Manatee Springs
Cave Divers Entering the Labyrinth. Photo by Mark Long
Manatee Springs is located just outside of Chiefland on the Lower Suwannee River.
Manatee Spring is a first magnitude, blue spring that has a beautiful run to the Suwannee River. During winter months the spring hosts as many as a 50 manatees at a time on really cold days. There are great recreational opportunities in the park with hiking and bike trails that cover a dozen or more miles through swamps, longleaf pine forests and oak hammocks. The park is riddled with sinkholes—or karst windows—into the Manatee Springs Cave System. Deer, turkeys, fox, owls, eagles, swallow tailed kites and a number of other iconic Florida wildlife species are often spotted in the park—including Florida manatees.
