Canoeing and Kayaking Florida

by Molloy, Johnny; Carter, Elizabeth F.; Pearce, John; Glaros, Lou; Sphar, Doug

• ISBN13: 9780897329552
• ISBN10: 0897329554
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-11
• Publisher: Menasha Ridge Pr

Summary

Completely updated, A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to Florida, 2nd is the most comprehensive guide to the best of Florida's unique streams, springs, creeks, and rivers. Engaging and concise yet filled with carefully selected details vital to any successful Florida paddling adventure, A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to Florida spares readers encyclopaedic fluff in favour of practical, no- nonsense information. With expanded regional maps and revised river maps, A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to Florida is simply the best and most informative Florida paddling guide available.

Author Biography

Johnny Molloy is an outdoor writer who averages over 100 nights in the wild per year backpacking and canoe camping throughout the U.S. He has written numerous books and articles for magazines and websites.

All veteran paddlers, Elizabeth F. Carter and John L. Pearce wrote Volume I: North Central Peninsula and Panhandle, and Lou Glaros and Doug Sphar wrote Volume II: Central and South Peninsula, that have been definitive guides to the waterways of Florida for over 20 years.

Table of Contents

Dedication	p. ii
Acknowledgments	p. viii
Introduction	p. 1
Using This Guide	p. 3
Using River Gauges	p. 4
Water-level Sites	p. 5
Friendly Advice	p. 5
Florida Rivers and Creeks	p. 10
The Western Panhandle	p. 16
Big Escambia Creek	p. 16
Styx River	p. 19
Perdido River	p. 22
Coldwater Creek	p. 27
Sweetwater Creek and Juniper Creek	p. 29
Streams of the Eglin Air Force Base Reservation	p. 33
Blackwater River	p. 42
Yellow River	p. 46
Shoal River	p. 51
Choctawhatchee River	p. 55
Holmes Creek	p. 64
Econfina Creek of Washington and Bay Counties	p. 67
Chipola River	p. 72
The Central Panhandle	p. 80
Ochlockonee River	p. 80
Sopchoppy River	p. 90
Little River	p. 94
Graham Creek and East River	p. 96
New River	p. 98
Lost Creek	p. 101
The Big Bend	p. 104
Wakulla River	p. 104
St. Marks River	p. 107
Wacissa River	p. 109
Aucilla River	p. 112
Econfina River of Taylor County	p. 115
Steinhatchee River	p. 117
The Northern Peninsula	p. 120
Withlacoochee River (North)	p. 120
Suwannee River	p. 124
Santa Fe River	p. 137
Ichetucknee River	p. 143
Middle Prong St. Marys River	p. 144
St. Marys River	p. 147
Black Creek	p. 153
The Central Peninsula	p. 158
Withlacoochee River (South)	p. 158
Rainbow River	p. 165
Silver River	p. 167
Ocklawaha River	p. 168
Alexander Springs and Alexander Springs Creek	p. 172
Juniper Springs and Juniper Creek	p. 176
Salt Springs and Salt Springs Run	p. 178
The Central Highlands	p. 180
Wekiva River and Rock Springs Run	p. 180
Blackwater Creek and Lake Norris	p. 185
Econlockhatchee River	p. 188
Arbuckle Creek	p. 191
Peace River	p. 195
Fisheating Creek	p. 200
The Atlantic Coast	p. 204
Pellicer Creek	p. 204
Bulow Creek	p. 207
Tomoka River	p. 210
Spruce Creek	p. 213
Turkey Creek (Atlantic Coast)	p. 215
South Prong of the St. Sebastian River	p. 217
North Fork of the St. Lucie River	p. 220
Loxahatchee River	p. 223
The Southwest Gulf Coast	p. 226
Weeki Wachee River	p. 226
Hillsborough River	p. 231
Alafia River	p. 236
Little Manatee River	p. 242
Manatee River	p. 245
Myakka River	p. 347
J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Commodore Creek Canoe Trail)	p. 252
Estero River	p. 253
The Everglades	p. 258
Blackwater River at Collier-Seminole State Park	p. 258
Everglades National Park and the Wilderness Waterway	p. 262
Halfway Creek Canoe Trail	p. 265
Turner River Canoe Trail	p. 267
Nine-Mile Pond Canoe Trail	p. 271
Noble Hammock Canoe Trail	p. 273
Mud Lake Loop Trail	p. 275
Appendixes	p. 278
Outfitters	p. 278
Paddling Clubs	p. 283
Safety Code of American Whitewater	p. 285
Glossary	p. 295
About the Authors	p. 299
Index	p. 300
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Fisheating Creek is undoubtedly one of the prettiest streams in Florida. Tea-colored water journeys swiftly through thick cypress swamps and beside hardwood hammocks, opening into small lakes where wildlife abounds. This area, especially the upper creek, is in an area little disturbed by man. The high water mark of the streamshed is now the boundary of a wildlife management area. Wildlife thrives hereturkeys, deer, hogs, alligators aplenty, and more birds than I can identify. In the upper watershed, you have to pass through private land to reach the put-in, therefore, only the state-sanctioned concessionaire operating the waterside campground and livery near Palmdale is allowed to take paddlers upstream. You must contact them to access Fisheating Creek upstream of US 27. Downstream from US 27, paddlers can put-in and head down, or put-in at the public ramp on State Road 76 near Lake Okeechobee and head upstream. It pays to contact the concessionaire before endeavoring in a trip here.