Visitors can get in free to most Florida state parks this Memorial Day weekend, including De Leon Springs, Silver Springs and other popular state parks in Central Florida.
Daytime admission at most state parks will be free from May 23 through 25, in honor of the Memorial Day holiday and the nation’s soon-approaching 250th anniversary, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Some 28 million people visit Florida’s 175 state parks and trails every year, according to the Florida State Parks Foundation. (A 176th state park, Shoal River Headwaters, opened earlier this year in the Panhandle.)
Among Florida’s five state park districts, the most visitors flock to Central Florida’s District 3, according to the latest economic impact report available from FDEP. In fiscal year 2022-23, more than 8.5 million people visited state parks in District 3, the region that includes Blue Spring, Wekiwa Springs and Rock Springs Run.
RELATED: Wekiwa Springs State Park is now requiring reservations
Statewide, Florida’s state park system generates some $3.6 billion in direct economic impacts for local economies. Among all five districts, Central Florida’s District 3 accounts for the largest chunk of that money, 29%.
Visitors will now have nearly 70 more acres of land to explore in one Central Florida state park with free admission this weekend. Price’s Scrub State Park in Marion County is now more than 1,000 acres in size, following a recent land acquisition facilitated by Conservation Florida and FDEP.
Beachgoers this weekend should keep an eye out for beach-nesting birds. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has a rundown of tips to avoid disturbing them, like properly disposing of trash and (if allowed) driving slowly enough to avoid running over chicks.
Several state parks are excluded from this weekend’s free admission event: Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, Weeki Wachee Springs State Park and Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in Hamilton County, where hundreds of performances will be taking place during the 74th annual Florida Folk Festival.
