Manatee Springs State Park, Chiefland, Florida

5/25 Woke up early this morning because the birds were chirping and owls hooting. At home we might have one owl hooting but here there are so many owls that the hooting goes on forever. Left St. George State Park and headed off the island east on 98 and what a drive it was. Stunning views of the gulf, fishing boats, forests, wildlife preserves, pelicans gliding and small towns. This is how Florida used to be without all the development.
Drove down the coast to Chiefland where Manatee Springs State Park is. The park has three camping loops with dirt roads and just electricity and water. We were the only ones in the Magnolia 2 loop when we got there but other campers came in right after us. The road is meant for one vehicle at a time so if two RV’s have to pass one will have to pull over into a site. The Hickory Loop is much better for bigger RV’s and the walk to the springs is closer. This spring is one of the biggest in Florida which discharges over 100 million gallons per r day.
There a lot to do at this park. One can swim, snorkel or scuba dive in the springs. There are over 8.5 miles of hiking trails throughout the park. I went swimming and snorkeling in the 72 degree water and it was great but not for George. It was too cold for him. One of the best things to do is to walk the boardwalks that go through the swamps along the springs and out to the Suwannee River which exits to the Gulf at this spot. There are Alligators, Carp and Sturgeons in the river. In the winter, the Manatees swim up to the spring and that is why this campground is popular during those months because of all the great viewing areas to watch them. The springs in the winter are warmer for the Manatees than the rivers or the Gulf. We would have loved to see them!
The Sturgeons are amazing leaping out of the water every few minutes twisting their bodies around before smacking back into the water. One other camper told us that they jump more as it gets warmer and that in June on nights with the full moon the Sturgeons are flipping all over the place and it is quite a sight. I could not get a picture of them jumping; they were too fast for me to click the camera. I tried, boy did I try! The Carp that I got two good pictures of were a mistake by a scientist after bringing them over here from Asia for some experiments. They got loose and into the streams, rivers and backwaters where they eat more than their weight everyday and eat most of the food that the Manatees and other native fish need to survive. They are big and aggressive and those on the Mississippi have even landed in fishing boats attacking the fishermen. Every year the state of Florida has to come in and put electrodes in the water which zaps these fish so that they die then float to the top and where they pick them up.
The park has canoes that can be rented to paddle the river and part of the springs. One can rent the canoes even during the winter months but there are strict instructions about paddling around the Manatees. This is a beautiful park and I wish that we could have spent more than one night here but we must move on tomorrow.