A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to... | Buy

Florida’s water resources are among its most significant assets, and exploring the rivers and streams is one of the best ways to experience the state’s diverse natural resources. A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to Florida is the premier guide to paddling the waterways of the Sunshine State. The comprehensive guide features: detailed river maps, thorough river profiles, and photographs. At-a-glance information includes critical river data such as river classification, river gauge, water level, water velocity, gradient, and ratings for scenery. With over 60 detailed profiles of the best canoeing and kayaking waterways in Florida, this guide is almost as indispensable as the paddle and life jacket. From the exciting and beautiful runs of the Panhandle’s Econfina to slower paddles through wildlife-rich Everglades National Park, A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to Florida details the best paddling experiences the state has to offer.

Johnny Molloy is an outdoor writer based in Tennessee. He has averaged over one hundred nights in the wild per year since the early 1980's, backpacking and canoe camping throughout our country. He has written numerous hiking, camping, and paddling books covering much of the U.S. from Florida to Wisconsin to Colorado and articles for magazines and Web sites.

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 almost twenty years.

Dedication

x

Acknowledgments

x

Introduction

1

(11)

Using This Guide

3

(1)

Using River Gauges

4

(1)

Water Level Sites

5

(1)

Friendly Advice

5

(7)

Hurricane Damage

5

(1)

Weather

6

(1)

Insects

7

(1)

Reptiles

7

(1)

Camping

8

(1)

Knowing Your Rights on the River

8

(2)

Roads

10

(1)

Leaving Cars Unattended

11

(1)

Paddling Skills

11

(1)

Florida Rivers and Creeks

12

(6)

Geology

12

(2)

Watersheds of Florida

14

(2)

Outstanding Florida Waters

16

(1)

Spring-Fed Rivers

16

(1)

Tidal Rivers

17

(1)

part One THE WESTERN PANHANDLE

18

(52)

Perdido River

19

(6)

Coldwater Creek

25

(3)

Sweetwater Creek and Juniper Creek

28

(3)

Blackwater River

31

(4)

Yellow River

35

(5)

Shoal River

40

(4)

Choctawhatchee River

44

(10)

Holmes Creek

54

(3)

Econfina Creek of Washington and Bay Counties

57

(5)

Chipola River

62

(8)

part two THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE

70

(24)

Ochlockonee River

71

(10)

Sopchoppy River

81

(4)

Little River

85

(2)

Graham Creek and East River

87

(2)

New River

89

(3)

Lost Creek

92

(2)

part three THE BIG BEND

94

(20)

Wakulla River

95

(2)

St. Marks River

97

(3)

Wacissa River

100

(4)

Aucilla River

104

(4)

Econfina River of Taylor County

108

(2)

Steinhatchee River

110

(4)

part four THE NORTHERN PENINSULA

114

(38)

Withlacoochee River (North)

115

(3)

Suwannee River

118

(14)

Santa Fe River

132

(7)

Ichetucknee River

139

(2)

Middle Prong St. Marys River

141

(2)

St. Marys River

143

(6)

Black Creek

149

(3)

part five THE CENTRAL PENINSULA

152

(24)

Withlacoochee River (South)

153

(7)

Rainbow River

160

(2)

Silver River

162

(2)

Ocklawaha River

164

(4)

Alexander Springs and Alexander Springs Creek

168

(3)

Juniper Springs and Juniper Creek

171

(3)

Salt Springs and Salt Springs Run

174

(2)

part six THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS

176

(26)

Wekiva River and Rock Springs Run

177

(4)

Blackwater Creek and Lake Norris

181

(3)

Econlockhatchee River

184

(4)

Arbuckle Creek

188

(4)

Peace River

192

(6)

Fisheating Creek

198

(4)

part seven THE ATLANTIC COAST

202

(22)

Pellicer Creek

203

(2)

Bulow Creek

205

(3)

Tomoka River

208

(3)

Spruce Creek

211

(2)

Turkey Creek

213

(2)

South Prong of the St. Sebastian River

215

(3)

North Fork of the St. Lucie River

218

(3)

Loxahatchee River

221

(3)

part eight THE SOUTHWEST GULF COAST

224

(34)

Weeki Wachee River

225

(4)

Hillsborough River

229

(6)

Alafia River

235

(6)

Little Manatee River

241

(3)

Manatee River

244

(3)

Myakka River

247

(4)

J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge (Commodore Creek Canoe Trail)

251

(2)

Estero River

253

(5)

part nine THE EVERGLADES

258

(21)

Blackwater River at Collier-Seminole

259

(3)

State Park Everglades National Park and the Wilderness Waterway

262

(3)

Halfway Creek Canoe Trail

265

(3)

Turner River Canoe Trail

268

(3)

Nine-Mile Pond Canoe Trail

271

(3)

Noble Hammock Canoe Trail

274

(2)

Mud Lake Loop Trail

276

(3)

part ten APPENDIXES

279

(20)

A: Outfitters

279

(7)

B: Paddling Clubs

286

(2)

C: Safety Code of American Whitewater

288

(11)

Glossary

299

(4)

About the Author

303

(1)

Index

304

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

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 here-turkeys, 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.

Excerpted from A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to Florida by Johnny Molloy, Elizabeth F. Carter, John Pearce, Lou Glaros
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.