Seeing manatees at Blue Spring State Park is high on many people’s bucket list. If it’s not on yours, it most definitely should be! Seeing manatees at Blue Spring State Park is such an amazing and unique experience. In this post, we’ll give you all of our best tips for making sure you spot these gentle giants during your visit!
6 Tips for Seeing Manatees at Blue Spring State Park
Plan on visiting during the cold months. On cold days, manatees leave the river and head to the springs where the water temperature is warmer. The springs maintain a consistent year-round temperature of 72 degrees.
Consider visiting on a weekday. Even during the winter, the springs get pretty packed. The manatees at Blue Spring State Park are pretty popular! If you visit during the week, it’ll be a lot less crowded, which not only makes getting into the park easier, but it also makes viewing them a little more enjoyable. If you go on a weekend, you might feel rushed.
Check Facebook. Each morning, an employee hops in a kayak and counts how many manatees there are in the spring run. Then, the staff posts the number of the Blue Spring State Park Facebook Page. The number can range anywhere from 0 to hundreds of manatees. At the time of publication, the highest number of manatees counted in the run was 729 on 1/17/23. We visited just 2 days before and saw 625 manatees!
My rule of thumb for this is, if the weather has been cool for a couple of days, it’s a pretty safe bet that there will be several manatees in the run. I check the numbers the day before and plan my trip for the next day.
Get there early. Honestly, if you wait until they post the number of manatees on Facebook, you may end up getting there too late. People drive from all over to get a glimpse of the manatees and the park often reaches capacity by 10:00 (sometimes earlier). Plan on getting to the park close to 8 am (when it opens). Once all of the parking spots are filled up, the parks moves to a one out, one in system.
Let Your Eyes Adjust. Once you get to the park, it may take a moment for you to spot the manatees. Their grayish color allows them to blend into their surroundings or the shadows. Your best bet is to look in the areas where the sun is hitting the water.
Manatees come up for air every 5 minutes. You’ll see them slowly start to surface, stick their adorable little noses out of the water and take a breath before going back under.
Often times, you’ll be able to catch a glimpse of manatees playing near fallen trees.
Go beyond the dock. Most people go out on to the metal dock that is closest to the parking lot and picnic area. Following the boardwalk to the left, heading towards the river, to scope out other vantage points. You can even head down to the kayak launch to try to get a glimpse of the gentle giants.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Blue Spring State Park is equally as magically during the summer! It’s one of our favorite swimming holes here in Florida. The natural lazy river is perfect for floating on a humid summer day.
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