Florida Peninsula

States: Florida

Start near: Jacksonville (about 1 h 10 min to Palatka) · Orlando (about 1 h 35 min to Ocala)

Cross Creek & the Springs

Rawlings country and glass-bottom water

Cross Creek & the Springs is a ~130-mile back-roads route from Palatka to Ocala on FL 20, CR 325 and FL 40, driven in 1–2 days, that stays off I-75 through the Florida Peninsula.

Open the interactive map →

Drive

Palatka → Ocala

Distance

~130 miles

Time

1–2 days

Highways

FL 20 · CR 325 · FL 40

Avoids

I-75

Region

Florida Peninsula

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings bought an orange grove at Cross Creek in 1928 and wrote The Yearling out of the scrub around it. This route is her Florida: a hammock-country drive from Palatka through the creek, the time-capsule town of Micanopy, a prairie with wild bison, and the first-magnitude springs of the Big Scrub, where glass-bottom boats have run since the 1870s and Hollywood shot everything from Tarzan to Creature features.

📍 Rawlings sites are well-marked along CR 325; Micanopy's district plaques reward a slow walk.

The drive, segment by segment

The Creek

Palatka → Micanopy · ~50 mi

Palatka's azalea ravines, the Cross Creek homestead between two lakes, and Micanopy's antique row under the live oaks.

• 🌲Ravine Gardens State Park — Palatka

  Steep spring-fed ravines terraced with azaleas by the WPA in the 1930s. Late February bloom turns the whole gorge pink.

• 📚Rawlings Homestead — Cross Creek

  The cracker farmhouse, grove and typewriter on the porch, kept exactly as she left it. The Yearling won the Pulitzer from this kitchen table; read Cross Creek before you come.

• 🏘️Micanopy — Micanopy

  Florida's oldest inland settlement, a two-block canopy of oaks, bookshops and antiques. Doc Hollywood filmed here because it already looked like a memory.

Prairie & Springs

Micanopy → Ocala · ~80 mi

Paynes Prairie's bison, then east into the Ocala National Forest spur for Juniper and Salt Springs before Silver Springs closes the show.

• 🌿Paynes Prairie Preserve — Micanopy

  A vast sinkhole savanna where reintroduced bison and cracker horses roam free. The La Chua trail packs in more alligators per mile than anywhere outside the Everglades.

• 🌿Silver Springs — Silver Springs

  Glass-bottom boats since the 1870s over one of the largest artesian springs on earth. Six Tarzan films and Sea Hunt shot here; the wild monkeys descend from a 1930s boat operator's stunt.

• ⛺Juniper Springs Run — Ocala National Forest

  A CCC-built millhouse on a turquoise spring and a seven-mile canoe run through subtropical wilderness. One of the oldest recreation areas in the national forest system.

Tips and best time to go

• The Rawlings house interior tours run seasonally and close in summer; the grounds stay open year-round.
• Reserve the Juniper run canoe early; the livery sells out most winter and spring weekends.

Frequently asked questions

How long is Cross Creek & the Springs and how many days does it take?

Cross Creek & the Springs is about 130 miles and takes 1–2 days at a back-roads pace.

Where does Cross Creek & the Springs start and end?

It runs from Palatka to Ocala.

Which highways does Cross Creek & the Springs follow?

It follows FL 20, CR 325 and FL 40.

Which interstate does Cross Creek & the Springs replace?

It avoids I-75, using FL 20, CR 325 and FL 40 instead.

How many stops are on Cross Creek & the Springs, and what are the highlights?

6 stops are mapped, including Ravine Gardens State Park, Rawlings Homestead, Micanopy, Paynes Prairie Preserve and Silver Springs.

Which ready-made itineraries include Cross Creek & the Springs?

Old Florida: Springs, Swamps & the Nature Coast (7 days).

When is the best time to drive Cross Creek & the Springs?

The atlas’s seasonal note for this route: “The Rawlings house interior tours run seasonally and close in summer; the grounds stay open year-round.”

Worth a detour

• The Orange Shop — A Citra roadside citrus stand in the same family since the 1930s, on the old ridge where Florida's orange industry was born. Season runs roughly November to May.
• Evinston Post Office & Store — The Wood & Swink store has held a working post office since the 1880s, one of Florida's oldest. Buy stamps at a counter Rawlings herself used.

Spurs & side-roads

• FL 40 into the Big Scrub: Juniper & Salt Springs