Manatee Park

A cheap activity to do with little ones but completely hit or miss as others have mentioned. We saw one manatee waaaaaaaaay out in the water. The parking situation is cash in an envelope and then place the tab from the envelope on your dashboard, so bring cash.
It was a nice little park with gorgeous trees and kayaks available to rent.

Would’ve loved to get to see some manatees the time we went but Mother Nature had other plans. Very informative tour/​story telling under the large oak tree. Great safe, educational, beautiful place to visit in Ft Myers, FL.

Visiting Manatee Park could be the easiest way to see your first manatee during cold (water) weather. Optimum viewing is usually late December, January and February when the Gulf water temperatures are below 68 °F. When the water turns cold, the manatee congregate here to take advantage of warmer water discharged from the FPL power plant. The manatee are completely free to come and go but as long as it’s cold they will usually choose to stay.
Before your visit, you should understand that manatee are slow moving and can look lethargic. An occasional snout above water for a breath or a tail may be the only parts you see above water. Your ability to see the manatee thru the water will be helped or hindered by the clarity of the water at the time of your visit and the position of the sun.
The park has done a great job of providing educational media throughout the park, including: video, audio, signs and sculptures. There is a butterfly garden that winds along the manatee viewing pathway. Kayak and canoe rentals are available from 9AM to 4PM from December — March and by reservations only April — November. If you own equipment, you can launch here for free (just pay for parking). There is playground equipment and picnic tables and the trail/​boardwalk system offers great opportunities for nature/​photography walks. There is a fishing pier on the Orange River. There are restrooms and a small gift shop. The park is fully accessible. Pets are not allowed.
During season it can get very busy but there are often volunteers on hand to help with parking. Parking is $ 2/​hr or $ 5/​day December — March and $ 1/​hr or $ 5/​day April — November. Parking is CASH ONLY. This is one of the parks included with the Lee County Annual Parking Pass.
As others have said: the address listed is incorrect. If you are using a GPS or navigation system, the correct address is: 10 901 Palm Beach Blvd., Fort Myers, FL

A great quick trip on your way to our from the airport. It’s only $ 2 to park for an hour (which is plenty) or $ 5 for the day if you want to take advantage of the playground and picnic area or the kayak rental. The manatees do love the warm water near the power plant and float close to the surface. There seemed to be about 7 when I went. It can be difficult to see them clearly thanks to the mangrove trees turning the water tea-​colored, but you can at least see them floating and coming up for a breath of air (which they do really quickly!). Go earlier, because add the sun sets it’s more difficult to see. The walkway around the little cove faces west and the sun combined with the reflection off the water can make it a challenge.

Sea cows! Parking is $ 2, you can get pretty close but don’t expect to touch them here or anywhere (it’s illegal and it’s unsafe for the manatees). There’s a big beautiful mossy tree that would be nice for a picnic and I think you can rent kayaks here? Not sure

An electric plant makes for an ecological wonder. The Manatees love the warm water and hang out here during the winter months. When Christopher Columbus first saw a Manatee he thought it was a mermaid. Now I am not saying that old Chris was a little starved for some women’s companionship, but really dude a woman? I am sorry lost my thought there. We paid for parking and that was it. If you want to see mermaids err Manatees in a natural environment this is the place. Again I ask you to look at my pictures for a good overview of what to expect if you visit.

We arrived here on a sunny afternoon, when it was about 60 degrees, and it was a busy place because there were about 200 Manatees (staff told us this). We paid a small fee for parking (depends on length of your stay, about $ 2 /​hour). This park is fantastic! There is lots of Manatee viewing from a long walkway along the river where they like to move around, and next to a side area of the river the that they rest in. There are some viewing platforms right on the river too. The manatees are free to come and go from here because there is an underwater open area for them to swim through, although the area above water is fenced off to keep people out.
There is a nice park and trails that are great for all ages, and wheel friendly (strollers & chairs). The small gift shop next to the bathrooms has nice murals painted on it for photo backdrops. There are many informational signs along the way too.

A fun place to go if you are looking for a cheap afternoon activity if it’s a bit to chilly to head to the beach. Went kayaking and canoeing, was fun, yet peaceful, and had some great manatee sightings. Note that the canoe is much more difficult to navigate. Definitely recommend the kayak.

The manatees (or water elephants as my mom called them) are held in captivity. Not a lot of photo ops because they barely break the surface. They don’t get airborne or breach like a whale. (and they don’t have trunks or take peanuts like elephants).
Anyway, it was kind of cool if you’re in the area. $ 2 to park in season.

Nice park. Things for the kids, trails to walk, kayaking, park rangers giving information, visitors center with gift shop. There are signs all around to teach about manatees and other wildlife. Cheap to park, it’s a nice place for a family to spend some time. We went when it was 54 degrees outside so there were lots of manatees around! They are boring, but you kind of get mesmerized watching them!

Take the kayak out and venture a bit further downstream on a cool day– I saw hundreds of manatee!

Great park to see the manatees. Only had about 130 manatees today. The volunteers are wonderful and informative. Wonderful park.

Loved it! Great park and beautiful grounds. I highly recommend kayaking to see the manatees. We saw several by the mangroves! Excellent place.

Nice little park for a picnic and trying to view manatees. We rented kayaks for a few hours to ride the river and find manatees. We didn’t see any manatees on our ride because the water was extremely warm, but it was a fun kayak ride. The workers were not the friendliest. All the life jackets were extremely moist and smelled like mildew. They really should hang them out to dry before putting them in the trailer to mold. Would definitely go back to kayak when the manatees are in… But I will bring my own life jacket.

The park was nice, clean, and cheap but it is hit and miss on what you will see. While we did see a few manitee’s while we were there we only saw them stick up their noses and dive right back down. The water was too dark to see them in the water or from shore. We drove over from Sanibel Island and I was pretty disappointed, especially since this park was pretty high on my list of things to see. It wasn’t worth the drive and we enjoyed the Ding Darling refuge and beach more.

Great spot to see some manatees! I love manatees ahmahgah. There is poison ivy here – I had to watch the kids like a hawk. But the first time we came I didn’t know and nobody got poison ivy either time. But look out for it… just in case! It is also a great place to see butterflies and there is a small playground. Most of the path is stroller accessible, and it’s a very short walk to see the manatees. We have come twice in the off season and still seen one or two each time. There is a small, expensive gift shop and parking is like $ 1-​$ 2/​hr depending on the season and you need to bring cash which is so stupid. But I love this place.

Okay, so this is a REALLY neat place to explore & learn not only about manatees, but about the ecosystem in south Florida. I WOULD recommend visiting the park in the winter/​early spring as we visited in late June & saw NOTHING.
The Manatee Park is located across the street from a power plant. The power plant uses water to cool down stuff (electricity? who knows) & they pump the warm water out into this large creek. In the winter months when the water is cool, the manatees come up to this area in droves to experience the nice, warm water (so I’m told).
We came on a Wednesday afternoon & only saw about 2 other cars in the parking lot. It’s a pay to park lot, with you putting money in an envelope & ripping part of the envelope to put on the dash of your car. They’ve got a men’s & women’s bathroom on site & some pretty cool playgrounds for the kids. It made me wish that I was that young again to play on them.
They’ve got a walking trail with different signs along for you to look at different plant life & wildlife. You can lead yourself along the trail, looking at the different signs and items that tell you more about the manatees. They’ve got a LOT of neat flowers, some kinds that I’d never seen. It was really pretty there. You’re also able to kayak & paddle boat on the property.
I’m looking forward to going back to this place in the winter time when we usually come down to visit my parents. I wanna see a manatee! But I understand why we didn’t see any in the hot summertime.

This is a fun place for a cheap diversion if you like wildlife, especially sea creatures. Pay a couple of bucks to park and then spend time peering into the waters of a murky canal where manatees congregate to take advantage of warm waters put out by the electric power treatment plant at the end of the line. It’s not guaranteed you’ll see a manatee (this ain’t SeaWorld, folks), but after watching for a while («Is that a fish? the current? The Loch Ness Monster?») we were rewarded with the sight of several manatees: a couple flipped up their wide, spatulate tails and one nosed through the surface for a moment! One poor critter had a scar on his back from being hit by a boat propeller :(
There’s a tiny shop where you can buy all manner of manatee-​oriented items (I got postcards), and if you are a fan of outdoor sports you can rent a kayak or canoe to go out in the water. There’s also a butterfly garden that apparently wasn’t doing its job: we saw one butterfly: P
Overall, it’s a nice little place to look for some of Florida’s favorite creatures.

The address on Unilocal is incorrect! If you’re going to use maps or gps — here’s the address: 10 901 Palm Beach Boulevard, Ft Myers FL.
Manatee Park is very fun! I would recommend bringing a lunch or snacks, there’s lots of picnic tables and scenic places to eat.
I would also recommend going kayaking or canoeing– it increases your chances of seeing manatees a lot. On the observation decks, we didn’t see any, but after we kayaked we saw a bunch! It was a little warm for them so they didn’t swim right up to us, but we saw them jumping (as much as a fat manatee can) through the water. Once you’re out on the water, you have to sit still so they’ll come out.
You have to get a kayak through the visitor center, so stop there first. They give you about 15 minutes before your launch to get set up. The prices aren’t listed on the website, but they are reasonable. We got 2 single kayaks for 2 hours for $ 60. The canoes are $ 20/​hr. Eat before you go out, kayaking is hard work!
The kayak dude was very overworked and seemed quite disinterested in us, but that didn’t stop us from having a good time. Take your patience with you, the views from the kayak are worth waiting through the sweaty man taking his (likely underpaid) job’s stresses out on you.

If you love manatees and their awesomeness this is a little hot spot outside Fort Myers you definitely need to check out! First of all make sure to come here when the weather is a bit chilly for the area and you wont be disappointed! When the weather is cold the manatees come here in hordes! If you are not so lucky try renting out a canoe and go down the river to see if you can find one! The rates are pretty decent and we had a great time canoeing and seeing some manatees! Plus if you canoe you can get closer to them than if you are looking from the fences.
Its a pretty little spot and a good place to bring the kids or just come and relax and be lazy like the awesome manatees! I will definitely be coming again!