As the weather cools, festivals fill the area. Come enjoy an authentic experience of the color and charm of Florida’s Nature Coast! November will bring the 33rd installment of a local favorite: The Homosassa Arts, Crafts and Seafood Festival. The festival will feature local seafood and hundreds of booths where you can browse original creations by artists and artisans from near and far. Next, the first weekend of December will usher in Floral City Heritage Days, a unique celebration of the history and tradition of this charming town. It begins on Friday night with Candles ‘N Carols, a holiday party kicked off by an old-fashioned fish fry and horse-drawn carriage rides. On Saturday, the entire “downtown” bustles with activity. Informational and historic displays bring you back to what life was like in Florida in the 1800s. A historical tour of 7 homes is also available, plus a petting zoo and traditional Cracker Cuisine. The fun continues in January. The 22nd Annual Manatee Festival takes place near Heritage Village in downtown Crystal River on January 12th and 13th. The festival boasts arts & crafts, children's activities and food, as well as manatee awareness sessions and boat tours. These are only a few highlights from the many incredible festivals and special events coming soon. Please visit our online event calendar for a complete list. |
Manatees are very large marine mammals, roughly the size of cattle, and you would think they could take care of themselves. But they are extremely vulnerable to human misbehavior, and even with elaborate protections in place, they still suffer too many injuries and deaths each year. However, from November 15th, through March, portions of the Homosassa and Crystal Rivers will be specially marked by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as Manatee Sanctuaries. As such, these designated areas will be off limits to boaters, divers and swimmers. Officials will also post caution and speed limit signs on waterways frequented by manatees. Together, we can protect these gentle giants for future generations! As we welcome the manatees back into our protected waters, we invite you to come see them. There is still a wide range of opportunities to enjoy, watch and swim with manatees throughout Citrus County. Visit the manatee encounter section of our Web site to see how you can see or swim alongside these creatures in the wild. There are certain manatee manners that are enforced, and we encourage you to take this trip with a knowledgeable guide. Also, consider booking your trip midweek to enjoy especially uncrowded waterways. |
Fall and winter here in Florida’s fabled fishing grounds are ideal times to wet a line. “The mild temperature change that we experience in the fall into January sparks the trout and redfish to eat,” says local guide Capt. Earle Waters of Homosassa. “In addition, the tides are a little lower in the winter months.” Sight casting to tailing redfish on the super low tides is also a winter favorite according to local guides. Reel in our fishing page to book your next guided trip. You’ll love getting hooked up with fishing action during this spectacular—and cool—time of year! |
Year round golf is a luxury, and you can experience it here at one of the 18 courses in Citrus County. Reasonable winter rates and a variety of courses to choose from make it a perfect destination for you or your golf group. And a wide range of accommodations catering to golfers rounds out the outing. At Van der Valk in Inverness, you can even rent a three bedroom house complete with grill and screened in swimming pool right on the golf course for much less than you might think. The Plantation Golf Resort & Spa has 36-holes of Championship Golf right on property and is the home of The Original Golf School. There are also many courses in the area that team up with accommodators to offer packages. Swing over to our golf page for information on golf packages and more. |
The attraction of Crystal River, Homosassa and Inverness is timeless, but there are always new ways to savor it all. Read on to discover just a few of the innovative ways in which we can make your trip to The Water Lover’s Florida even better. One of the most beautiful places to kayak in Citrus County is the St. Martins Keys just beyond our rivers. However, the 5-to 7-mile paddle out and then back can be a bit daunting. Absolute Kayaking solves that with The Transporter. It brings you out to the Gulf for perfect kayaking, then carries you back in. “We’ll get you on a kayak in places few paddlers have ever been,” said Capt. Pat Meadors. Absolute Kayaking works in conjunction with Riversport Kayaks on the Homosassa River. Holiday Inn Express will soon be joining the tourism amenities in Citrus County with a brand new facility in Inverness. They are currently accepting reservations for arrivals on or after December 15, 2007. This will be a great addition to the accommodation options in the area. The Plantation Inn in Crystal River is evolving. They have changed the name to The Plantation Golf Resort & Spa and are adding amenities to accompany the change. An additional 3,000 square feet of meeting space and 60 more rooms are being added, as well as a state-of-the-art Aveda-sanctioned spa. If you have been there in the past, you should come again. A local classic has been made even better. Cooter Pond the location of the famous Cooter Festival, has been dressed up with a beautiful boardwalk. It connects the pond to the lakes and the Withlacoochee State Trail complete with picnic areas. How many times have you been on the water and wished you could just buy a sandwich? Clubhouse Deli has the answer. This floating sub shop is docked at the Blue Waters of the Homosassa River now. So, next time you’re paddling or boating, stop by for an on-water lunch or snack. Boat tours on the Homosassa with a knowledgeable tour guide are a great way to learn about and experience the river. And we have several tours that do just that. But what if you are handicapped or limited to a wheelchair? Florida River Tours specializes in providing river services to people with special needs. Capt. Don is a fishing guide, tour guide and all around fun guy rolled into one. If you are an avid paddler or interested in the sport, Kayaks and Beyond in Crystal River has some intriguing ways to get you out there. They offer tours with added bonuses like educational seminars with local biologists from the Marine Science Station or full-moon tours followed up by a wine tasting at Copp Winery.
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Special from the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park We extend our gratitude to the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park for sharing this spectacular story with us. Sparky, an American white pelican, is happy in his new home at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Homosassa, Florida, where he has joined the park’s four other white pelicans in the wildlife area. He can be seen swimming in the spring-fed stream and exploring the islands. But life hasn’t always been so easy for Sparky, who just a few months ago was found seriously injured on an island in the Crystal River. A crew from the Crystal River Preserve State Park set out to rescue the bird. When they reached the island and approached the pelican, they were surprised to find that in spite of a badly injured wing and dehydration, the bird was still alive. They noted that the pelican looked up at them and it seemed to have a sparkle in its eye. Because of this sparkle, they decided to call the pelican Sparky. The crew worked carefully to disentangle the bird from discarded monofilament fishing line and brought it back to shore. It was transported to Midway Animal Hospital in Homosassa, where he was treated and cared for. The bird’s condition gradually improved, and his prognosis was good. When he was strong enough, surgery repaired a serious laceration on the bird’s wing. Although greatly improved, Sparky was not quite ready to be returned back to the wild. Instead, he was brought to Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park where he could continue his recovery while being monitored in a large outdoor enclosure. A couple weeks later, staff decided that Sparky’s recovery was complete, and he was ready for a soft-release in the wildlife park. He immediately joined up with the four resident pelicans. He is free to fly out of the park whenever he wants, but so far he has not strayed from the other pelicans. |
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Adapted from an Associated Press Article · Published on October 14, 2007
The 17 birds that were hatched in captivity are part of an effort to establish a second migratory flock of the endangered birds in North America. The journey that started on Saturday, October 13th will take about two months. This project is recovering from a tragic accident in the winter when a huge gulf storm killed all but one of the 18 young cranes that had been led south by an ultralight. The survivor died later. With several other deaths from various causes, the adult flock in the wild is at about 52 cranes. Pilot Joe Duff is cofounder of Operation Migration, the nonprofit group that developed the concept of ultralight-led migration. He says last winter’s tragedy has been difficult to overcome, but it also has spread the message about saving cranes and other species and conserving resources. Duff thinks that these birds seem to draw so much interest because they are a very reclusive bird. A whooping crane represents wildness. You find whooping cranes in areas as isolated as where you find bears and cougars. And, at 5 feet tall, they are impressive birds. The whooping crane is an icon for endangered species. For more information on the flight of the cranes, visit the birding page on our website for a link to Operation Migration.
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It takes place the second weekend in November, in Old Homosassa near the riverfront. The festival coincides with the Blues & Barbeque just down the road at the Old Mill Gallery. 
Just as cooler weather in the northern United States brings millions of travelers to Florida, cooler weather over the Gulf of Mexico brings hundreds of manatees to the Homosassa and Crystal Rivers in Citrus County. Our still-unspoiled stretch of the Florida Gulf Coast is home to the gentle creatures all year long, but our comparatively warm, spring-fed waters attract many more manatees each winter, making us the site of North America’s largest sea cow gathering. 
Another perfect autumn activity is to rent a bike from 
For a seventh year, young whooping cranes have taken off from the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin, led by ultralight aircraft on a 1,250-mile journey to the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Citrus County. 