To escape the fast pace of city life, Atlantans need only head south and call on their charming neighbor with the sunny personality — Florida. Stressed city dwellers may find it tempting to do little more than work on their tan, but each region of this vast state is packed with a remarkable variety of sports and leisure activities, so get out from under that beach umbrella and immerse yourself in a memorable adventure.
Swim with manatees in Crystal River
In Crystal River, you don’t have to be pretty to be popular. The 1,500-pound West Indian manatee is shaped like a blimp and has a saggy snout covered in bristly whiskers, but people can’t get enough of the gentle giants that inhabit Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge in Kings Bay, home to the largest concentration of manatees in the world. It’s the only place in North America where it’s legal to swim with this endangered species.
Plantation on Crystal River, a resort 80 miles north of Tampa, offers manatee snorkeling tours that include a pre-tour orientation on how to respectfully interact with the docile leviathans. Manatees can be spotted in Kings Bay year-round, but they are most abundant in the winter, when the water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico falls below 68 degrees. That’s when hundreds flock to their cozy winter refuge in Kings Bay, a constant 72 degrees thanks to a continuous flow of warm water from dozens of natural springs. Those willing to brave the chill in a wet suit will be richly rewarded.
Manatees are curious creatures that seem to genuinely enjoy human interaction, but, if they need solitude, they can retire to a roped-off oasis. While surrounded by manatees, it may be hard to comprehend they are endangered, but habitat loss and collisions with watercraft are a constant threat.
Here’s the good news: The species has made a dramatic comeback from about 30 in the 1960s to more than 1,000 today.
Plantation on Crystal River
Fish in the Gulf of Mexico
Hooked on fishing? Whether you are an experienced angler or just learning to cast your line, the staff at Fifth Generation Charters in Panama City are pros at customizing private deep-sea fishing trips in the Gulf of Mexico or inshore excursions in St. Andrew’s Bay. Captain Clarence ensures families introducing kids to fishing on a short day trip have just as much fun as hardcore fishermen who spend all day at sea.
Reeling in a fat red snapper is a goal for many, and the Gulf is teeming with them. King mackerel, black grouper and mahi-mahi also abound. For Type A vacationers who find it impossible to simply relax in a tranquil spot waiting for a bite, there’s a more exciting option — nocturnal shark fishing. Adventurous anglers sit under a starry sky, eagerly anticipating a chomp on their bait. When one of the formidable sea creatures finally bites, the fun begins. Once you’ve seen a hammerhead or a bull shark being wrestled into a boat, you will understand why fishing is considered a sport.
Whatever you catch, you will want to eat it while it’s fresh, so take advantage of the cleaning service offered.
Fifth Generation Charters
Dive in Looe Key
The Florida Keys are world-renowned as a scuba diving paradise, but, for many, Looe Key is especially captivating. The 5.3-nautical-mile stretch of protected groove and spur reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is widely regarded as the most beautiful coral reef in North America.
No other dive site in the Lower Keys boasts such spectacular underwater topography. Calm, clear water makes it easy to observe eagle rays, nurse sharks, sea turtles and sinister-looking moray eels as they glide over a rainbow of coral. More than 150 species of fish thrive here, including parrotfish and angelfish that are so radiant, they practically glow. Looe Key Reef Resort and Dive Center offers chartered snorkeling and dive trips to Looe Key.
Bike through the Everglades
Bike riding is an activity the whole family can enjoy, and one of the most picturesque wilderness bike trails in South Florida is the 15-mile Shark Valley Trail inside Everglades National Park. The flat, paved trail winds through a vast expanse of wetlands, a protected habitat for numerous species of wading birds, such as great blue herons, roseate spoonbills and wood storks.
It’s thrilling to see an anhinga, sometimes called a snake bird because of its serpentine neck, dive headfirst into a marsh and emerge with a fish impaled on its spear-like beak. Of course, the ultimate rush is spotting a toothy, 900-pound American alligator. Should you encounter one, be smart. Forget the selfie and give it plenty of space.
About halfway down the trail is the 50-foot-tall Shark Valley Observation Tower, which provides a bird’s-eye view of Shark River Slough and the foreboding sawgrass prairie. Shark Valley Tram Tours offers bike rentals inside the park.
Shark Valley Loop Road, Miami. 305-221-8455. (Be sure and get driving directions from their website.)
Golf on Amelia Island
Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort, a sprawling luxury resort on a barrier island just south of the Georgia border, features a trio of scenic golf courses, but the 18-hole Ocean Links Course, which runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean, is the one seasoned golfers long to conquer.
The par-70, Bobby Weed-designed course meanders over undulating sand dunes and features an impressive five oceanfront holes. Hole 15, an uphill par-3, threatens even the lowest of handicaps. An unpredictable sea breeze further increases the challenge.
Golfers wanting to polish their swing before battling the course can enroll in the resort’s Golf Channel Academy, which offers sessions for all ages and levels of play.
39 Beach Lagoon Road, Amelia Island, Fla. 904-261-6161.
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