On Saturday, Jennifer and I drove up to Blue Spring State Park in Orange City to see the manatees. Every year at this time, the manatees swim up toward the spring in order to stay in the warmest water (which is a consistent 72 degrees). On this day, we must have seen a couple dozen manatees, with about 8 or so of them coming right under us as we stood on one of the many docks that are built out over the waters leading into the spring.
In total, the park had a count of 92 manatees swimming into and around the Blue Spring area on the day. The best time to visit is early in the morning on a cool day, or later in the evening. Jenn and I arrived around 2:00pm, so it seems that just about any time of the day will offer up the chance to see manatees in their natural habitat. For more pictures, including a couple of the park, check out the Great Outdoors gallery.
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4 Comments for “The Manatees of Blue Spring State Park”
December 10th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
How far a walk is it , from the parking lot to where the manatees are?
December 10th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
The parking lot is about 50 yards from the nearest point on the boardwalk, which is where Jenn and I saw the manatees. If they should swim all the way up to the spring, it’s probably a quarter-mile walk. There are good spots in between the start of the boardwalk and the spring, too.
I imagine that all spots along the boardwalk are great in the morning, with the number of manatees that the park is reporting.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:00 am
me and my class went to Blue Spring State Park. We saw Lilly and I was wondering how old is she???
March 1st, 2008 at 10:51 am
Lily was first spotted in 1974, according to “shipshapeclothing.com”. You can read her complete story on their website.
http://www.shipshapeclothing.com/manatees/index.php
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