The Crystal River and Three Sisters
3 Rivers in 3 Days - Part 2:
Florida Spring Hopping
Welcome back for day two of our 3 Rivers in 3 Days series of posts about our recent EPIC three day adventure out to the Springs Coast of Florida to paddle three of the most popular, manatee-filled, spring-fed rivers in the area. We paddled The Chaz, the Crystal River, and the Weeki Wachee with our kids and some of our friends. If you missed the first post on our paddle of the Chassahowitzka River, you can read that here. Now let's move on to epic day number two.
Day Two: The Crystal River, King’s Bay, and Three Sisters Springs
This was our first time ever on the Crystal River. The Chassahowitzka and Crystal River, at least in the relatively small areas we paddled, couldn't have been any more different. And to be honest, I was fearing that because of that, we may not enjoy the Crystal River paddle quite as much. We normally pick the wildest places we can find and, with cottages, vacation homes, and mini-mansions on all sides, the Crystal River and King’s Bay area are anything but wild. Fortunately, my fears that we would somehow be disappointed with the day were completely unfounded. The Crystal River and King’s Bay area have their own distinct beauty and adventure that is completely and totally undeniable. Imagine the Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, and HGTV all on the same TV at the same time. (Television Heaven, right?) It's like that!
Our paddle in the Crystal River and King’s Bay to 3 Sisters Springs was, surprisingly, one of our favorite paddles yet.
At the launch at Hunter Springs Park
Now remember… This is NOT the river you want to paddle if you are seeking a secluded wilderness experience. The King’s Bay area is a hotspot for manatee seekers, and that makes sense, as 1. There are manatees EVERYWHERE, and 2. It's the last area in Florida where you can actually SWIM with manatees, legally.
People flock from all over to get into the water with these gentle giants. We chose not to swim with them, but oh boy, did we enjoy paddling around near them and watching them from above the water, while trying hard not to impact them too much. **Note: if you are interested in swimming with manatees, please research your tour company well and heed the important directions they give in order to impact these wild, beautiful creatures as minimally as possible.
The beach at Hunter Springs Park in the background.
The Launch
We launched from Hunter Springs Park, which is a GREAT little county park not far off the main drag. We were sure to get there early, as we’d heard parking fills up quickly on the weekends. We had no trouble at all getting there at right around 9-ish. Hunter Springs Park has a couple of awesome playground areas, picnic tables, a beautiful sandy beach, a lovely boardwalk overlooking a little neighboring cove, and crystal clear turquoise water to play in.
The kids had a great time playing while we blew up paddleboards and kayaks, and made lunches, etc. We paid $5 to park, and with our shady parking spot just a short walk from the kayak put-in, it was totally worth it.
This is the route we took from Hunter Springs Park to Three Sisters Springs.
Before heading out into King’s Bay, we explored the little cove to the east of the launch for a little while, just to get our sea legs about us, and honestly, to gawk at a few of the houses on the water. Goodness gracious, our minds were blown in the first 5 minutes. It was just crystal clear water... everywhere we looked! (The name of this river suits it well.) Even more clear, and way more blue, than the Chaz (which we still LOVE). Instead of wooded riverbanks along the side of the water, it’s seawalls and beautiful houses all around... So, not wild, but still beautiful in it’s own way, and fun to look at if you're into that kind of thing.
Our friends, pointing out one of our first manatees of the day, jaws fully dropped.
It wasn’t long at all before we saw our first manatees, just out in front of the Hunter Springs swimming area. And from that moment on, that was the theme for the rest of the day. So many manatees! And with manatees, came the manatee swimmers, in droves. The kids were over the moon with so much to see and look at, as were the adults. The most difficult thing for me was trying to manage paddling in the current, which was moving at a decent clip, while not hitting swimmers, tour boats or other kayakers, or running into boat docks, all of which were plentiful in the waterway.
As we made our way into King’s Bay, we passed a great little sandbar just out from Pete’s Pier (you can see it on the map above), where the kids played and we all rested for a while before heading on toward Three Sisters Springs.
The paddle to Three Sisters is not difficult, but as the wind picks up in the bay, and the current changes as we head into the canals that lead to the springs, we always bring tow-lines with us for the kiddos. That way, if someone tires out on their own craft, we can tie them to the back of our craft and pull them behind us to give them a rest. Nothing is worse than having an excited kiddo tire out and lose their excitement before we get to where we want to go.
The canals leading to Three Sisters are lined with sea walls and beautiful homes, and have been dredged to maintain their depth for larger boats. Still, they are surprisingly crystal clear and a deep deep turquoise blue. The kids watched for fish and manatees the whole way. I was happy to see that many homeowners posted signs on their property about watching for manatees, protecting the manatees, maintaining no wake, idle speed, and other environmentally friendly words of wisdom. The community clearly cares about their most at-risk, gentle, gigantic inhabitants.
Three Sisters Springs
Three Sisters Springs is an absolute treasure to behold!! I can’t wait to go back on a less busy day to see it in a more natural setting. It’s actually located inside the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, and is protected by volunteers and staff who monitor the springs from boardwalks along the sides. To protect the sides of the springs from erosion, there is no water access from the land that surrounds the springs, and there is no land access from the water. A large boardwalk surrounds the three springs and gives a beautiful view of the water for visitors on foot. We entered the springs through the only water entrance which is blocked off to allow only small paddlecraft to come through, and no larger boats with motors.
Small entrance to Three Sisters Springs from the main canal.
My friend and 3 of her sweet kiddos, no issues balancing on that inflatable SUP in Three Sisters Springs.
We took two paddleboards with us and left 3 kayaks tied up outside in the main channel, so as not to overload the space with boats, but still to give the kids something to eat lunch on and sit on, since climbing on the rocks is prohibited, and the water is deeper around the edges than some of the littles could stand in. Many people, especially adults without children, just swim in with pool noodles or other floats. There is no alcohol or loud music allowed, which makes it more family-friendly on the weekends than other unregulated springs like Seven Sisters and the Crack.
The kids had a blast swimming over the sand boils and paddling around in the springs, but were definitely eager to get back out into the river and channels in hopes of seeing more manatees, so after lunch and some good swim time we headed back out through the bay towards Hunter Springs.
Boats lined up outside Three Sisters Springs in the main canal.
If you’re interested in visiting Three Sisters Springs by land, you can do so by paying the entry fee to the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge. Since no parking other than handicap access is allowed in the refuge, you will need to park at the Three Sisters Springs Center (123 NW HWY 19, Crystal River, FL 34428) and take the trolley into the refuge. The trolley departs every 30 minutes for the boardwalk at 3 Sisters, and additional stops are made at Hunter Springs Park, South Citrus Ave. and Heritage Village.
Hubby in from of the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge.
Loads of kayakers and paddleboarders heading towards Three Sisters Springs
The paddle back to King’s Bay was a breeze... But the paddle back towards Hunter Springs was quite a chore, with a steady headwind and decent current coming out of the cove.
Keep in mind with all of these rivers that are influenced by both tide and spring flow, that paddling conditions can, and do change while you’re out there.
As soon as we were back in the spring run we started seeing manatee after manatee. We spent the rest of the afternoon switching between paddling the kids around the Hunter Springs Park area and letting them playing in the sand and swim. We spent a good deal of time with a little family of manatees in a quiet cove to the east of the park. You can tell they are very used to being in close quarters with people. They continuously kept coming back in to say hi to us again.
All in all, it was an absolutely perfect day on the water. We highly recommend the Crystal River as a destination for the whole family. This beautiful body of water will satisfy the appetites of all; wildlife enthusiasts, real estate gawkers, boat aficionados, conservationists, and adventures alike.
One of the very few homes we passed that had a mostly natural shoreline.
Have you visited the Crystal River? Let us know in the comments what your experience was like!
Thank you so much for following along with our Wild Florida Family adventures. Now go out and plan your own with your wild Florida family! And be on the lookout for our next post on the beautiful, the famed, the one-of-a-kind... Weeki Wachee River. You'll want to add it to your bucket list for sure!
Loving the protection this spring gets! This list of things that are prohibited year round helps keep this spring family-friendly and beautiful for everyone to enjoy.
