Experiences
Our boat tours transport visitors along Pepper Creek from the visitor center to the west entrance of the state park, weather permitting. Boat captains provide an introduction to the park and the Florida Park Service. Native wildlife is identified along the way. The boats are accessible with a ramp for persons with mobility devices.
Fee for boat transportation is $3 for adults ages 13 and up, and $2 for ages 6 to 12 and people holding annual state park passes and children age 5 and under are free.
Explore the park in a new and challenging way. Experienced Geocachers have requested permission to hide caches containing trinkets, treasures or information in various places around the park.
Please check the Geocaching website for the most up-to-date information and clues to locate these caches.
A 1.10-mile trail with paved trails and elevated boardwalks winds throughout the wildlife park. Benches and rain shelters are conveniently located along the trail.
Bleachers are available at the Manatee Program area and at the Wildlife Encounters pavilion.
The park offers many opportunities to photograph the Real Florida and its wildlife. Commercial photographers should check in at the park office.
The park showcases Florida's unique landscape surrounding the headspring of the Homosassa River. This could be the perfect backdrop for your dream wedding. Outdoor options for your ceremony and reception include a gazebo, river pavilion and garden pavilion, or choose an indoor space at the Pepper Creek Terrace.
We host everything from a formal garden wedding to a barefoot wedding. We look forward to helping you plan for your special day. For more information, go online or call 844-907-2772.
Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park includes the Wildlife Walk and paved trails for wildlife viewing. The Wildlife Walk consists of elevated boardwalks that are accessible for visitors in wheelchairs or with strollers. The boardwalk allows an elevated view into the natural habitats and provides rain shelters along the way.
Unable to survive in the wild for various reasons, the park’s captive wildlife are ambassadors for their species, promoting conservation through education.
The Fish Bowl Underwater Observatory floats in the main spring and allows an up-close view of the spring and the fish and manatees. A live-feed television screen is located on the sundeck allowing visitors to view fish and manatees from an underwater perspective.
The park is an excellent site for birding. The Pepper Creek Birding Trail runs from the visitor center parking area along the tram road and loops through the parking areas at Fish Bowl Drive and returns via a boat ride along Pepper Creek. This trail is one of 20 birding trails in Citrus County that are part of the Great Florida Birding Trail.
An information kiosk is located at the trailhead behind the parking area of the visitor center on U.S. 19.
Amenities
The Wildside Café, located at the park's west entrance, offers indoor and outdoor dining areas.
- The hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- To reach the Wildside Café, call 352-419-4667.
The Grill at Pepper Creek is open for lunch.
- Lunch is served 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Reservations can be made by calling 352-422-7886.
The Gator Bites restaurant is open on the following schedule:
- Winter Hours: Monday – Sunday 10 a.m. –to 4 p.m.
- Summer Hours Thursday – Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Visitor Center Gift Shop can be reached at 352-907-4637.
- Open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The West End Gift Shop is open daily, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
For information about events and group lunches, visit HomosassaSpringsWildlife.com or call 1-844-907-2772.
The park's visitor center and main entrance are located on U.S. 19 and include a ticket counter, boat docks, accessible restrooms and a concessionaire-operated State of Elegance Gift Shop. Panels inside the visitor center illustrate the history of the park and Homosassa area.
- A ramp provides accessibility to the raised platform and its displays. An elevator provides access from the visitor center level to the boat dock for visitors in wheelchairs or with strollers.
- Another ticket counter, accessible restrooms and concessionaire-operated gift shop (the Nest of Treasures) and concessionaire-operated snack bar (the Wildside Café) are located at the west entrance on Fishbowl Drive.
Staying hydrated on your outdoor adventures is important. Just bring a refillable water bottle to replenish your drinking water at the park. This will reduce the amount of single-use plastics in landfills and reduce the litter sometimes found along trails, at campsites, on beaches and in Florida’s waterways.
- At Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, you’ll find a refillable water bottle station on the wildlife walk at the restrooms near the bear habitat.
- Learn more.