be observed from almost every spot along the springs.
The boardwalks can get a little crowded, too. But there is still enough space for everyone to enjoy their visit!
My husband and I were looking for a quiet and interesting place to spend an afternoon at. Since it rained heavily for the past couple of days, regular trails such as at Lake Jesup Wilderness Area or Rock Springs Run were out of the question as most of these tend to be flooded after heavy rain.
Mead Garden, however, offers a plethora of areas, paths and a boardwalk that are even accessible if slightly wet or muddy.
It has a very quiet and serene atmosphere and offered a beautiful selection of plants and blooming flowers (despite us being here in Feb/Mar).
Aside from several cute squirrels that seem to feel quite at home at Mead Garden (we saw more than twenty in one area at once) we saw many turtles, birds of all kinds, little frogs, lizzards and beautiful butterflies.
Walking past the pavillions and picnic area we were even able to spot a hawk sitting up in a tree and watching over the park.
For flower lovers there are also several different areas with butterfly attracting plants, wild flowers and a beautiful rose garden.
We spent about two to three hours there, just walking through this oasis of peacefulness and there were still more areas to discover if only it would not have started to get darker already.
We can definately recommend it - even if its just for a short walk or a brief rest at one of the ponds in order to relax and unwind.