Manatees & Mermaids: My Favorite Natural Springs in Florida
When you’re planning a trip to Florida, it’s easy to get distracted by the state’s “world class” attractions…theme parks and beaches!
But there’s a lot more to Florida than that.
The area just north of Tampa is home to some of Florida’s best natural springs and I think they’re a must see.
The Best Natural Springs in Florida
I’ve got two favorite springs in the area, and not only are they good for different types of experiences, but they’re good for visiting during different times of the year. they’re good for different things…
Three Sisters Springs at Crystal River is best for manatee spotting in the winter.
Weeki Wachee Springs is best for swimming in the summer and their legendary mermaid show.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting these Florida springs:
Swimming with Manatees at Crystal River
Swimming with manatees is a bucket list Florida experience and the only place you can do it is near Crystal River.
There are a couple of ways you can do this. While you can swim up Crystal River into the Three Sisters Springs, it’s only accessible by boat on a tour. There are a lot of tours that operate out of Kings Bay on Crystal River with permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service from November 15 through March 31. Tour operators include snorkel tours, kayak tours, and paddleboard tours.
If you don’t want to actually swim with the manatees, but you still want to see them, you can do that at Three Sisters Springs from their boardwalk.
I did this on my last trip and it was GREAT.
Winter admission to the boardwalk (November 15 through March 31) is $20/adult and $7.50/child (5 and under are free).
When temperatures dip low during the winter months, manatees come in from the gulf to the warmer water in the springs. On a cool, overcast day, it’s not uncommon to find 100 manatees in the spring.
On the day I visited, it was actually about 80 degrees and sunny but it had been cool a couple days before so the manatees still showed up.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see the manatees from the boardwalk and honestly felt like I didn’t miss out on a lot by not actually being in the water with them.
But I will say from what I’ve observed…if you’re going to swim with the manatees, you definitely want to do a tour that takes you up into Three Sisters Springs. This is where the crystal clear water is (the bottom of the spring is white sand) and to me, it just looks a lot more inviting than swimming out in the murkier water in the Crystal River or even near Homosassa Springs.
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Seeing the Weeki Wachee Mermaids
My other favorite natural Florida spring is Weeki Wachee Springs State Park.
Do you have a “thing” that you’ve wanted to do since you were a kid? Something that seemed so fantastic and wonderful as a child and as an adult you know it’s probably pretty silly but you just can’t let go of it?
Well, my “thing” has always been the Weeki Wachee Mermaids. Yep, MERMAIDS. In this somewhat remote part of Florida, there’s a beautiful natural spring where live mermaids have been performing an underwater show for visitors since 1947.
Isn’t that just the greatest thing you’ve ever heard?? Once Florida’s most popular attraction (until the mouse moved into Orlando), the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs are one of the few remaining truly great old Florida roadside attractions.
Besides the mermaid show, you can also swim in the springs. A visit to the springs is like spending a day at the swimming hole. The water is clear and cool and they’ve got plenty of fun built up around it (slides, a jumping platform, a lazy river) plus a River Boat Cruise or kayak rentals to explore the winding Weeki Wachee River.
A bit about the history of Weeki Wachee Springs:
The spring was named “Weeki Wachee” by the Seminole Indians (it means “little spring” or “winding river”) and the spring is so deep that the bottom has never been found. It’s thought to be the deepest underwater cave in the world. The Weeki Wachee River, which flows from the springs, runs 12 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.
Then there are the mermaids. Part synchronized swimming and part underwater ballet with a few “how did they do that” tricks thrown in with some fun music… if you ever played mermaids in the bathtub when you were a kid, this is going to knock your socks off.
The mermaids perform four shows a day, 365 days a year and they’ve been doing it since 1947.
The property with the springs was purchased by former US Navy man Newt Perry in 1946 and after he cleaned it up (cars and old refrigerators had to be hauled out of the springs!) he developed a method of breathing underwater from an air hose attached to a compressor (instead of a tank strapped to your back), built a small 18 person underwater theater and began recruiting young women whom he trained to breathe from the hoses and perform underwater tricks (like drinking a soda or eating a banana).
It became a wildly successful roadside attraction in the 1950s and really exploded when ABC (yep, the American Broadcasting Company) bought the spring and built the modern 400 person theater. And the mermaids have been a going concern ever since.
Tips for Visiting Weeki Wachee Springs State Park
Get there early! When I visited during the summer, we arrived about 30 minutes before the park was scheduled to open and it was PACKED. Also, this was on a Thursday, so on Saturdays and Sundays you definitely want to get there plenty early. The park closes when it reaches capacity and sometimes on a summer weekend day that happens well before noon.
You can’t buy tickets online in advance, you just have to wait in line. Make sure you have cold drinks and a little shade because it is HOT waiting out there.
When you first get into the park, you’ll either want to go straight to Buccaneer Bay to set up camp (especially if you’re trying to get one of the like 5 lounge chairs) or to the Mermaid Show. I personally would go to the Mermaid Show first and then head to Buccaneer Bay and try to find a spot that’s a little further away from everything (the ones closest to the springs are the ones that will go first).
It’s a pretty good bargain! Tickets are only $13/adult ($8/child ages 6-12 and free for children under 5). The $13 includes admission to the springs (including Buccaneer Bay Water Park), the Mermaid Show, wildlife shows, and the 20 minute river boat ride (when it’s operating). That’s a pretty good bang for your buck!
Take shade! It is hot, hot, hot and there’s not really any shade. You can take umbrellas and we even saw some people with full on shade tents set up.
You can’t take floats. You can’t take your own inflatables, but you can take a noodle or life jacket for children.
Sign up for the River Boat Cruise early. This wasn’t running when I visited and that was disappointing because it would’ve been a great way to see the river. It’s free, but availability is limited so you have to sign up when you get to the park and they’ll tell you when to come back for your cruise.
Kayak rentals have to be reserved in advance. They’ve recently changed how they handle kayaking on the Weeki Wachee River and now you have to book through the state park. And you have to do it in advance. You CANNOT do it once you arrive at the park. They’ll put you in your kayak at the launch site, you float down the river a few miles and then they shuttle you back to the park.
Pack a cooler or buy food once you get there. You can pack a full size cooler (no alcohol), but they also have full concessions on site.
Find out everything you need to know about Weeki Wachee Springs State Park from the official website here.
Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
On the same trip that I visited Three Sisters Springs at Crystal River, I also stopped by the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.
It’s close to Crystal River, and everybody I walked to said it was a “must do.”
After seeing it, I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a must do but some people definitely may enjoy it more than others.
For starters, on the day that we visited, the water in the springs (they call it a “fishbowl”) wasn’t nearly as clear as what we saw at Three Sisters Springs and there weren’t any manatees there so even though they have an underwater viewing area, we didn’t really see very much.
There were a few manatees out more towards the river, but the water was pretty murky so it was hard to see them.
The other component here is a small zoo with a collection of animals that are local to Florida. All of the animals are rescues or animals that are unable to survive in the wild for one reason or another, but the habitats are all pretty small and resemble cages more than what you’re probably used to seeing at larger, more modern zoos.
Tickets to the wildlife center are $13/adult and $5/child (5 and under are free) and if you have children, this is a pretty good bang for your buck. Whether or not you see manatees in the spring, you’ll have plenty of other critters to look at (in the summer too).
But if you’re short on time and wanting to just see the “best of the best,” I would definitely prioritize seeing the boardwalk at Three Sisters Springs if you’re visiting during the winter months.
A tip for visiting: If you park at the main visitor center, you’ll have to take a tram over to the park, but there is a small parking lot right across the street from the park.
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Want to Read More Posts about Florida? I’ve got plenty!
Check out these destinations: Miami (Things to Do Besides Party & Where to Stay) // Key Biscayne // Sanibel & Captiva // Longboat Key & Anna Maria Island // Marco Island // 30a // St Augustine // Amelia Island // St Pete Beach // St Petersburg // Fort Myers // Dunedin // Crystal River & Weeki Wachee Springs // Honeymoon Island & Caladesi Island State Parks // Tarpon Springs // Matlacha & Pine Island // Apalachicola
Trying to narrow it down? Siesta Key vs Anna Maria Island // St Pete Beach vs Clearwater Beach // Sanibel vs Marco Island // Destin vs Panama City Beach // Destin vs 30a // Key Biscayne vs South Beach // Seaside vs Rosemary Beach
Best Beaches in Florida with Seashells
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