The dog days of Florida’s summer are upon us. The heat is thick, and our brains are bubbling in our skulls like a hardboiled egg. Meanwhile we’re hibernating indoors to avoid the scorching temperatures, and our air-conditioning bills have spiked to maybe I should just jump into the shower with my clothes on heights.

Yes, September is the month of our seasonal affective disorder. But Florida is also home to more than 1,000 freshwater springs, the densest concentration of springs in the world, with 19 billion gallons of water flowing through them every day.

So, take a day off, head north and float down a lazy river in a low-tech inner tube. You don’t have to pack any special gear, as each park offers tube rentals and provides transportation. Each spring is different, appealing to nature lovers to partiers to families, but the water is always a refreshing 68 to 74 degrees. I had the tough task of exploring four of our state’s coolest hot spots for tubing.

Photo by Peter Pontone