I recently made my way over to the Manatee Deck at Haulover Canal which is located in the Merritt Island National Refuge in Titusville, Florida. It was a beautiful day and after a bit of a drive I found what I was looking for! This is a 1 mile canal connecting the Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. The manatee are known to spend the spring and fall moving in and out of the canal. I went over to see if I could find any.
We arrived and there was plenty of parking.
The observation deck provide a great place to look out for manatees. We were also pleasantly surprised to find benches were also along the observation deck, making it easy to relax.
We found the information signs to be very helpful when looking for the manatees.
When I was there, I was able to see 10 or so manatees. Others that were viewing said that it is common for there to be 25 or so. This was not the case for us this trip, however I will stop back by the next time I’m at the refuge. I did see 3 dolphin while there.
Along with manatee and other wildlife, we also saw people enjoying a day out on the water in their kayaks.
A day trip to Merritt Island is less than one hour from Orlando. The refuge is open daily from sunrise to sunset but the visitor center is only open Monday thru Saturday from 9a-4p. There was no fee to visit this part of the refuge as well as many areas of the refuge. There is a $5.00 parking fee for some areas
For more information and about this wildlife refuge visit Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. And visit Observation Deck for additional information as well.
~ Gretta