We’re trying something new and glamping at Manatee Springs State Park in Chiefland, Florida! Along with our daughter, we are camping, I mean glamping, for 2 nights. Check out the glamping lifestyle and the charm of Manatee Springs in Florida.
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Planning Glamping at Manatee Springs
We’ve been wanting to go camping again, and found availability for a glamping site at Manatee Springs. But what is glamping? Per the Oxford English Dictionary, it’s “A form of camping that involves accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping.” And with that luxury, comes a higher price. It’s more than a traditional tent site, but still less than most lodging options. And there are many Florida state parks that now have glamping options. They are run by concessionaires and each park offers something a little different. So, what’s typically included?
Each glamping site includes a tent with furnishings. Typically, they include a queen bed, with linens and inside lights. And many include additional comforts like bedside tables with lamps and outlets to plug in your electronic devices. But also, most have cooling and heating units which is always nice when camping. And outside are usually picnic tables, fire rings and chairs. Check out what Manatee Springs offers at: Glamping Overview.
When we first booked 2 nights at Manatee Springs State Park in February, it was still winter. Which is the best time to see manatees in the Florida springs. But, it’s usually too cold to tent camp. However, glamping with a heating unit sounds like a perfect solution. Our tent includes a queen bed, but for our daughter we bring a twin air mattress and sleeping bag. There’s no additional cost for her, and she still gets a bed. The only other things to bring are our clothes and personal items, food and drinks. And any time camping in Florida, you should be prepared with bug spray, sunscreen, towels and flashlights.
Our Glamping Site at Manatee Springs
There’s only 3 glamping sites at Manatee Springs, and they are together within the Hickory Loop. Like normal hotels, check-in time is at 3:00PM, and check-out is at 11:00AM. And when we arrive 45 minutes early, they make us come back to the ranger station after 3:00 to check-in. Once checked-in, we get our 1st glimpse of our glamping site.
The best thing about a glamping site is it’s already set-up. From the outside we see there’s a bell tent zipped up with a rain tarp over it. The tent is also on a wooden deck instead of the ground. And there’s additional space in front of the tent with 2 chairs and a table. Around the side is a picnic table, and a fire-pit behind it with 2 chairs.
Once inside we can see how spacious the tent is. Along with the queen bed are 2 night stands with lamps and electrical outlets to plug in devices. At the foot of the bed is a wooden bench and both are on a rug. We move the bench to one side to blow up our daughter’s air mattress. On the other side is a wall AC unit. There’s also a separate plugin heating unit. And in the corner is a shelf with a Keurig, coffee, water and a garbage can.
Once we get our stuff situated inside, there’s plenty of room on the deck outside to put our cooler. And in just 20 minutes, with beer in hand, I’m ready to relax before heading to the spring. Also inside are remotes for the outside lights. And when we get back later, we cook hotdogs over the fire pit and roast s’mores for dessert.
Things to do while Glamping at Manatee Springs
The beauty of glamping is it gives you more time to do other things. And at Manatee Springs, there’s plenty to do. The 1st thing we do is head to the spring.
Swimming, Snorkeling or Scuba Diving in Manatee Springs
Manatee Springs is the largest single spring flowing into the Suwannee River. And there’s a quarter-mile run that leads out to the Suwanee allowing manatees to travel into the spring. Hoping to spot one, we grab our snorkel gear. From the campground to the spring there is a short pass through the woods that takes us there in minutes.
When we first arrive, there are many people already swimming in the spring. Some are snorkeling, some have scuba gear, and some are just swimming. Since the spring water is 72 degrees Fahrenheit year round, it’s a little chilly when you first get in. But on an 80 degree and sunny Florida day, it’s refreshing. Some people have wetsuits on, but we jump in with just our bathing suits and quickly acclimate to the water temp.
I snorkel alongside our daughter as she floats around on a tube. I can see some scuba divers on the bottom above the spring opening. However, we do not see any manatees. Though in the shallower areas we do see some turtles and large fish. If we would have come here a month ago, there would have likely been multiple manatees in the spring. But since it’s getting warmer, they’ve headed out into the river.
Though there is plenty of space to swim in the spring, glamping at Manatee Springs allow you to visit anytime. Being at the spring when no one else is around is quiet and peaceful. And at sunset, it’s just gorgeous.
The Manatee Springs Boardwalk
The spring is surrounded by a boardwalk on one side that connects to hiking trails. And the other way, it heads through a cypress swamp to the Suwanee. This section quickly became our favorite part of this park.
On one side of the boardwalk is a cypress swamp, and on the other is the run to the spring. And in this section is a great place to see wildlife. We spotted a young gator sunning on the shore.
But that’s just the beginning. There are many water birds here including egrets, cormorants and anhingas. And we could also hear many songbirds and a pileated woodpecker before we spotted one in a tree.
When we came at sunset, we also saw many turkey vultures in the trees and circling the skies above. At the end of the boardwalk, it becomes a dock over the Suwannee River.
Here is a covered area where you can look both ways to see this remote section of the Suwannee River. And looking backward, you can see the start of the run to the spring. We enjoyed walking up and down this boardwalk a half dozen times while glamping at Manatee Springs. But it wasn’t until our last day, we saw what we had hoped to see.
After raining, it got colder our last morning. So, Becky walked back to the boardwalk looking one last time for manatees. And there she found a manatee in the run. So excited, we met her there where we spotted not 1, but 3 manatees in the water. They were hard to see at first, but easily spotted once they came up for air.
Paddling at Manatee Springs
Glamping at Manatee Springs would normally give us plenty of time to paddle on the water. But since we didn’t check in until after 3:00 the 1st day, it was too late. Though we did see some kayakers out on the river coming back. The 2nd day the weather was bad, and the 3rd day we left. So, we just ran out of time. But they have many options if you do have the time.
Single and tandem kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards can be rented at the park. They can be booked online by the same concessionaire that offers the glamping at Manatee Springs. And you can rent for 2 hours, or 6 hours (full day). Also you can find them at the Aggregation Station near the boardwalk. Here you will find a small store where you can rent the paddle craft. And if you’re staying in the park, you can rent any of their equipment overnight for an additional $20.
Hiking the Sink Trail Loop
Another activity you can do at Manatee Springs is go hiking. The 8.5 miles of trails within the park wind around cypress swamps, sinkholes and more. But due to the weather, we were only able to do 1 short hike near the campsites. Though it’s one you won’t want to miss.
The Sink Trail Loop is only 0.6 miles and considered an easy hike. Though this short hike is packed with beautiful trees, palmettos and sinkholes.
At the beginning of the trail are some large trees where some have fallen against each other. It almost looks like a tunnel walking through and under them. Once through, the trail branches into a loop and continues further into the woods
The trail is very shady with palmettos everywhere. Also along the way are some trail markers highlighting some of the sinkholes. A sinkhole is merely a depression on the surface caused by water eroding the ground below. So, the ground basically sinks, and very often it contains water. Both an interesting and beautiful walk, this trail takes less than 30 minutes.
Visiting Fanning Springs
Just 20 minutes north of Manatee Springs is their sister park, Fanning Springs. This park also has a large spring off the Suwannee River. We were heading back to our glamping site one day when we decided to make a stop here. And we’re glad we did. You can read more about this park at: Fanning Springs State Park | Florida State Parks.
As soon as we start walking down some steps to the spring, a woman says yes there’s one over there. Huh, what? A manatee in the spring! The swimming area here is much larger, though we don’t have our bathing suits or snorkel gear with us. But we easily see the manatee from the paved walkway overlooking the spring. There’s even an observation deck where we can get a great view looking straight down at it.
Becky had been bummed we didn’t get to see a manatee up-close, but then here it is. We watch for a while before he swims under the dock. With Becky happy, we decide to check out more of this park.
We walk down to the end of the dock to see the run to the river. It is much shorter, but a pretty area. And like Manatee Springs, they also have a boardwalk trail.
This boardwalk also goes through a cypress swamp. And at the end is a covered pavilion where we see a sign warning of jumping sturgeon. That explains their entrance sign. Though we don’t see any fish jumping, we’ve heard of the sturgeon in the Suwannee River. Another great boardwalk, and we spend about an hour here. We definitely recommend visiting this sister park.
Day trip to Homosassa Springs
Another state park not far away is Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. I wasn’t originally planning to go here, but a park ranger told us it’s probably our best place to see a manatee. And it’s only about an hour straight down US-19/US-98 from Chiefland. Ironically 16 years ago on the exact day, I brought the boys here for the 1st time. So, I’m glad to finally bring Becky and our daughter.
When we first walk in, we notice the sign behind the manatee fountain is missing. And unfortunately due to recent hurricanes, all of the buildings and other structures are closed. So, we can only assume the sign met a similar fate.
Even their underwater observatory is closed due to flooding damage. However, we can still walk out onto the deck and see plenty of large fish from above. It’s also a good place to get a view of the spring itself, though no manatees today.
But what makes this park special is the wildlife brought here. Many of them can’t survive in the wild and become permanent park residents. And there are currently 4 manatees here we get to see eating some lettuce. Though there’s so much more.
Their Wildlife Walk allows visitors to see all kinds of animals including endangered Florida panthers, bears, wolves, alligators and more. But their most famous resident is Lu, the hippopotamus. Originally born at the San Diego Zoo in 1960, Lu is now the oldest hippo in the world. There’s so much interesting wildlife at this park, it’s still worth the visit if you have time.
Our Summary of Glamping at Manatee Springs
We really enjoyed glamping at Manatee Springs. Our tent was set-up when we arrived with all the amenities needed. And we had plenty of room even with our daughter’s twin air mattress. We also weathered the elements better than expected. When it was hot, our AC unit kept our tent comfortable. When a storm passed through, everything stayed dry. And when it got cold, we stayed warm enough with the warming blanket provided. Though our plug-in heating unit didn’t seem to work properly. And outside we had everything we needed to relax around a campfire. The only drawback was we had to use the campground bathrooms. Though they were an easy walk away, the showers were tiny with no place to put our stuff. But that didn’t stop us from enjoying the park.
Glamping allowed us to really explore all that Manatee Springs has to offer. We really enjoyed the spring and boardwalk which we could easily walk to from our campsite. And if it wasn’t for the storm that passed through, we would have stayed in the park the whole time. But taking the day trip to Homosassa Springs was fun. And visiting their sister park, Fanning Springs, allowed us to see a manatee up-close. Overall we really loved our time at Manatee Springs. And we all agreed we want to try glamping again soon!
Have you been glamping? Let us know what you think in the comments below.