With its glowing blue pure springs, manatee-filled bays, and infinite alternatives for water actions, Crystal River is a Florida vacation spot value including to your bucket listing.
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Situated in Citrus County, Crystal River is located alongside Kings Bay and is named for the Crystal River, which connects Kings Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.
As sustainable vacationers, we love visiting smaller locations that supply distinctive experiences and many out of doors actions. And whereas the manatees of Crystal River have all the time been this space’s greatest and most well-known attraction (in spite of everything, it’s the one place within the US the place it’s legally permitted to swim with manatees), for us visiting this area was all about discovering what else there may be to do on this a part of Florida.
We mixed our go to to Crystal River with a few days in Ocala County and made this week-long journey to Central Florida all about nature and journey!
Touring Quickly? Here’s a listing of our favorite journey suppliers and equipment to assist get you prepared in your upcoming journey!
Greatest Time to Go to Crystal River
There’s a lot to do in Crystal River any time of the yr, so one of the best season actually is determined by what actions you’re most desirous about. We visited Crystal River in the summertime and had been pleasantly shocked to find the climate to be very manageable. Sure, it was sizzling and humid, however we discovered loads of methods to chill down with actions in the course of the day and had been nonetheless in a position to see manatees regardless of visiting exterior of the manatee season.
If you wish to plan your journey in a sure window, right here is what to anticipate when it comes to climate in Crystal River all year long.
Winter
Through the winter season, the every day temperature hovers round 20-22°C (70-78°F) in the course of the day and about 6-8°C (43-48°F) within the evenings, making this essentially the most nice time to go to Crystal River when it comes to climate. Winter months additionally see the least quantity of rain – one other bonus that’s value noting.
Winter months are thought-about to be Manatee Season. The Florida Manatee Pageant occurs each January and options manatee excursions, dwell music, native positive arts and crafts, and a beer and wine backyard. Consequently, guests flock to Crystal River this time of the yr which may result in larger lodge costs and normal enterprise within the space.
Spring
Within the Spring months, daytime temperatures heat as much as 28-31°C (83-88°F) in the course of the day and funky off to round 10°C (51°F) within the evenings.
There’s a lot occurring in March and April, from festivals to fundraising occasions just like the Clear Air Trip, a motorcycle journey on the Withlacoochee State Path that raises funds for charity organizations within the space. There’s additionally the annual Shrimp-a-Palooza, a Mardi Gras-style occasion with a parade, dwell music, and tons of recent native seafood to attempt. And eventually, there may be Style of Inverness, a meals and beer competition that incorporates a competitors for space cooks, dwell music, artwork distributors, and extra.
Spring sees nice climate and many actions and is total one of many all-around finest occasions to go to Crystal River.
Summer time
Through the summer time, the temperatures can develop into much more excessive, with daytime highs typically reaching to 32°C (91°F). Humidity additionally turns into an element throughout this time of the yr, as summer time is understood to be the rainiest season identified for intermittent showers.
Scalloping Season runs from July by the top of September. There’s the Homosassa River Fireworks Fest & Poker run in June, the 4th of July celebrations, and the Pine Avenue Jam & Parrothead Celebration for Jimmy Buffet followers.
Fall
The autumn months are very delicate, with daytime temperatures of round 28°C (83°F) and funky evenings. Throughout each Spring and Fall months, it’s finest to pack layers, because the temperatures can drop fairly considerably within the evenings.
There are many festivals and cultural occasions occurring within the Crystal River space in the course of the fall. Round Halloween, you possibly can try the Heritage Village Scarecrow Pageant, a family-friendly occasion that options hayrides, a pumpkin patch, and dwell performances. Through the month of November, there’s the Inverness Pageant of the Arts and the Ozello Arts, Crafts, & Blue Crab Pageant.
The best way to Get to/round Crystal River
By Aircraft
Tampa Worldwide Airport (TPA) is the closest airport to Crystal River with incoming worldwide flights. It’s also a hub for Southwest Airways.
Situated about 120 km (74 miles) south of Citrus County, Tampa Airport is simply 1.5 hour’s drive from Crystal River.
Orlando Worldwide Airport is one other getaway to Crystal River and a preferred hub for each home and worldwide airways. Orlando is situated 2-2.5 hours from Crystal River.
By Automotive
When you’re driving into Crystal River somewhat than flying, US-19 and US-44 each lead straight into city and hyperlink to I-10 or I-75, respectively.
These arriving in Florida by air will need to lease a automotive to get to and round Crystal River. Very like with the remainder of Florida, public transport choices are restricted on this space, so renting a automotive stays the one viable possibility.
The automotive rental heart at Tampa Worldwide Airport has plenty of rental businesses, so you might rock up and lease a automotive on the spot.
To get one of the best charges, we suggest reserving your automotive rental forward of time utilizing a automotive rental aggregator like Discover Cars. It’s a fantastic platform that searches all accessible rental firms for offers for automotive rental throughout your required dates.
To avoid wasting on fuel and cut back your CO2 influence, contemplate renting an electrical automotive – chances are you’ll be shocked how reasonably priced an electrical automotive rental will be. Throughout our go to in July 2023, we rented a Tesla Mannequin 3 for simply $35/day and spent one other $20-$30 on charging throughout our go to. That’s peanuts in comparison with what it will have value us to replenish on fuel. Plus, driving a Tesla is simply a lot enjoyable and significantly better for the atmosphere too.
There are a number of Tesla Superchargers and different EV charging stations in Crystal River, Homosassa, and Inverness, so filling up is simple and handy.
OK! Now that we’ve lined all of the fundamentals, we’re able to dive into the enjoyable a part of this submit – one of the best issues to do in Crystal River. We had heard of Crystal River as nothing greater than a vacation spot for manatee sightings and had been pleasantly shocked to find a bunch of different enjoyable actions throughout our go to.
Let’s leap in!
11 Greatest Issues to Do in Crystal River
1. Spot or Swim with Manatees
Sure, you most likely already know that Crystal River is THE spot to search out manatees in Florida (they don’t name it the Manatee Capital of the World for nothing!)
Since 1983, the Crystal River Nationwide Wildlife Refuge has been an space of preservation, restoration, and enhancement of the pure habitat that serves as a winter refuge for Florida manatees and a whole bunch of different wildlife species.
Yearly Crystal River performs host to a whole bunch if not hundreds of Florida manatees, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, that migrate to the spring-fed waters round this space for the winter months.
Why? Effectively, the reason being fairly easy. The manatees dwell up and down the Florida coast all year long, however these mild giants can’t survive in waters lower than 20°C (68°F). So when the Gulf begins to chill within the winter months, the manatees migrate to hotter waters and discover reprieve in spring-fed canals, like King’s Bay in Crystal River, the place temperatures keep constant at 23°C (72°F) even within the winter.
Within the winter, manatees will be discovered across the canals of Crystal River in a whole bunch, however you’ll be happy to know that there are a variety of resident manatees on this space that may be seen yr round!
You possibly can see the manatees from land whereas kayaking or SUP’ing within the springs or you possibly can be part of a tour for an opportunity to swim with the manatees.
Accountable Manatee Interactions
Though the species are not endangered, West Indian manatees are nonetheless threatened by human exercise and adjustments to their pure habitats. So there are many guidelines and laws in relation to interacting with the manatees within the water or observing them from the land.
Whether or not you select to see the manatees from land or water, it’s to comply with strict manatee interplay pointers and select a educated and accountable tour operator in your swimming with a manatee tour.
We had a fantastic expertise with Explorida, a domestically owned and operated firm dedicated to manatee conservation and accountable interactions with the manatees. Explorida is among the few manatee tour operators in Crystal River that supply year-round manatee excursions, so that they had been the right alternative for us when visiting in the summertime.
Our early morning manatee tour gave us one of the best probability to search out the manatee and revel in his sleek presence with out the crowds. We snorkeled (nicely truly, extra like floated) on the floor across the manatee, watching him feed on seagrass. The tour leaders helped us get actually near the manatee with out disturbing his atmosphere and following the strict laws for swimming with manatees. An effort that was a lot appreciated!
Manatee excursions with Explorida begin at simply $65 per individual and will be booked on their web site HERE.
2. Go Scalloping
Scalloping season in Crystal River runs from July to late September, and scalloping is one other standard exercise so as to add to your itinerary. When you occur to go to the area throughout that point, contemplate becoming a member of a scallop constitution and check out your hand at foraging for scallops alongside the coast of Crystal River.
Scalloping excursions, like this one by Explorida, take company out about 4 km (2-3 miles) from shore to areas the place eelgrass will be discovered. After equipping you with snorkeling gear, they get you within the water to scour the world for scallops.
You retain what you could find! The restrict per individual is 2 gallons of scallops per day, however the common catch can differ.
Whenever you’re again on shore, you possibly can convey your cleaned scallops to an area restaurant to have them cooked! Be sure that to name forward to ensure they will accommodate your recent catch and see if they’ve any necessities.
Word that scalloping in Crystal River may be very standard, so scallop charters ebook up nicely upfront. We didn’t know this previous to our go to and didn’t get to affix this enjoyable tour throughout our go to. Sadly, all charters had been already booked up for our dates.
3. Kayak within the Crystal Clear Waters of Three Sisters Springs
A part of the Crystal River Nationwide Wildlife Refuge, Three Sisters Springs, is a vital winter habitat for Florida manatees and a ravishing place to discover. Though it was closed for renovations throughout our go to, it was really useful to us by many locals. And we will positively see why! It’s a shocking spot!
Kayaking is permitted in Three Sisters Springs and is a well-liked exercise. Though remember the fact that the refuge doesn’t have any paddle crafts accessible for lease.
The close by Crystal River Kayak Company rents SUPs, canoes, and in addition to clear backside kayaks (these are nice in case you are visiting within the manatee season and need to see manatees underneath your kayak)! Reservations are required, so be sure to plan forward.
Admission to Three Sisters Springs is $12.50 per individual in the course of the summer time season and $20 USD per individual within the winter months. Test the website to verify opening hours.
Along with being a manatee habitat, Three Sisters Springs is a part of the Nice Florida Birding Path. Over 100 chicken species have been sighted, and birding excursions are supplied all year long.
4. Kayak at Hunter Springs Park
Hunter Springs Park is one other great spot for paddling, with essentially the most accessible spring on Kings Bay. There are many facilities within the park and a boardwalk for manatee viewing.
Hunter Springs Kayak is one other operator in Crystal River providing kayaks and SUPs for lease. In addition they supply guided excursions of the springs.
5. Cycle the Withlacoochee State Path
It’s not all simply in regards to the manatees in Crystal River! If you’re searching for a enjoyable factor to do, head to the Withlacoochee State Path.
A 74 km (46 mile) conversion of an outdated rail line, the Withlacoochee State Path is the longest paved path in Florida. This path winds by three counties, giving cyclists, pedestrians, and equestrians views of lush forests, lakes, and small cities. There are loos, relaxation areas, and water refill stations alongside the path (each 12 km or so), so you possibly can spend a complete day on the path.
The best and quickest technique to expertise the Withlacoochee Path is by bike, and that’s precisely what we did throughout our time within the area. The path will be accessed from a lot of factors, however we select to start out within the city of Inverness, simply 30 minutes from Crystal River.
We rented e-bikes from the Choose E-Bike store in Inverness, an area supplier of high-quality electrical bikes in Citrus County, conveniently situated proper on the Withlacoochee Path.
In only a few hours on the bikes, we had been ready to take a look at Henderson Lake and Fort Cooper State Park and made our manner all the way in which right down to Floral Metropolis.
When you take the identical route, contemplate stopping by the historic Ferris Groves store in Floral Metropolis, which is accessible from the path. This old style Florida citrus store has been round because the Thirties and presents a number of recent, native produce and treats like milkshakes, home made goodies, Amish cheeses, and native honey.
6. Take an Aerial Glider Tour of Citrus County
Some of the distinctive issues to do in Crystal River space is to go on an aerial glider tour of Citrus County! This exhilarating exercise is obtainable by Right Rudder Aviation, an area flight college primarily based in Inverness Airport.
The glider tour is principally a 1-hour lengthy discovery flight aboard a Pipistrel Alpha Coach. This 2-seater glider airplane is light-weight and fuel-efficient, making it some of the eco-friendly methods to take the skies. The planes use solely 3 gallons of fuel in the course of the hour-long tour, which is about half of the gasoline consumption on a comparable dimension airplane.
The flight was an unforgettable expertise, permitting us to soak up the wonderful views of Citrus County. We flew throughout Crystal River, admiring the springs, King’s Bay, and Crystal Bay, together with the attractive landscapes throughout the county.
READ MORE: On an Aerial Glider Flight in Citrus County
Beginning at simply $150 for a 1-hour flight, uncover flights with Proper Rudder Aviation are surprisingly reasonably priced and make for an ideal present for a birthday celebration or a particular anniversary. In addition they function a fantastic intro to flying (sure, you truly do get to fly the airplane, in order for you) and, for a lot of, spark the will to pursue flying as a profession.
Flights will be booked online and can often be reserved simply 1 day upfront (so in case you are studying this text whereas already in Crystal River and are questioning for those who’ve missed your probability – the reply is not any! Go surfing or name them NOW!)
7. Take an Airboat Trip on the Withlacoochee River
From airplane to airboat, one other nice technique to observe native wildlife on this space is with an airboat journey alongside the Withlacoochee River. Stretching over 200 km by the plush cypress, gum, and maple timber of the Withlacoochee State Forest, the river acts as a habitat for alligators, turtles, and chicken species like bald eagles and owls.
Wild Bill’s Airboat Tours was the primary airboat tour operator that acquired approval from the US Coast Guard to supply excursions on this space. They usually proceed to be one of many prime operators for airboat rides by Withlacoochee. Reservations are required and will be made on-line.
8. Take a Scenic Cruise on the Crystal River
For a extra enjoyable expertise on the water, take a leisurely cruise to discover the Crystal River. These dry excursions don’t contain any swimming, simply picturesque views of the shoreline and the chance to identify wildlife alongside the way in which.
Crystal River Preserve Adventures supply Eco-heritage Boat Excursions in the course of the day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:30am to 1:30pm, and sundown cruises within the night on Friday and Saturday nights from November by Could.
Reservations will be made by the corporate website.
9. Go to Fort Island Seashore
Fort Island Gulf Seashore is the one seashore within the space and is value a go to is you might be hoping to dip your toes into Crystal Bay waters. It’s a stunning sandy seashore with shallow waters, making it excellent even for households with little children. The Fort Island Gulf Seashore Fishing Pier is additionally a fantastic spot to catch the sundown in Crystal River.
Fort Island Seashore is situated about 20 minutes from downtown Crystal River. The drive follows the W Fort Island Path and is definitely fairly picturesque.
10. Go to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
The Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park is one other spot in Crystal River the place you possibly can view manatees all year long. This park is devoted to Florida’s native wildlife and can also be house to alligators, a number of fish, and even the endangered Florida panther.
The park’s underwater observatory permits guests to see underneath the spring’s floor and watch all the marine life up shut with out getting within the water.
Manatee packages are supplied every day at 11am and 1pm alongside the primary spring on the bleachers overlooking the Fish Bowl underwater observatory. These academic shows are targeted on the wildlife native to this space and the park’s conservation efforts.
Whilst you’re within the space, contemplate additionally visiting the well-known Monkey Island, a chunk of land within the Homosassa River that’s house to lovely spider monkeys. Kayak rentals can be found at River Journey Excursions, an clothes shop conveniently situated on the Homosassa River. 2-hour leases value $25 USD, whereas 3-hour leases are $34 USD.
11. Spend a Day on the Chassahowitzka River
Acknowledged as an Excellent Florida Waterway, the Chassahowitzka River is a part of a massive greenway of public lands designated to shield the Chassahowitzka Swamp ecosystem and wildlife sources.
The river’s headwaters, tributaries, and comes supply limitless alternatives for watersports, and Chassahowitzka Nationwide Wildlife Refuge options nature trails and vantage factors for wildlife viewing.
Only a quick stroll from the river, The Chassahowitzka River Campground presents kayak leases. From the campground, you possibly can paddle to one of many many springs and creeks that feed the river. To identify among the 300 wildlife species which can be native to this space, stroll the Salt Marsh Trails to the tower, the place you get a spectacular view of the distinctive habitat.
12. Base Your self Downtown Crystal River
The compact downtown of Crystal River is an ideal place to base your self throughout your time within the area. The realm is the place you’ll discover Coastal Heritage Museum, an area historical past museum, and Franklin Anderson Gallery, a positive artwork gallery that works carefully with artists of Florida’s Nature Coast, together with a number of tour operators, a couple of inns, and a few nice eating places.
We stayed on the Retreat in Crystal River, a stunning family-owned lodge steps away from Citrus Avenue, within the coronary heart of city. The retreat supplied snug rooms with continental breakfast and essentially the most divine baked croissants that had been delivered to our room each afternoon.
The lodge was inside strolling distance to Explorida’s workplace, superb for our early morning manatee tour and inside strolling distance to some nice eating places that we acquired to go to throughout our time on the town.
Amy’s on the Avenue
Amy’s on the Avenue is a pretty store and breakfast/lunch spot on Citrus Avenue. Pop in right here for breakfast earlier than your large day of actions (the freshly baked quiche was wonderful!), seize some freshly baked goodies to go, or decide up a couple of trinkets and souvenirs.
Amy’s on the Avenue
Amy’s on the Avenue
KC Wine & Koffee
For a nice dinner spot on the town, head to KC Wine and Koffee. The restaurant serves up the freshest seafood in Crystal River (the proprietor is de facto specific about the place his fish comes from) and a fantastic number of wines.
Cajun Jimmy’s Seafood
This spot is situated a bit additional away, however Cajun Jimmy’s Season is definitely worth the drive out to attempt some cajun specialties and, in season, to get pleasure from their freshly foraged scallops (for people who didn’t get an opportunity to go attempt scalloping first hand).
Classic on the fifth
Probably essentially the most upscale spot on the town, Classic on the fifth is a comfy eclectic restaurant that could be a must-visit for dinner. Artistic seafood dishes, nice meats, positive wine – it’s every little thing you’d need for a date night time in Crystal River.
We hope these concepts sparked your adventurous spirit and made you much more enthusiastic about visiting Crystal River. Whether or not you might be coming right here to swim with manatees or attempt your hand at scalloping, we hope that you’ll take the chance to remain for a bit longer to expertise among the different actions Crystal River has to supply.
We might have solely spent a couple of days within the space, however it was sufficient so as to add it to our listing of prime locations to go to in Florida!
Disclaimer: Our go to to Crystal River was organized as part of a partnership with Visit Florida, however as all the time, all opinions expressed on this article are our personal.
