Blue Spring State Park

Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Florida, protects the largest spring on the St. Johns River, discharging approximately 104 million gallons of 72-degree Fahrenheit water daily from a geological formation that provides critical warm-water refuge for West Indian manatees during Florida's winter months. The park sits about 20 miles north of Orlando in Volusia County, operating as one of the state's most accessible and rewarding wildlife experiences. From November through March, as the St. Johns River cools below the manatees' thermal threshold, the animals migrate into the warm spring run — a 125-yard channel between the spring boil and the river. At peak winter gatherings, 500 or more manatees have been documented in the spring run simultaneously, visible from the park's riverside boardwalk at extraordinary close range. Viewing platforms and boardwalks along the spring run allow visitors to observe the manatees resting, swimming, and surfacing to breathe without entering the water. Swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking in the spring run are suspended during the manatee season to protect the animals. During summer months, when manatees have returned to the river and estuary, the spring's crystal-clear 72-degree water opens for swimming, kayaking, and snorkeling, revealing the limestone boil and aquatic grasses of an outstanding first-magnitude spring system. Camping and cabin rentals within the park allow visitors to be present for early morning manatee activity before day-use visitors arrive. The adjacent St. Johns River offers kayaking and canoeing opportunities year-round, and alligators are regularly visible along the river margins throughout the park.