# 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. - **Drive:** Palatka → Ocala - **Distance:** ~130 mi - **Days:** 1–2 - **Highways:** FL 20, CR 325, FL 40 - **Avoids:** I-75 - **Region:** Florida Peninsula - **Themes:** Literary South, Natural Beauty, Small Towns, State Parks 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. Markers: 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. Stops: - **Ravine Gardens State Park** (Palatka) · State Parks — 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) · Literary South — 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) · Small Towns — 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. Stops: - **Paynes Prairie Preserve** (Micanopy) · Natural Beauty — 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) · Natural Beauty — 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) · Campgrounds — 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. ## 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 ## 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.” ## Ready-made itineraries using this route - [Old Florida: Springs, Swamps & the Nature Coast](https://dixieroadtrip.com/trips/old-florida-week) — 7 days, ~780 mi ## Connects with - [A1A: Flagler's Coast](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/a1a-flagler) — St. Augustine → Titusville - [Golden Isles & the First Coast](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/golden-isles) — Savannah → St. Augustine - [US 90: The Florida Backbone](https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/ost-florida) — St. Augustine → Pensacola --- Canonical URL: https://dixieroadtrip.com/routes/cross-creek-springs Publisher: Dixie Media (Dixie Road Trip, https://dixieroadtrip.com/) Last updated: 2026-10-05