Manatees at Blue Springs State Park!

[hellow]

We just got back from 10 days at the World and one of the most fun things we did was a side trip to Blue Springs State Park in Orange City, FL to see the manatees. It was AWESOME! We rented 2 canoes for 90 minutes ($25 total) and canoed up to the spring. It was fairly late in the winter season, so there were only a few manatees left but it was still really fun and interesting to see them in their natural habitat.

We then went to Canaveral National Wildlife Refuge, they have a manatee viewing platform and saw even more. The kids really enjoyed getting away from the crowds for a day and seeing the natural sites of Florida. In Canaveral, we also saw MANY alligotors, a bobcat, two wild boars and lots of beautiful birds.

If you want to see the wildlife of Florida in their natural habitat and have a car, I highly recommend both of these places. (Blue Springs usually has manatees November thru mid-March since it is the winter habitat for them--the water is warmed by a spring).

Any questions, I can try to answer them for you. Both places are about an hour's drive from WDW.

 

[neosnightmare]

ive been there b4. it was a lot of fun. i was still sort of afraid of whats in the water other than the manatees (wildlife) even tho i was constantly told that there was nothing to worry bout. i would definately do it again. im lucky with this too because my aunt lives right in orange city.