One of the top items on my Florida bucket list was to see a manatee in the wild. Ask any of my friends and they will tell you JUST HOW EXCITED manatees make me haha. But really, manatees are one of my favorite animals now after moving to Florida. Just look at their little noses!!! They are so majestic!One of the locations you can have a chance of seeing wild manatees in Florida is at Blue Springs State Park in Orange City, Florida; located about 45 minutes from Orlando. Your highest chance of spotting some manatees is usually in the winter months between November and March when the manatees migrate to the inland warmer rivers and springs. I went in May and I still saw 3 manatees; 2 adults and a baby.
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| Also be aware of alligators at all times when swimming and just hanging around near the water. This is Florida and this is their territory. |
There are very fine guidelines when swimming or snorkeling with manatees to be aware of. When I was at Blue Springs, the park rangers were continuously yelling at people to get out of the water and out of the manatees way and to not go near them. I have heard at some other state parks you are allowed to swim with them closer but I have not personally been to any of those yet.
Along with swimming and snorkeling, there are also opportunities to rent tubes and tube down the spring to the beginning of it. The spring gets deeper the further down you swim. At the end there is a large crevice where scuba divers,snorkelers and tubers alike can explore and enjoy.
If dry land is more your thing, just a short walk down a boardwalk through the trees there are boat,kayak and canoe rentals to go out on the St. John's River. The change in water clarity as you get closer to the river is a very interesting thing as well. The closer to the river you get the more opaque the water gets and as you work your way back to the spring, the clearer. There are also multiple viewing areas along the pathway to spot wildlife such as manatees,turtles,fish or alligators.
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