Orlando, Florida… the sunshine state and home to Disney and Harry Potter Worlds! But what to do with one day in the Orlando area without enough time to visit a theme park, and in the wintertime when it’s a bit too cold for beaches? Our solution was surprising to find but something that got me super excited to see— manatees!

Florida is known for its abundance of wildlife, from gators to birds to fish, but until this time I was unaware of the fact that the northern Orlando area was home to a manatee sanctuary at Blue Spring State Park.

Blue Spring State Park

Blue Spring State Park encompasses a spread of 2,643 acres. Blue Spring empties into the St. Johns River and is known for its crystal clear greenish water. In the summertime it is a popular spot for swimming (just steer clear of the alligators…), kayaking, and paddle boarding. Wintertime is the more unique time of year to visit, and it’s also manatee time! Blue Spring is a designated manatee refuge. Wild manatees flock to this spring, which stays a constant 72-73 degree Fahrenheit temperature year-round. Despite their rotund external appearance, manatee have surprisingly little body fat and are intolerant of cooler water temperatures. For this reason, cold fronts (which bring cold winter temperatures) are the best times to visit Blue Spring State Park to see some manatee friends. The cold spells of late January 2022 meant record daily manatee counts of over 700 manatees!

Pro tip: arrive at Blue Spring State Park early. The park opens at 8am and closes at varying times but generally around sundown. It is recommended to arrive prior to 11:00am or after 3:00pm for your best chances of getting a parking spot with minimal wait. Wait times can get up to a couple of hours, and the park has also had to turn people away recently due to overcrowding, so don’t dilly dally and make your way here early! We arrived around 11:30am on a Wednesday in early February and had to wait 30-40 minutes in the car line.

Blue Spring State Park has campgrounds, RV lots, and (the highlight of our visit) a 0.4-mile boardwalk that borders the spring and provides a great view overlooking the wildlife in the spring water below. The clarity of the water was unbelievable, and you could see all the way down to the driftwood and stones at the bottom of the spring. Oh wait…those weren’t stones…the spring was absolutely FILLED with fish! Bass and gar and bluegill and catfish, oh my! And then the gentle blundering beasts came. The manatees came into view a few at a time at first, and then in droves. They were sunbathing in all the sunny spots and it was so fun watching them relax, pop their noses out of the water, and swim around with their calves. I was ecstatic. We spent over two hours wandering the waterfront boardwalk. The manatee count the day we visited was 477!

Manatee Viewing Tips:

• Keep an eye on Blue Spring State Park’s social media page for a daily update on that morning’s manatee count.
• During manatee season from mid-November through March: swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and basically all water activities are strictly prohibited in the spring itself. Kayak rentals and rides on guided riverboat cruises are still available in the river adjacent to the spring, and kayakers still have a good chance of encountering often curious manatees on their way entering and exiting the spring.
• Warm weather means manatees are able to leave the warm haven of the spring to eat. I expect the manatee count is highest at colder points of the day, meaning early morning before the afternoon warmth comes is best for manatee viewing.