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Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
5 reviews for Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center
What a great spot!
Nice to see a company doing something so positive for the environment.
There are two main walkways. One goes out into the channel. You can see lots of different fish and manatees swimming by. I would say this is where the action is. We saw several rays jump up of the water.
The second walkway goes back around by the road. This is the warmest water where the manatees hang out. At low tide we were probably 10-12 feet off the water and there were literally hundreds of manatees. I've never seen anything like it!
This place is as good for kids as it is for adults. TECO did a nice job and it is definitely worth a visit.
Did I mention it is free? Awesome!
This is a nicely done spot - the mangrove walk is beautiful and informative, and we almost always see a few manatees when we are visiting. Good for kids? YES.
Worth a trip if you are in the area.
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As it's still early in the season (they just opened 2 weeks ago for this year, only being open between Nov 1 & Apr 15) I wasn't entirely sure whether we'd get to see a manatee on our visit. Luckily, we live in Tampa so if we didn't, we could always return in a few weeks when it's colder & they're more enticed by the warm water by the plant.
We first took the walk to the left (boardwalk? I've already forgotten what they called it) & saw a handful of beautiful birds fly by, a couple of lizards, & some catfish- & pencilfish-looking fish by the pier, but no manatees. Drat. Maybe we're out of luck?
Next, on to the more prominent manatee-viewing dock. Score! Although they didn't come right up to the dock for close-up silhouette viewing, we saw at least 6 stick their snouts above the water, or round their backs & tails, or just sort of float there with their backs showing.
Super exciting for me, who's only seen a manatee once before. I'll definitely be heading back in a few weeks when it's colder.
Bonus: manatee socks in the gift shop!
I love manatees!
If you do too, and you happen to be in the Tampa Bay area, you should go to this free manatee viewing center. I go here nearly every winter when I am visiting my parents who happen to live only a few miles away. Manatees migrate to these warm waters in the winter and the power plant has created a sanctuary for them, including viewing stations. There's also a mangrove walk and a educational visitors center.
One star off because it's kinda hideous to see the power plant in the background, complete with those smokestacks.
Also, note that this place is only open seasonally from Nov. 1 through April 15th.
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Teco, or Tampa Electric, has a side-museum of manatees. Open seasonally, the museum and viewing deck is open Nov. 1-April 15 only. Once you get to the viewing deck, there is a friendly docent who will have props including a manatee skull and manatee plush toys! The viewing deck provides a close but not too close view of manatees. Basically, the docent said, since the electric plant produces heat, the manatees who don't generate enough body heat need the heat to survive and therefore swim near the plant to keep warm: the colder the weather, the more manatees around the plant. And don't stop here: visit the museum in the complex and the gift shop complete with manatee socks, pajamas, tank tops, magnets, stickers and more!