Florida's 5 Most Scenic Beaches For Manatee Watching, According To Travelers

Florida is America's acclaimed Sunshine State, with plenty of fun beachside amenities and year-round warmth. Florida's attractions include everything from well-traveled destinations like Disney World to retro "Old Florida" towns that keep the '70s alive. While Florida is ideal for beachgoers, families, and partiers alike, it is also a haven for some of the country's most unique wildlife. Florida's coastal, subtropical climate and abundant wetlands provide homes for unique animal species rarely seen in other states. After Florida's iconic American alligator, the state's most beloved animal resident may very well be the lovable Florida manatee. 

The Florida manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, a gentle marine mammal that has become a popular wildlife viewing subject for its rotund figure, adorable face, and generally peaceful demeanor as it floats through the water. Sadly, human activity and habitat destruction have diminished their numbers in the wild, and West Indian manatees are now only found in a smaller range than they once inhabited. As one of the few remaining manatee havens, Florida has leaned heavily into its association with these lovable but endangered animals, even making the Florida manatee its official state marine mammal! 

Today, several popular spots across the state offer terrific chances to see these goofy sea cows in person. While most of the top manatee viewing areas are actually inland lagoons and waterways, a few of Florida's most beautiful beaches also offer good chances of seeing a manatee in a more picturesque oceanside setting. Based on reports from traveler reviews and documented sightings in the media, these five scenic Florida beaches offer the best chances of seeing manatees while enjoying some of the state's most beautiful coastal areas. 

Even without manatees, Avalon State Park would be one of Florida's loveliest beachside hidden gems. Situated along Florida's Atlantic coast, about two hours southeast of Orlando, Avalon State Park protects over a mile of pristine and undeveloped shoreline. Avalon State Park beach is actually located on Florida's North Hutchinson Island, which, together with the uncrowded hidden gem of Hutchinson Island, forms a lovely corridor of barrier islands near the charming hamlet of St. Lucie on Florida's eastern coast.

Manatees have been known to drop by the safe and warm waters of the nearby Indian River and its seaside lagoon, particularly during the winter months when these warm water-loving sea cows seek shelter from colder ocean waters in the cozier inlets around Avalon's beach. One visitor on Google even notes, "We saw a manatee swimming [along] the coast though! So cool!" If you're lucky enough to see a manatee floating by Avalon State Park Beach, you can probably get a perfect shot of it juxtaposed against the park's thriving beachside dune ecosystem, defined by unique seaside wildflowers and coastal hardwood trees. Plus, Avalon only requires a $2 entrance fee per vehicle. 

During World War II, the U.S. Navy used the beach as a training ground for underwater demolition teams, resulting in the placement of several concrete and steel hazards just offshore. These lingering structures make Avalon less ideal for swimming than other Florida beaches. As a result, visitors can enjoy a timeless Florida beachside view unburdened by heavy swimming crowds, while getting to see manatees, sea turtles, and other wildlife enjoying the human-free space.

Travelers may assume that the Florida Keys have no secrets left to discover. However, a visit to the stunning gem of Bahia Honda State Park will quickly prove otherwise. Bahia Honda is popular among locals, as this small but beautiful park occasionally reaches maximum capacity. Still, if you manage to make it to this tiny island park, you can experience the Florida Keys in their most unfiltered natural beauty — and maybe see some manatees as well. 

Bahia Honda's undeveloped nature and clear beachside waters also make it a great place for manatee watching in the Florida Keys. Reviewers report seeing Florida's famed manatees in the marina, floating through the park's clear waters alongside dolphins and sea turtles. One Tripadvisor reviewer states, "The manatees made the day, wonderful large creatures to observe." Even experienced photographers have found the park's manatees to be particularly charming subjects, per a video on Facebook.

Bahia Honda State Park is located on its namesake Bahia Honda Key, a roughly 524-acre state park next to the larger Big Pine Key. Of the park's three beaches, Calusa Beach is generally the most popular, with a narrow sandy beach facing Florida Bay and charming picnic pavilions (perfect for manatee watching). The Atlantic-facing Loggerhead Beach has a quieter and more natural environment that's perfect for snorkeling and viewing all sorts of marine life. At night, Loggerhead Beach also offers some of the best stargazing opportunities you'll find in the Florida Keys.

With "dunes" right in its name, Smyrna Dunes Park certainly does not skimp on sandy landscapes by the ocean. Smyrna Dunes sits on a prime stretch of Florida coastal real estate, about 18 miles south of Daytona Beach and within Florida's underrated and artsy white sand paradise of New Smyrna Beach. The 184-acre Smyrna Dunes Park is at the intersection of the Ponce de Leon Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean.

Smyrna Dunes Park's location between the open ocean and a cloistered coastal inlet makes it the perfect spot in New Smyrna Beach to see manatees. Many past visitors have gotten to photograph these lovable, gentle giants active in the waters offshore, as the sea cows are frequently seen during mating season in the summer. One Tripadvisor reviewer states, "On the river side of the dunes, Manatee pods are often seen early in the morning feeding on the schools of finger mullets. I recently saw at least four of them circling a fisherman standing knee deep in the water." 

In addition to its manatees, Smyrna Dunes Park is also a terrific spot for birdwatching. And if you can take your eyes away from the park's gorgeous dunes for a moment, you may also see large groups of dolphins just offshore. With spectacular views on either side of its prominent white sand dunes, Smyrna Dunes Park provide a convenient and cheap day trip from New Smyrna Beach, with only a $10 admission fee. Plus, the park's boardwalks, paths, and observation areas are largely wheelchair-accessible. 

The stellar Canaveral National Seashore protects one of the East Coast's most pristine havens for all sorts of marine life, manatees very much included. Lying along an ecologically-rich barrier island between New Smyrna Beach and the Kennedy Space Center, Canaveral National Seashore covers around 57,000 acres of beaches, dunes, lagoons, and coastal hammock ecosystems in Florida's single longest preserve of undeveloped Atlantic coastline. 

The area's status as a largely undeveloped nature preserve removes many of the main threats that have diminished other West Indian manatee habitats. As a result, Florida's lovable but threatened manatees have found a home among the Canaveral National Seashore's timeless coastlines and safe lagoons. Mosquito Lagoon is well-known as a top manatee viewing area, as it even has an observation deck for the sea cows in the adjacent Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The animals are often seen moving along the lagoon's intercoastal waterways. One Tripadvisor reviewer even reports seeing manatee calves alongside several adults. The seashore's actual beach stretches for 24 miles across premium National Park Service-protected land, with truly magical views of the vast Atlantic juxtaposed against wild and free coastal ecosystems and bewitching sand dunes shining in the Florida sun. 

Though the Canaveral National Seashore requires a $15 to $25 entrance fee, the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge has a modest $10 day pass if you just want to access the popular Manatee Observation Deck. Alongside the beloved manatee, the waters around Canaveral National Seashore are also home to plenty of other threatened and endangered species, including right whales, spoonbills, and several species of sea turtles.

The city of Crystal River has long boasted the reputation of being the "Manatee Capital of the World." Located along Florida's Gulf Coast about 80 miles north of Tampa, Crystal River centers around a series of warm, spring-fed bays and lagoons that make the perfect home for West Indian manatees. Many of Crystal River's nature preserves, like Crystal River Preserve State Park, the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, and Three Sisters Springs, are incredible places to meet a manatee face-to-face in Florida.

Most of Crystal River's manatee-viewing areas are located within the city's complex network of lagoons, inlets, and natural springs, centered around Kings Bay. However, for travelers who also want to experience an authentic Florida beach with their manatee sightseeing, Crystal River's Fort Island Gulf Beach is the place to go. Unlike the narrow, vegetation-laden lagoons inland, Fort Island Gulf Beach features beautiful white sands stretching along the deep blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. 

While it's usually harder to spot manatees in the open ocean than in small inland lagoons, Fort Island Gulf Beach is close enough to Crystal River's manatee-rich estuaries that beachgoers have a good chance of seeing these pudgy marine residents gently swimming between inland waterways and the open waters of the Gulf. Many Tripadvisor reviewers specifically noted manatee viewings as a highlight of their visit, with one reviewer stating, "Although small it wasn't overcrowded on the two occasions we went there. We were lucky enough to see manatees and dolphins from the pier." 

The methodology we used in compiling this list ended up being a bit more complicated than just identifying the locations in Florida with the most manatee sightings. Florida's actual beaches are not usually the best places in the state to see manatees. While the sea cows do pop up along Florida's oceanside beaches fairly regularly, top Florida destinations for manatee watching are mainly within inland lagoons, rivers, and springs. Oddly enough, some of the best Florida spots to see manatees are actually right next to power plants. Spots like the Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Area and the Lee County Manatee Park draw large manatee populations with warm discharge water from nearby power facilities. However, unless you're a real energy infrastructure aficionado, you probably would not consider a power plant to be particularly "scenic." 

Therefore, our list gravitates more toward finding scenic Florida beaches with a demonstrable track record of manatee sightings. The five beaches on this list all stand out for their scenic qualities, even without their manatee-viewing opportunities. Manatees were mentioned at each place from reviews on Tripadvisor, local media, and research on the marine wildlife in each area. Each of these five beaches has unique ecological qualities that make it more primed for manatee-viewing than other Florida beaches, usually a combination of access to inland lagoons and waterways, as well as having warmer water during the winter.