Experience Manatees at Silver Springs: A Winter Adventure

A true gentle giant, manatees have no predators. With few reasons to fear, they display a bold curiosity and – if you’re lucky – they’ll come right up alongside you for a greeting. But how to experience these creatures?

While many people flock to the mountains or beaches in the winter, here is the perfect time to witness dozens (sometimes, hundreds!) of manatees with decent odds. They enjoy warm waters and, while it’s cooling of during these months, manatees makes their way to Florida’s many natural springs for cozier digs.

A born and raised Floridian, I’ve been fortunate to witness manatees throughout my life without any “planned” outing. And now living in the Midwest, I haven’t seen a manatees in more than a decade. It was time to find some. Enter Silver Springs.

SILVER SPRINGS

Silver Springs is roughly an hour from where I grew up. Also known as “the grandfather of springs” it is the world’s largest artesian spring. Maintaining temperatures between 72 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, it’s an ideal migration for manatees. The water is incredibly clear – around 98% pure – ideal for viewing manatees!

These are areas you’ll want to have a kayak, canoe or paddle board. Choose to rent or book a guide (which is what we did!) for a local expert’s guidance. I highly recommend renting a clear kayak. I had a difficult time seeing straight down the bottom of my kayak with the amount of water that collected inside (blame it on my experience level). But, seeing through the sides is what makes it a must! Several manatees approached from that direction and we caught up close views of their squishy faces.

Note, with the clear kayaks you may be asked to be barefoot to protect from scratches. If you have soft bottomed shoes, like crocs, we were permitted to keep those on. Also, a dry bag was provided to keep your personal items dry.

Silver Springs is also home to glass-bottom boats – if you’d rather let someone else do the work! We encountered only one during our two hour excursions. While the people on the boat certainly could see the manatees from above the water, they didn’t get the up close experience we did. And the commotion from the boat itself, drove manatees to reposition behind my group of four — putting us between them and the boat. Which is lovely to think they entrusted us enough to use us for sheltering. But with that, I can’t recommend those glass-bottom boats if your goal is to get up close with manatees.

An important note about these creatures – both federal and state laws protect manatees, including the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act which states you cannot touch a manatee. Why? This goes back to the “no natural predators” point. Humans are the #1 killer of manatees. Specifically, boating incidents. It was heartbreaking to see the propeller scars amongst the pods we visited with. This law is designed to protect them.

Remember: you are in their home. Treat it with respect. Leave no trace.

If you’re lucky, you’ll also get to see the monkeys while you’re visiting! Yes, there are monkeys in Florida (mostly, central Florida) and no, they don’t belong there. Silver Springs is one of the oldest tourist attractions in the US, dating back pre-Civil War. In the 1930s a river boat captain sought to increase tourism by releasing a batch of monkeys — the first instance. It has happened a handful of times for various reasons.

If you’re a film buff, sets from the 1939 Tarzan are still standing along the springs. You can get a look at those from the water!

Once the excursion ends, take some time to visit the boardwalk. There’s a couple shops for snagging souvenirs. A cute, diner style restaurant where our crew ordered coffees to take on our walk around the park. Generally, enjoy the serenity of this place.

A couple other places around Florida where you’ll have a great chance for manatees include Crystal River and Blue Spring. Crystal River is regarded as number one, with potentially hundreds of manatees congregating at a given time. The area was recovering from recent hurricanes and didn’t make sense to us this time around.