I recently started a regular feature called “Canada Shorts” for people who want travel tips but don’t have a lot of time. I also posted a “Europe Shorts” item on the weekend that was focused on Lisbon, Portugal. Today I’ll start my “Florida Shorts” item with a look at the top things to see and do near Crystal River, a lovely, natural part of The Sunshine State.
CRYSTAL RIVER, FLORIDA – The main attraction in this area a couple hours north of Tampa is the fresh spring water that bubbles up from the Florida limestone, creating crystal-clear creeks and rivers. The Plantation on Crystal River, a hotel, has an outfit that can take you swimming with the manatees — gentle, curious creatures that gather near the springs to stay warm.
I had a great visit a couple years ago. You’re not supposed to touch them (of course), but the manatees are very curious and come right up to you. Amazing stuff.
A manatee near Crystal River, Florida. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Be sure to stop at the Biscuit Barn in Crystal River for a Southern-style breakfast and fresh, fluffy biscuits.
Lovers of the outdoors should try a kayak ride on the pretty Chassahowitzka River with Hunter Springs Kayaks, which also offers guided manatee snorkeling tours, or you can get your motor running with a Wild Bill’s Airboat Tours trip on the Withlacoochee River. Both would be great for family travel.
Just south of Crystal River, Homosassa Springs is home to the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, with a huge array of animals and birds to admire; Florida panthers, majestic bald eagles, flamingoes, black bears and goofy-looking pink-coloured Roseate Spoonbills with flat, hourglass-shaped beaks.
Don’t miss Monkey Island, a small island in the Homosassa River populated with scrambling monkeys (yes, really). It’s only a few feet from the mainland, but monkeys apparently aren’t much for swimming, so they stay put. There’s no natural food source on the island so the monkeys depend on humans to paddle over and drop off their meals.
A beautiful morning on the Withlacoochee River in Inverness, Florida. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Also in Homosassa Springs, don’t miss a visit to Pepper Creek Pottery for lovely, locally-made gifts. As well, the town has an abandoned mill with tons of atmosphere and a small café that also serves as a kind of museum for printing presses and old typewriters, called the Olde Mill House Gallery and Printing Museum. The owner, Jim Anderson, worked in the printing business for years and has collected an astonishing variety of old machines, a few of which I may have worked on during my early days in journalism.
There are plenty of affordable chain hotels to choose from, as well as the high-end Plantation on Crystal River.
