Summertime visitors to Florida’s Blue Spring State Park in Orange City are typically met with either a line of cars full of people who’ve been waiting for entry since dawn or a sign saying the park has reached capacity. On Wednesday, guests were greeted by dozens of new yellow signs noting that reservations are now required to visit the park, which welcomes more than 600,000 visitors each year.
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Blue Spring is the latest of four state parks that require visitors to pay for a day-use pass online before visiting.
“This popularity has resulted in traffic backups on local roads, delayed access for nearby residents and frequent park closures once capacity is reached,” said a spokesperson from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in an email. “As part of our ongoing commitment to enhance the visitor experience while protecting the natural resources we all cherish, the online day-use reservation program is designed to streamline park entry, reduce congestion and eliminate potential safety hazards on public roads.”
Wekiwa Springs State Park in Apopka, Rainbow Springs State Park in Marion County and Henderson Beach State Park in the Florida Panhandle also require reservations. The change at Blue Spring was announced two weeks ago on Facebook and Instagram, catching some daytime visitors off guard.
Oleksandra Price drove 45 minutes from Edgewater with her two daughters only to learn that she needed a day-use pass to enter.
“The website didn’t work, and the person who was working [at the ranger station] could not help me,” she said. “I wasn’t able to pay online, and when you call, it takes forever to get somebody on the call. Basically, we wasted 30 minutes sitting in the car in front of the entrance to the park.”
The Creech family traveled from North Carolina to Florida, an annual tradition that has always included a visit to Blue Spring.
Virginia Creech found the online system confusing and could only find camping reservations, not day-use passes. After trying for “a while,” it took a phone call to Florida State Parks to figure out how to make an online reservation.
“It makes sense in theory; it’s a good idea. It just needs to be implemented in a better way,” she said.
Neighbors of the state park who have become accustomed to spontaneous visits found that the new system hampers their ability to make a last-minute trip.
“I completely understand using reservations for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but to put these requirements on Monday through Thursday when the park does not even reach capacity is crazy,” wrote Tina Layshock, a DeLand resident, on Facebook. “I truly miss the days that I could just wake up randomly and decide to go swimming or to go camping.”
Sandra Friend, the founder of FloridaHikes.com and author of dozens of hiking guidebooks, said she can “see the appeal of making the vehicle line go away” but disagrees about requiring reservations for pedestrians and cyclists.
“Those visitors tend to ‘stop in’ off the Spring-to-Spring Trail … Barring access to water and restrooms along the bike path is unfair,” she said of the trail that connects DeBary’s Gemini Springs Park to Blue Spring and DeLeon Springs. “Barring casual walk-in and ride-in visitors off the bike path by forcing them to obtain passes in advance seems against the whole spirit of the Spring-to-Spring Trail.”
Friend said she also worries about annual passholders and older visitors who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of the online reservation system.
“What about people who don’t have smartphones, or places where service isn’t strong enough to complete such a transaction?” she said. “Technology shouldn’t be a barrier to enjoying the outdoors.”
Other Volusia County residents do see the merit in having such a system in place.
“As a local resident who frequents the park, I am open to this new change. The traffic gets so backed up from the long lines. I feel this will help with that issue,” wrote Casie Matthews of Orange City on Facebook. “For the [French Landing] boat ramp, I think if they made that a pay entry with a coded gate that would eliminate half the problems there.”
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While it is technically part of the state park, the French Landing boat ramp on the St. Johns River has remained free and open 24 hours a day since Volusia County sold it to the state for $1 in 1979. The boat ramp was originally included in the state park’s plan for day-use passes and after-hours permits until earlier this week, when French Landing was removed from the FAQs section of the reservation information page.
“Florida State Parks staff are still finalizing plans for inclusion of French Landing in day-use reservations,” said a spokesperson from DEP in an email. “For now, the boat ramp will continue under normal operations, and any changes will be communicated once finalized.”
Unrestricted access to French Landing has occasionally led to security issues, in addition to trash left by visitors.
In 2025 and so far in 2026, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office responded to 29 calls at French Landing, including five for a suspicious vehicle, two for a suspicious person, three for assault/battery, three vehicle crashes and one drowning in March that resulted in the death of a 22-year-old swimmer.
Renewed talk of restricting access to French Landing has raised concerns among boat ramp users, who may in the future have to jump through hoops to visit a place that’s been open to them for decades. It also has independent kayak outfitters concerned about their businesses that rely on the boat ramp for river access.
“It’s our livelihood and our guide’s livelihood, and we don’t know what’s going on, or how it will affect our guests,” said David Thierer, the new owner of Adventures in Florida, which has been launching tours from French Landing since 1995.
Thierer said that manatee tours from French Landing account for about a third of his business.
Both Thierer and Aaron Love of AWA Kayak Tours called the park office to find out the status of French Landing access and how they could remain compliant with changing park rules. They both had trouble getting straight answers.
Astrid Jackson, the owner of Venture Outdoors, said losing access to French Landing might put her out of business.
“If we would lose access to French Landing or if it would become complicated to get us and the guests there, that could potentially kill the business,” she said. “This is our bread and butter tour. If we lose that part, it would probably be the end of Venture Outdoors.”
For regular visitors to the park, day-use passes can be reserved up to 60 days in advance. Same-day reservations may be made until the daily limit is reached. Annual passholders can select “Annual Passholder” under payment options, but they will still need to show their pass when entering the park. Day-use reservation receipts and barcode must be presented while entering the park.
As of publication, most dates in the next several weeks had available vehicle reservations online, except for July 18, 19, and 25. The website lists a maximum capacity of 232 vehicle reservations and 50 pedestrian/bicycle reservations per day. A limited number of “reopen day-use” vehicle entry passes are available online as space becomes available in the park.
The park routinely welcomes 3,000-4,000 visitors during peak manatee viewing season, while average attendance in the summer is between 2,000-2,300 visitors per day, according to DEP.
Standard fees apply for online reservations: $6 per vehicle (2-8 people), $4 per single-occupant vehicle and $2 per pedestrian/cyclist. The park, which is at 2100 W. French Ave. in Orange City, is open from 8 a.m. to sunset daily.
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