Swimming Without the Manatees

It’s the weekend during winter high season in Florida.  Although it’s not quite yet Spring Break season, it’s close.  And half of the upper Midwest is here trying to gather some sunshine.  We could see that right away when we drove into Crystal River for the day.  Our destination: Hunter Springs Park, a popular swimming hole and kayak launch.  It’s a good thing we were there by 9:30 this morning.  People were already streaming in and half the parking lot was full.  Half-hour later and we would have been out of luck.

When I went to pay for parking, I found that the payment kiosks had signs saying they were out of order.  So our little bonus for the day was not having to pay the five dollars to park and the five dollars a person to launch the kayaks.  We’re fifteen bucks ahead today.

We found a space that would fit the RV and launched the kayaks. By paddling out into Kings Bay and then back into another channel, we could access Three Sisters Springs.  This area is known for a high concentration of manatees and there were lots of outfitters about, taking people out on boats to see the manatees and even swim with the manatees.  So between hundreds of kayaks and lots of outfitter boats, the traffic on the water was rather heavy.

Three Sisters Spring is accessible only from the water.  You can look at it from the land and walk all around it, but if you want to swim in it, you have to come by boat.  And lots of people did just that, including us.  We tied off the kayaks to a anchor line just outside of the spring, and swam into the spring.

We had some snorkel gear that we brought along just for this purpose and we floated about, looking for something interesting.  A few fish, lots of other people, but no manatees.  I overheard most are in the open water because of the warmer temperatures.  So I have a new idea for an outfitter name: ​Swimming Without the Manatees.  Probably would be a little more realistic.

As far as underwater features go, this spring didn’t really have a lot.  Some of the eight springs we kayaked to a couple days ago were far more interesting with their deep caves and abundant plant life.  This had sand and rocks.  But it was a chance to swim on a hot day, so swim we did.  And it was a lot of fun, even when looking at sand and rocks.  Swimming around in a clear spring with your face in the water, looking at everything (and everyone) from under the surface--one could get into this.

I’m sure there were many people who were disappointed at not seeing any manatees.  That’s a big thing here.  We didn’t see any either, until we were paddling back across open water towards the launch point.  Then one surfaced about two feet off the port side of my kayak.  Suddenly there was a shape with a nose above the water, one breath, and it settled back down into the water and disappeared. The water was not very clear here, not like in the spring, so it went out of sight quickly.

When we got back to the launch, the beach area was jammed.  The water traffic was even heavier.  The parking lot was full and people were walking in from several blocks away.  I don't blame the manatees for not being here. If I were a manatee, I would want to avoid this madness also.  Such is a Saturday in Crystal River.

We drove away from the waterfront, found an empty bank parking lot, and made lunch.

We went for a 2.2-mile hike in the Crystal River Preserve, on the Eco-Walk Loop Trail.  One guide said it had 11 interpretive stations but we didn’t see a single one. It was a pleasant walk through a forest of Saw Palmetto and other native plants.

Then we took a bike ride on the Withlacoochee Bay Trail, a paved trail that runs along the Cross Florida Barge Canal.  The direction we took leads out to the Crystal Bay, a distance of a little over 4 miles.  Very flat, easy ride and some good views of the bay at the end.

And now we’re here at the Mutual Mine Campground in the Withlacoochee State Forest, one of several single-night stays as we work our way southward.