Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, Homosassa Springs

An excellent way to spend a summer day with family or friends! The boat ride over was fun, but a little hot (you might want to take the tram which is $3 cheaper, beautiful, and shaded if you're sunburn-prone). The entire walk around the park is only one mile, most of it is in shade, and there are many amazing local animals to see that have been rescued. And there's the ancient hippo! I highly recommend if you have little ones, but I also enjoyed it with adult friends. My only complaint is the steep $16 entry cost which is a lot more than the typical Florida state park day entry, but if it's to maintain this little slice of Florida and to care for the animals, I think I'm ok with paying it once or twice a year.

A must visit if you’re in the area. There are raised walkways throughout the park which are easy to navigate and there are plenty of benches and water fountains should you need a break. Most of the walkways are shaded as well. The assortment of animals was awesome. There is also a snack bar with hot food and ice cream at the entrance. We are a fairly fit family and made it through in about 2 hours taking time to read the informative plaques and enjoy the animals. The highlights were the hippo and the underwater viewing capsule in the spring, the assortment of fish we saw was mind blowing.

We visited Crystal River and wanted something to do while we waited out bad weather. I didn’t find this on any of my google searches, but a local recommended it and it turned out to be a super cool place to go. I love state parks and this one seems true to its original build and design. It has a vintage and nostalgic feel! The animals were all active and healthy and of course we loved seeing the manatees!

Wonderful wildlife park!! Found this driving around and decided to stop. No charge to park. We entered on the west side and went straight in to the pavilion/guest shop area and got tickets to the wildlife walk. 13 dollars a person well spent - they have so many different animals and some amazing birds. Most of the birds have been injured so they do not have any netting on their enclosures. The animals all look happy as well. There are manatees in treatment there as well as an underwater viewing area. Great visibility and was not packed. Highly recommend!

Great spot for multigeneratioal families! Lots to keep the kids engaged and easy paved or wood walkways for folks with accessibility concerns. Lots of animals to see. Great spot to see wild manatees without getting on a boat. They even have a "fishbowl" viewing area allowing you to come face to face with the feeding manatees. Parking is plentiful and available on 2 different locations. The boat ride from the further lot has a great audio tour included. Does have a price tag associated, best to look it up ahead of time and double check. Bathrooms are inside and clean.