I visited Blue Spring State Park last year and enjoyed it so it made sense to bring my sister here to experience another adventure in Central Florida. We were hoping hundreds of manatees would be in the warm springs where they come to survive the winter. When we arrived, it said there were nine LOL. The weather had warmed up in Florida so they moved back out into the St. John River.

It is a beautiful park – manatees or not. A boardwalk follows along the river to the source of the spring. There are plenty of viewing platforms. Some are the platforms to get into the springs to swim during the spring and summer.

We did see manatees and some fish, such a nice Florida experience.

The last time I was here, I did not go inside the Thursby House or sign up for the Nature Cruise. The Thursby House was open and has nice exhibits inside to read about the history.

The one hour nature cruise is perfect. The weather was beautiful and the Captain stopped along the way to see the wildlife. The narration is educational informing us about the St. John’s River, local flora and fauna, and manatees. The river is the longest in Florida – 310 miles and flows north (unusual!) because it is flowing down hill towards the Atlantic Ocean.

In the late 1800’s, the army corps straightened the river by taking 21 miles out creating “oxbows.” This straightening allowed steamboats to shorten their trips from 14 days to 14 hours. The waterway was used for commerce. Many of the oxbows were used to also create small canals to get back into the cypress forests where the logging was occurring. There are still cypress trees, just not as many remain.

The water plants in the river are food for the manatees and good places for the birds and lots of alligators!

Definitely a nice tour! Our adventure is complete. Off to my son’s for dinner – steaks on the grill.