Where & When to See Florida Manatees - Florida Manatee Season

Where to See
Florida Manatees

In the wild, in captivity or on your computer monitor, tablet/phone

Where to See Florida Manatees

Overall, the best time to see Florida manatees is between December 15 and April 1 when they seek refuge in warm water. The colder the weather, the more manatees need the warm waters found in Florida springs and at the water discharge areas of some power plants.

These are the best places to see manatees in Florida.

Blue Spring State Park A boardwalk bordering the clear spring run makes manatee viewing easy; and it's wheelchair accessible.

Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge You'll find more manatees at Crystal River than anywhere else in Florida. And you can swim with them, too.

TECO Manatee Viewing Center at the warm water discharge of Tampa Electric. Free admission and parking.

Manatee Park is a warm water discharge area in Fort Myers.

Summertime Manatees In summer, manatees are hard to find in clear water, except in the Panhandle's Wakulla River area.

Manatee cow and calf

Manatees in Captivity

Although seeing manatees in the wild tends to be seasonal, these parks and zoos offer good viewing opportunities all the year round.

Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park View manatees underwater year-round without getting wet! An underwater observatory reveals the captive manatees living in the spring.

Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. This excellent manatee exhibit also has a manatee hospital

Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium A fine place to see sharks, too.

Miami Seaquarium One of the original leaders in manatee rescue.

The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature

Manatee Photo Gallery Underwater photos of manatees

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