Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park — Attraction in Homosassa Springs

On Friday morning my family took the first boat ride from the Hwy 19 center. It wasn't crowded. There were lots of free parking. The boats are not covered and leave every 30 minutes. The ride itself, once it departs, is around 20 minutes. You never know what you'll see on the boat ride. We saw lots of turtles and a wood duck. There are restrooms at both welcome centers where the boat departs and many restrooms throughout the center.

The tram usually is continuous except today they only had 1 driver. That mode of transportation takes around 6 minutes once it departs.

There were complementary children and adult strollers. It seemed like a very handicap accessible park with even the boat having handicap ramp and seating.

I thoroughly enjoyed the visit seeing every animal featured at the park by first going left to see the manatee at the feeding station and later seeing the hippo eat. If my family would have went to the right first, we would have missed both those animals since they moved away later on.

The road on west entrance is busy so you should press the crossing light. There is a smaller parking lot there. Some who parked at that lot wanted to take the boat ride thinking it is the way to the park.

There are gift shops at each visitor center. The one at the west entrance has the snack bar and a couple pressed Penny machines.

If you forget your sunscreen and bug spray, the gift...

We got rained out of our air boat tour and decided to see if we could find some manatees. It's the wrong season for wild manatees, but the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park has 3 that they care for year-round. We took a detour here by chance and were very pleasantly surprised by this place... even during tropical storm Nestor. They have a great collection of birds, a hippo named Lu, 3 rescue manatees, a bunch of gators, and other animals. The walkway was beautifully done, and there are wildlife talks throughout the day. The volunteers that work there aren't extroverts (they weren't outwardly welcoming/chatty, which is fine with me as I'm an introvert too), but they are super friendly and will gladly answer any questions you ask. This was a great little find!

You have to park at the main entrance and get shuttled over to the west entrance by tram or boat. The boats weren't operating the day we were there due to high waters from the storm. But the tram ride was quick and easy. Once at the west entrance, you'll be asked to pay admission to walk around the park ($13 for adults). There is a gift shop at both locations that sell pretty much the same things. There's also a snack stand at the west entrance. There is a small reptile house and an underwater viewing area, which is old,...

What a beautiful and unique way to see many of Florida's native (and a few non native) animals and plants. When we visited in mid August. the price was reduced by $1 per ticket. The entry fee is typically $13 for adults, $5 for children 6-12, and free for children under 5. There are 2 entrances to the park. The west entrance allows you to park close to the main section of the park and purchase your tickets. The entrance we chose was the Visitor's center location. There is a free tram that will take you over to the West Entrance, or for $3 more per person you can enjoy a boat ride over. We chose to ride the boat and were able to get some interesting facts about the park and the creatures residing in the park's habitat. Though it was a very hot day, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit and will definitely be returning. The park has an abundance of plant life with beautiful flowers and animals providing so many options for both the amateur or professional photographer. There is a snack bar at the West entrance where you can purchase snacks, water, popcorn, and ice cream. There are restrooms at both entrance locations as well as opportunities to purchase souvenirs. Take it slow and make sure to enjoy all of the different exhibits to get the most out...