Blue Spring State Park

Fabulous! I cannot express how wonderful this park is. Scenic, beautiful, historic. The manatees are great. The manatees winter in the spring to escape the cold weather and the day were were there it said 215 were inside the spring. I have seen signs showing up to 700 in a day. There are many viewing platforms to see them and a lovely walk alongside. But they also have a boat ride, kayak rentals and tub rentals. I want to go back! The historic house is great as well as it explains what the area was like when the steamboats ran on the river. There are exhibits inside and a guide was explaining more information about the history of the building and the family that lived there. There is also a gift shop and cafe. The park fee was only $6.

We had a wonderful time! We saw lots of manatees, hundreds of fish, and some lovely birds. There are clearly bears there as there were a lot of bear droppings along the trails, but we didn't see any. It was February when apparently it's the best time to see manatees. Despite it being winter and the trails being flat, if you aren't used to the humidity, they are tiring (Pine Island is about 6/7 miles in total). There are kayak, canoe, and boat activities available but we didn't do them. The staff at the gate and in the facilities were very friendly and efficient. The park was generally very clean but there were a few bits of car-related trash on the Pine Island Trail. We'd read online that it fills up fast and they stop letting people in, so we headed there early. At 9:15 I'd say it was maybe 30% full. It's a lovely park and I'd definitely go again.

What an amazing place! Beautiful blue clear water to see hundreds of manatees and a variety of fish from multiple viewing platforms over the water accessible to all. Original homestead there. Theres boat tours or you can rent kayak or canoe. Clean real bathrooms. Expect to wait to get in but you'll be glad you did.

The Baseline: For a park/monument the site must be informative, have great attraction, and have a park rangers that are knowledgeable of one of the park we are visiting. Park: This was one of the cleanest and best organized state parks I have ever visited. The parking was easy and the access to the main attraction was easy to get to. The walkway trail along the spring was well taken care of and safe. There is no graffiti or vandalized buildings in the park. Thank you State of Florida and California you should take notes. Attraction: The Springs are the main attraction with options to swim, tube, snorkel, and scuba dive in the spring in the summer. When we visited that was all restricted because the manatees were here to nest in the winter. This was awesome and it was great to see these amazing creatures in their winter respite. This is a must if you are visiting the Orlando area in the winter. Cost: Six dollars to come into the park with up to 8 people in the vehicle. Great price for an unforgettable experience.

The walk along the river was level and easy.. beautiful setting. The tour boat was well worth the ride. We saw so many birds, gators, flies and fauna. The captain was knowledgeable and willing to go where the passengers wanted. We went on a day with only a few Manatee due to the warmer water. Hopefully we can return when there will be more manatees. PS... glad we went back on a day they were 900 Plus manatee. It was worth the wait to get in. People would stop and take pictures and enjoying the view but moved along after a few minutes. The lookouts are spread out so there's plenty of opportunities to see the manatee. Don't be afraid of the line to get in it's worth it. see more pics below: