Manatees at Florida’s Blue Springs

Living in Florida you are always in the middle on thousands of choices for weekend activities. On the top of that list is Theme Parks, followed by the beaches. There’s never a lack of choices for everyday life or vacation adventures.

Did you know there’s so much more to Florida then Mickey and beaches?

Florida is home to a number of beautiful state parks. Any of them would be an excellent choice for a day of exploration. However, one that I recently visited had something extra special happening. The waters in Florida a full of life and home to one of my favorite mammals, The Florida Manatees. These gentle giants move at a slow pace but are very relaxing to watch.

One of the most notable springs for viewing the manatees in the Central Florida area is Blue Springs. The park is located in Volusia County. It’s not a huge park, but it is beautiful and there’s a nice boardwalk that runs along the spring. The boardwalk if full of great viewing spots for looking out for the manatees.

How do they end up in the springs? They don’t like cold waters and when the temps in Florida drop so does the water temps. When that happens these gentle giants head to the Florida Springs.

Why? The waters of Blue Springs stay a constant 72 degrees year around regardless of the air temperatures. This is due to the aquifer bringing the warm water to the earths surface. This provides a safe place for the manatees to wait for the river waters to warm back up.

If you live in Florida you know that we don’t have a full winter. Instead we have random cold snaps mixed in between weeks of warmth. This means that there’s a small window ever year that you can head to the springs to view the manatees.

This year we made a point to grab a warm cup of coffee and head out to Blue Springs on a Saturday morning. Not only did we have a great time watching the manatees, it also was a little nostalgic for me. Growing up in Florida we had the choice in High School to take P.E. (Physical Education) class during summer school. You’re probably thinking why would anyone choose to give up their summer to take P.E. Mainly it’s so you never have to take P.E. again after that, but second reason is because instead of running circles around the track you get to go bowling on Tuesdays and tubing at Blue Springs of Thursdays.

The weather in Florida changes so much that it’s hard to know if the waters are cold enough to bring the manatees to the springs. Luckily you can always check the social media for Blue Springs in the mornings an they always post the temperature of the river water and a manatee count from the that morning.