Florida’s Best Winter Crowd Comes Here to Float
From mid-November to March, hundreds of manatees retreat into Florida's 22°C (72°F) springs. Here is where to see them, and the rules for getting in the water.
In 1970, Florida State Parks counted about 14 manatees wintering in the spring run at Blue Spring, north of Orlando. By 2005 there were more than 200. In 2023, the park recorded 729.
That number explains the other Florida, the one that has nothing to do with beaches. When the Gulf and the rivers cool in winter, manatees move into the state’s freshwater springs, where the water holds steady all year. VISIT FLORIDA says spring water stays “around 70 degrees,” which it calls “perfect for manatees in Florida who need that kind of warmth to survive.” Florida State Parks puts Blue Spring at 72°F (about 22°C).
For travellers from Canada and the UK, manatee season lines up neatly with the months you most want to leave home.
When to go
VISIT FLORIDA gives the winter viewing window as “typically from mid-November through March.” The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is more precise for Crystal River: manatee season at the refuge “begins November 15 and ends March 31,” and seven warm-water manatee sanctuaries take effect for that period.
Go early in the day. VISIT FLORIDA’s snorkelling guide notes that manatees are most active in the morning, so some tours leave at dawn.
Crystal River and Three Sisters Springs
Crystal River, on the Gulf coast north of Tampa, is the place to get in the water. VISIT FLORIDA says swimming with manatees “is permitted in specific areas, most notably in Crystal River.” The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1983, describes itself as “the only refuge created specifically for the protection of the threatened Florida manatee.”
Read next · GuideThe Northern Capital Under the Aurora4 min →At its heart is Three Sisters Springs, which VISIT FLORIDA calls “an important winter habitat for Florida manatees.” According to the refuge’s visitor information, land access is by shuttle only. The City of Crystal River runs the Three Sisters Springs Center under a lease with the Fish and Wildlife Service. More than two miles of trails and boardwalk are open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Entrance fees apply; call (352) 586-1170 for tickets. Paddle craft are allowed inside the springs only from April 1 to November 14.
The refuge does not run its own manatee tours. Instead, it issues Special Use Permits to Kings Bay businesses and publishes the list of permit holders. Book with one of them.
The rules in the water
The refuge encourages “passive observation”: float calmly, keep your distance, and let the animal decide. In all waters of Kings Bay, including Three Sisters Springs, it prohibits:
- chasing or pursuing a manatee
- disturbing or touching a resting or feeding manatee
- cornering or surrounding a manatee, or separating a mother and calf
- riding, holding, grabbing or standing on a manatee
- feeding manatees or giving them water
The refuge asks every visitor to watch its “Manatee Manners” videos before getting in. Its framing is simple: “you are visiting the manatees home.”
Blue Spring State Park
Blue Spring State Park, in Orange City, is the viewing-only option. Swimming season runs April 1 to November 14, so in winter you watch from land. The park says “hundreds of manatees” gather in the spring run from mid-November to March.
The park is open from 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year, and admission is US$6 per vehicle. There is one recent change to note. Since July 15, 2026, every day-use visitor needs a reservation. The park also warns that it often reaches capacity and may close for several hours. Before you drive, check the live manatee webcam to see how many manatees are in the run.
Homosassa Springs
VISIT FLORIDA points to Homosassa Springs, near Crystal River, as a less crowded alternative. Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. Tickets are US$13 for ages 13 and up and US$5 for ages 6 to 12, and children 5 and under enter free.
What to pack
VISIT FLORIDA says you need a mask, snorkel and wetsuit, but no fins. The water at 22°C (72°F) feels comfortable while you are in it, but you will feel chilled once you get out. Bring warm layers and a thermos.
Sources
- VISIT FLORIDA — Where to See Manatees in Florida
- VISIT FLORIDA — Snorkel with the Manatees in Florida's Crystal River
- VISIT FLORIDA — Three Sisters Springs listing
- VISIT FLORIDA Media — Media Resources
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Crystal River NWR, Visit Us
- Florida State Parks — Blue Spring State Park
- Florida State Parks — Swimming at Blue Spring
- Florida State Parks — Homosassa Springs, Hours and Fees
Where to stay near Crystal River
Map by Stay22. If you book through it we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. It never decides what we write.
Catherine Crowe is Pacific Market Editor at Not An Atlas, leading our Australia and New Zealand coverage from just outside Wellington, on the southern coast of New Zealand's North Island, by way of Canada. A speech-language pathologist, mother and former model, she travels the way she listens: closely, and for the story underneath. She still writes on family and wellness travel, and the long-haul logistics of both.
