Manatees in Blue Spring

Florida and Longnose gar inhabit the spring run.

In the mysteriously beautiful yet completely accessible (it’s literally adjacent to Orange City) Blue Spring State Park, Florida, where majestic live oaks draped in spanish moss hang over the stream bank, manatees and alligators coexist in crystal clear spring waters, along with a plethora of fish, turtles and birds. The manatees spend cold nights during the winter months in the warm spring (the water is 73 degrees F year-round) while venturing into the St. Johns River to forage during the day. Up to 200 manatees have been recorded in the tiny spring run during the coldest nights. They are all monitored closely for the park’s research and conservation programs. Of course we visited on a rather warm couple of days so there were only a few manatees out and about. Nonetheless, they are a special sight and with a board walk that proceeds along the spring run (with intermittent viewing platforms) and water that’s about as clear as water can be, Blue Spring is a great place to see them. The platforms give you a personal close-up view of the action from schools of giant gars and tarpons, nesting tilapias and fishing anhingas, to lazy turtles, gliding gators and of course, frolicking manatees. The proximity of the wildlife also provides for great photo opportunities.

We were lucky enough to watch a mother and calf and see a group of 5 manatees swimming together and flopping lazily about. There are some pretty big alligators here too and, according to one of the park’s interpreters, they sometimes endure taunting from the younger more playful manatees.

During the summer (Apr-Oct) when the manatees are away you can go swimming and snorkeling in the spring and get really close to the rest of the wildlife. You can even go scuba diving and observe the unique spring geology. However, swim with the alligators at your own peril.

Manatees and alligators side-by-side

While I don’t usually plan to do ‘reviews’ of parks on this blog, this place is just too awesome to ignore. It has a full-facility campground, a camp store, souvenir shop and concession. You can rent kayaks and take boat tours of the St. Johns River and there’s a 4 mile (one way) hiking trail that traverses some interesting scrub-pine habitat. There’s even a manatee festival which we unfortunately missed by one day. All in all this is a fantastic place for anyone to visit. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it!

http://www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring/