We drove away from the Rainbow River and headed into a deeper, darker, crowd free area of Florida that only the true adventurous and fearless dare to explore: The Withlacoochee River. Huge cypress trees, some hundreds of years old, stood as sentinels of time over the black river, boughs bowing over to blot out the sun, their knobby knees protruding along the banks and telltale watermarks tattooed across their trunks, signs that the river often rises high, flooding the banks to create one big dark swamp.
Withlacoochee River
Exploring Blue Run Park in Dunnellon
Blue Run Park is a hidden gem in Dunnellon. When anyone mentions the sleepy Central Florida town of Dunnellon, the first thing that comes to mind is the Rainbow River: the pristine waterway that meanders through the town, joining the black waters of the Withlacoochee River to head out to the Gulf via Lake Rousseau, but little do they know that what seems to be only a tubers exit, holds many more connections to exploring outdoor Florida.