Happened upon this little park with some great animals! The history behind this park is so interesting! The staff in the discovery room were very knowledgeable and friendly! We saw Lou the hippo, manatees, deer, tons of birds, and many more animals. The weather was hot and a bit humid so the animals were feeling it too, but we got to see them all! The park is beautiful and well kept! Nice little find!

Not much to do in the way of activities. We took the river cruise to the animal viewing area, then rode the tram back. We explored most the park in less than 2-hours. No swimming allowed in park. Worth a stop to check it off the list.

Our family of young adults and one teen spent about 3 hours there. We very much found the walking to be easy, paths well marked, and a the range of animals very interesting. We especially found two of the staff/volunteers very helpful and knowledgeable with all of our questions, George and Sue. George shared it was his first day providing information and he did wonderful. Sue conducted the manatee presentation and fed the manatees while answering tons of questions. If you have a group who may want to ask lots of questions, the staff there were very informative. Great place for all ages.

Always a good time at this park. Many animals in their rehabilitary areas . Lots of informative little "talks" throughout the day. All animals are Native to Florida....Except, LOU, a Former movie & TV Star...a Hippo. made an honorary Citizen of Florida by then Gov, Chiles.

We have been here before but not in Manatee season. We had a minor boat snafu....motor stopped working...they immediately put a worker on board fixed it...but then they made sure another boat went with us ahead in case something else happened. We got to the park a bit later than we wanted but still had amply time. The "zoo" part was very nice. The "manatee" part was very nice. Not as many wild manatees as I would have thought but that is Mother Nature. The price I thought was a good price for what you see and do. The nice thing is all native animals except for Lou the hippo.

A nice little stop that was affordable, didn’t take a long time to see but we saw a lot of different kinds of birds, animals, reptiles and of course Manatees! The Black Bear was huge and the Cottonmouth was enormous, he must be 6” across his back! The animals all seemed to be well cared for and healthy. The trail to see everything was just over a mile long so it’s very do-able.

This is the best place to see the manatees! You can also see other diverse animals and learn from the staff about the whys and whats of everything. They would be happy to answer your questions! I did the Tram and boat ride to and from there. Very enjoyable I’m sure I’ll be back someday.

We wanted to see manatees but not swim with them. This was recommended to us and it did not disappoint. It is a beautiful park and we saw more manatees than we could count. We saw them right up close too. There also was an area where they had an injured manatee that we could see. There is an underwater viewing area that we saw many schools of fish. The walk was beautiful and not crowded. There was a snack bar area as well as a gift shop. The admission fee was only $13 and that goes back to help with this facility. I will definitely be going back and taking others to see this amazing park.

This place exceeded all expectations I had. It is a beautiful park and definitely worth a visit! When you buy your entry ticket, there is an option to take a tram or, for $3 more, to take a boat to access the park. Take the boat! It is a lovely 15 minute ride through beautiful streams where you may see some wildlife and, of course, beautiful trees, flowers and scenery. It’s so calm and relaxing. The boat captain provides educational background information about the park. The facilities at the park are much more extensive than I realized. There are extensive walking trails overlooking beautiful springs where you can see fish, turtles, manatees and so many birds. There is even an underwater observation room! This park also serves as a rehabilitation center for wildlife and, as such, there are quite a few exhibits of native Florida wildlife, such as Florida Panther, Key Deer, Flamingos, Alligator, Crocodile, Owls, Pelicans, Red Hawk and even a Bald Eagle. The star is Lu, the Hippo, who is not indigenous to Florida but was made an honorary citizen of the state! There are snack bars and a gift shop, too. Plan to spend at least two hours here!

For only $13, this park is a wonderful place to visit to see wildlife, both captive and wild ones! I had wanted to stop by here for birding and as another chance to see manatees. While I was looking to buy an annual pass as I was visiting other parks, unfortunately, this park does not sell them on the weekends, so be aware that if you are looking to buy one, do it either online or at another location. There are two parking locations: one by the visitor center and one at the entrance to the wildlife park. As I parked by the visitor center, I could've spent $3 to take the boat tram but took the free tram instead, which was still a nice ride as it drove through the Pepper Creek Trail, a birding trail that you can also walk on. The wildlife park itself is home to many native Florida mammal, bird, and reptile species. Most of the animals there were unreleasable due to injuries or being initially raised as pets. The trail has you right up next to the animals, but they do not appear stressed at all. There are some great informational signs and enthusiastic volunteers who are eager to tell you about the park and its animals. While there were no wild manatees present in the springs during my visit due to the warm weather, there were some rehabilitated manatees that I was able to see being fed. There were lots of wild birds present, although it was hard to tell sometimes who was wild and who wasn't! While I didn't eat there, there is a snack counter within the park and a small restaurant at the visitor center that appear to have decent prices. If you are interested in seeing the springs by kayak or boat, there is no way to access the spring from within the state park. There are places outside the park and numerous boat tours that can give you access.