Crystal River: Your Guide To Three Sisters Springs And The Manatee Festival

Did you know that there’s a Manatee Festival every year in Florida? In fact, at Crystal River, they held the 36th Florida Manatee Festival on Jan. 14th & 15th. Here's your Guide to Crystal River Three Sisters Springs Manatee Festival!

Located on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Crystal River is an hour and 45 mins northwest of Orlando and bonus, it’s only an hour away west of The Villages!

The event of the year was held in downtown Crystal River over 2 days with entertainment, food, art walk and more. However, my parents and I were more interested in seeing the manatees so we set out to visit on the first day of the festival.

During the 2 day festival, there were free shuttles AND free entry to the 3 Sisters Springs.
In winter months, admission is $20 for adults, $17.50 for 55+ and you would need to get your tickets at the Three Sister Springs Visitor Center behind the City Hall as there is no public parking at the actual 3 Sisters Springs.

There are limited handicapped parking spaces near the boardwalk for vehicles with a valid handicap parking permit.

We arrived at about 9 a.m. The weather was about 27 degrees and sunny. Perfect for watching manatees.
Several tents were set up leading to the boardwalk. There was a tent for Save the Manatee Club, Bear Management Program, Florida Forest Service and other entities that raise awareness about Florida’s wildlife and ecosystem.

Mom and dad enjoyed learning more about the natural resources we have here in the Sunshine State.
There’s also a booth that sold festival merch like manatee plush, books, and all types of shirts.

We headed to the boardwalk to see how many manatees we can see!
We were treated with an impressive sight of dozens and dozens of manatees taking refuge right in the 3 sisters springs.

I was so happy to see many of them.
We checked out different parts of the boardwalk to get various point of views of these gentle giants.

Volunteers around the area answer any questions you may have about manatees.

Another popular way to check out the manatees in the springs is by kayak or paddle board.
There were even a few people who braved the waters on this chilly morning.

Here are some of my favorite facts about manatees:
1. Manatees are sometimes called ‘sea cows’ because they are gentle, move slowly like cows, and they graze on sea grass.
2. Manatees like to stay in shallow water in oceans and rivers where they find food and warm water. They are sensitive to cold and Like humans, they are susceptible to hypothermia.
3. Manatees have no front teeth because they don’t eat meat. They are herbivores which means they eat only plants.
4. Manatees don’t usually travel in groups. But as we see here in 3 Sisters Springs, they rest together in the warm 74 degree water.
5. Manatees have small eyes. They see poorly up close and rely on direct contact to feel things with their tactile whiskers and hair.
6. The Florida manatee is vulnerable which means it’s population is decreasing because of 2 major threats: loss of habitat and collisions with boats and ships. To learn more about how to protect them, check out savethemanatee.org
7. Three Sisters Springs is a Manatee Sanctuary; this means it is a federally designated area which restricts all activities, including human entry in the water during winter months.

After seeing as many manatees as we could and enjoying nature, we got hungry after visiting the springs so I took my parents to my favorite fresh seafood restaurant in Crystal River called Charlie’s Fish House.

If you’re looking for fresh seafood, amazing water views and great service, this is the place!

Like and share this video, it really helps the channel. Check out my playlist of other fun things to do around Crystal River and other must see places in Florida.

EXPLORING FLORIDA MUST DO'S    • Fun Things To Do In Winter Park, Flor...  

Track: Ikson - On The Run [Official]
Music provided by Ikson®
Listen:    • #189 On The Run (Official)