Manatee Bend Park

I have reviewed this park as 5 out of 5. My review is based only on seeing manatees. If you are not here to see Manatees this park is a 2 out of 5. My wife and I were visiting from Canada. We love Manatees, in part because of comedian Jim Gaffigan. We stayed at a hotel nearby and heard about this place. The google reviews were mixed and wide ranging. There is nothing to this park, but on a couple cold February days we saw many manatees. We went 4 days in a row and each time saw numerous manatees. One day we saw 3 manatees feasting on palm fronds hanging over the water. Another day we were there and saw 12 manatees and 3 sharks and a small alligator all in about 20 minutes. Most of the manatees were just slowly passing through as there not much for them to fed on in the canal by the park. If you keep your eyes open they are there just slowly passing through. Other reviews complained about murky polluted water and homeless people in the park. We had no trouble seeing the manatees in the water. One day we saw one homeless person and they were friendly and did not bother us other than saying hi. This park is not a beautiful destination, but a good place to see manatees slowly cruise by on cold winter days.

You dont know how much I enjoy visiting here. This town reminds me of home with its immersive community and unmatched Vibe. I stumbled across this little slice of paradise out of nowhere after a yoga class I was invited to nearby. Anyone who ive brought with me agrees its a special place without a doubt. Thank you for providing the peace offered here.

Very cut place. A lot of birds, even cat sleeping. Weather was good. Birds and cat are very friendly.

We drove out of our way to go here and didn’t even get out of the car to check for manatees (which we really wanted to see) because their were several homeless people living/sleeping there and we had three small children with us. Did not feel safe or comfortable. So sad.

Just a peacefull piece of grassland under the trees inbetween the residential ares. Still you can find a dozen of benches and several tables to have a bite. Just few people in the park. No infrastructure.

Have lived on this street for many years, the homeless issue in this park is out of hand. I do not mind people trying to get by, but the majority of them here will change clothes in sight of you, leave trash and shopping carts, and openly do drugs. We had to beg the city to install streetlights but nothing really changed. I will tell you that the day I moved into this neighborhood, a homeless man approached me at my gate and asked me for money. He got very upset when I offered him food and water instead! I thought moving here would mean having a nice park nearby, instead it smells like weed and is covered in trash all the time. For some people this might not matter and maybe you can still enjoy it, but I urge you not to bring your kids here. Morningside Park or Legion Park down the street are way nicer and safer. Also, no bathrooms.

Small chill park. Good coverage from the trees to sit in the shade on a warm clear day. The park is usually very clean as well, which makes it a nice spot to have a nice afternoon snack