Epic Water Boat Tours — Attraction in Fruitland Park

Epic was epic! I wanted just a boat ride onto Lake Griffin, the Rookery part was secondary, but I was just blown away by the sight of hundreds of Great White Egrets on their nests. We could see the blue eggs, the green of their beaks and their showy plumage. We were close enough with a telescoping view it felt like we could almost touch. In addition there were Great Blue Herons with their newborn chicks squawking in the nest. There were trees full of Cormorants and many Anhingas. Of course we saw alligators and a few turtles. They provided nice binoculars that gave us a bird’s eye view (funny because we were directed to look at the unusual coloring of the birds’ eyes). Our captain, Patrick, gave an informative narrative of the lake and the wildlife. We were told the Rookery tour is seasonal so I highly recommend people get out on this tour while the birds are nesting to see nature...

Yesterday’s adventure on Lake Griffin.

We took a tour with Epic Boat Tours on Lake Griffin, at Lake Griffin State Park.

We were the only ones on the boat because it’s a slow time of year, so we took the little pontoon boat. Patrick was our guide and her was full of information….

The lakes around us flow into the St Johns river through canals and locks, and then to the Atlantic Ocean in Jacksonville.

There are Manatee’s in all of the lakes(we saw one yesterday), there seems to be a large population of them in the last few years…they are trying to figure out why.

There is a huge bird rookery, this time of year there were not many birds because most have flown north, but we thought there were lots. a great tour.

Patrick was very knowledgeable about the lake. We even saw a manatee. Defiantly...

Wonderful boat tour. Relaxed and inspiring, conversational and elucidating too - full of amazing information about the wildlife, the region, the ecosystem and history of beautiful Lake Griffin. Just 200 years ago these lakes were alll clear with sandy bottoms! And how much is happening now to restore the health of these waterways, the marshlands, the wildlife and the plants and trees. Captain Patrick and wife Jenn love what they do, they are as warm and hospitable as they are knowledgeable. The boat was immaculately clean, with thoughtful conveniences including good quality binoculars for everyone and blankets when the wind took a chill! We've been on many of the tours in these central Florida waterways and I must say, this one was...