Crystal River is known as the Manatee capital of the world! It's located on Florida’s West Coast, just North of Tampa and Northwest of Orlando. Crystal River is not only the name of the town, but the actual river and designated Federal Manatee Sanctuary.
You are welcome to observe these gentle Florida Manatees with "passive observation", meaning you can be in the water with them as long as you do not interfere with them whatsoever.
Why are there so many manatees in Crystal River? Because the ocean gets too cold for them in the winter, manatees seek refuge from fatally low temps by swimming up into the springs where the water stays closer to 72 degrees Fahrenheit , year round. When the ocean warms back up in early spring, they head back out.
The best times are usually from late December to mid February, but every year is different, so we suggest calling some of the local snorkel or dive adventure shops in the area.
For maximum manatees, we actually suggest SNORKELING instead of scuba diving. YEP, Crystal River is shallow anyway, and it’s just easier. For manatees, the best place is usually Three Sister’s spring, accessible only from the river. However, most of the refuge is pretty active with manatees, and there are plenty of local charter boats that offer daily trips to all the best places.
If you do want to dive, you’ll find plenty of online or local maps & private guides that show all the little dive sites peppered throughout the area, such as King Springs, Jurassic, House, Magnolia and others.
KEEP IN MIND, the rivers leading up to and around Three Sisters Springs do not allow motorized boats (or jet skis/seadoos) to anchor or tie off in the area.
King Springs is one of the most popular for scuba divers, but just know that it silts up pretty quick, so go whenever other divers are gone and watch that buoyancy:)
Hunter Springs, which is a free park open year round, & beach accessible, is a great beginner dive location, and popular for classes. There are great amenities there, and plenty of room for setting up. You can walk right in and go down into the 15 foot deep boil -it's a roped off area that also has a hook for a dive flag or float ball. Bring a dive flag, and be careful of boats if venturing out of the area to explore other parts of the lagoon.
The spring boils are
Look for an interesting mixture of both fresh AND saltwater denizens, and above all, don't forget that snorkel!
Produced by sweetwaterscuba.com
Narrated by none other than Jonny Green
Visit his channel here: / jonin60seconds
Special thanks to dive instructor Michael Chapman "Chappy" with Sea King Scuba: diveseakingscuba.com
Footage from Katie Reich, Kenny Dyal, with help from Ted.
And finally, a HUGE shoutout to Olive the Alchemist, for dropping in and gracing us with their presence on the Three Sisters Spring river run. Olive is a Mermaid Instructor with the Seattle Mermaid School, and can be booked here:
www.olivethealchemist.com/
"Show the rest of the world the rest of the world."
23 янв 2022
