Why Crystal River, FL ?
DISCOVER FLORIDA’S SOUL IN OUR WARM GULF WATER, SPRING-FED RIVERS, GENTLE MANATEES, GREAT FISHING AND BOUNTIFUL LAKES. SWIM WITH THE MANATEES, EXPLORE OUR LAKES AND RIVERS, REEL IN FLORIDA’S BEST FISHING, TASTE FISH-TO-FORK CUISINE, PLAY GREAT GOLF COURSES, TAKE A HIKE THROUGH UNSPOILED FORESTS, DIVE FOR SCALLOPS, CYCLE ON ONE OF AMERICA’S TOP-RATED TRAILS, AND DISCOVER OUR PARKS AND ATTRACTIONS.
DiscoverCrystalRiver.com
The Gem of tha Nature Coast
Crystal River is a place defined by water. It starts with the river for which the city is named and the natural wonder on which the city sits: Kings Bay. Kings Bay is fed by over seventy springs and as many as forty more seeps that feed 600 million gallons of freshwater a day into this incredible body of freshwater sitting only six miles from the Gulf of Mexico. It is a first magnitude Florida springs system and a leading winter refuge for the Florida Manatee. In fact, it is so important to the survival of manatees that The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge is the only Refuge in the United States dedicated to the preservation and protection of a single species
Manatees
The springs here are epic and provide an incredible experience for meeting a manatee. The biggest spring is King Spring on the southern tip of Banana Island. The most famous though, by far, is Three Sisters Springs, a place so remarkable it’s best described as a National Park in one acre. This amazing crystal-clear spring in a wooded grove defies imagination and has become known internationally for the incredible number of manatees that gather here in winter. A visit to the Three Sisters Springs Boardwalk, or swimming with manatees in the spring on a manatee tour, is a must.\
Remember to book your private tour during your stay at the Retreat.