Blue Springs State Park - Manatee Sanctuary, Florida (North of Orlando)

Blue Springs State Park is a great place to go and visit and learn.  The entrance into this state park is only $6 per vehicle and there is free parking.  One thing to be aware of is that the park will limit the numbers and temporarily close.  The day that we went the Park closed just before 1:00 p.m.  I would suggest getting up early and getting to the park when it opens and there are fewer people there.

We spent $296 US dollars plus $25 on parking to spend on the aggravating day at Epcot Center.  Blue Springs State Park was so cheap and it gives the family a chance to get out into nature, get exercise on the trails, view manatees in their natural habitat and learn something.  There were 234 Manatees the day we went and it was so exciting to see them safe and happy.  These 'Gentle Giants' are really something to see.

Blue Springs State Park is north of Orlando.  From the Disney area, it takes roughly an hour to two hours depending on the traffic to get up to Blue Springs.

Manatees were everywhere and there were lots of babies with their Mamas.

You can see to the left that the Manatees are very close together and very concentrated in numbers.  There are about 30 in this picture.

The water is positively stunning, it is super clear and a gorgeous color.  This is due to being spring-fed and the waters in Blue Spring or St Johns River are regularly 72° year round.  This is what attracts the Manatees and helps to keep them alive.  Manatees can die of hypothermia if they don't get the chance to warm up in the winter months, especially babies.

This is a known natural habitat or hot tub for the numerous manatees that visit these hot springs areas.  They will stay for up to 3 days and then leave and eat sea grasses along the river and then come back and warm up again.  In the summertime, there is a group of about 25 manatees that stay on a regular basis or year-round according to the Ranger.  The highest number ever recorded in the sanctuary area was over 700 Manatees.

Many Manatee mothers come to birth their calves and we saw quite a few babies the day that we were there.  Apparently, the baby manatees stay black in color for up to 30 days and then turn their natural Gray colors.  

Above is a baby and to the right is a baby and Mama 

There are raised wooden walkways all along the one side of the river and right to the very end where the natural springs area or aquifer is.  There are several viewing areas along the way where you can stand and watch the manatees rolling around swimming, sleeping coming up for air and breathing and being mothers.  

To the right is the aquifer, you can see the darker water where the underground cave is.  There were 4 rehabilitated Manatees released at this end of the St. John's River the morning that we arrived.  The manatees had the zoomies and were swimming very quickly in large circles because they were happy to be released.  (Peter my poodle usually gets the zoomies in our backyard and usually right after he bites me in the butt.)  You can tell which manatees have just been released because they have buoys attached to their back fin.

See the buoy attached to his fin to the left.

There are nature or education talks throughout the day.  We took in a 1:00 p.m. show that the conservationist educated us on for approximately 30 minutes.  It was very interesting because I didn't know very much about manatees. 

 

Manatees usually range from 800 to 1200 pounds but have been known to get as big as 3,600 lbs. They are usually 8 to 10 ft in adulthood and when they're born there around 60 lbs.  Manatees can grow up and live to 60 years old.  But an average lifespan is actually between 7 and 13 years because of propeller kills.  Mothers have a calf every 3 to 5 years.  Babies stay with their mothers for up to 3 years.  Manatees sleep for up to half an hour at a time and they come up for breath every few minutes.  Just their nose surfaces above the water when they breathe and you can hear them take breaths of air which is kind of cool.  

The closest relative to a manatee is surprisingly the elephant and they actually do look alike.  They both have small eyes and very thick leather skin and they are just as family oriented and intelligent.  However, they tend to be loner mammals but when they are together they do socialize.  They make a squeal or bird-like sound under the water and the day that we were there they did not have the microphone in the water that was going to be in about 2 weeks and then people can hear what they sound like.  The Ranger provided an audio clip for us of manatee sounds.  Manatee females have a single nipple under their flipper.  This is where the baby nurses from.  This year there were twins born to a mother and the conservation said that he had never heard of that before.  Most of the manatees during the spring, summer and fall make their way out into the Atlantic and mostly live surrounding the Florida beaches area but have been known to go as far north as Virginia and as far west as Louisiana.

If you like history there is a big white three-story house with a huge wrap-around veranda this is the Thursby house and it is located in Blue Springs State Park.  The Thursbys moved here in the 1800s and they were quite a wealthy family that supplied boats and tours, the wife even ran the local post office. 

If you are into Spanish Moss dripping from trees which you commonly see in Civil War territories like Savannah and Charleston then you can also see this plant on the trees in Florida in the picture to the right.

Before the train tracks were laid throughout Florida, the St Johns River received up to five steamboats per day at the Thursday House.  Mrs. Thursby received mail every day at the height of the Steamships era.  You are allowed to tour the main floor of the house and it's set up like a museum with lots of reading included.

Before the Thursby family history, the local Indigenous people lived in this area and ate sealife including Manatees.  Manatees are actually quite lean with 90% of their body being meat.  They do appear to be fatties but they are not.  This history is also included at Blue Springs State Park.

There are all sorts of other wildlife in the St John River area or the Blue Springs. 

 

There was a huge alligator sitting on a log right in the middle of all of the Manatees but we learned later on that Manatees have no natural predator the only thing that kills manatees are humans. 

This Gator to the right was huge.  We learned from the ranger that the alligator does not bother the manatees at all but the opposite is true, the manatees try and actually aggravate the alligator.  I mean I can't say that I blame them.  Gators freak me out too.

The Blue Scrub Jay is native to the State Park area and is on the endangered list but we did not see one, unfortunately.  My friends know that I am obsessed with Blue Jays and actively encourage Blue Jays to nest in my yard or come for a visit.  

There are tons of different types of fish in the St Johns River that you can see quite clearly because the water is quite shallow and extremely crystal clear. 

 

The main cause of death for manatees is boat propellers.  With more and more people moving to the Florida area, more people are buying boats and there are more propellers to injure or kill the Manatees.  Most of the manatees had previous scars from propeller hits and this is how the conservationists name and maintain who the manatee is and actually give them a name.  

We found this to be a completely worthwhile trip even though it took approximately 2 hours to get up here from where we were staying and that was mainly due to some accidents on the road and construction on the highway.

There is a gift store and plenty of washrooms at the State Park the gift store has some really nice things to buy.

Any type of swimming tubing kayaking is always suspended during the calving or the migratory time when the manatees come to the Springs to warm up in the winter which is actually a couple of months.  That time frame is November to March.  But this is also the time when you will see the most manatees at Blue Springs State Park.