A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to Florida

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

• ISBN13: 9780897325882
• ISBN10: 0897325885
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-10
• Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press

Summary

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.

Author Biography

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.

Table of Contents

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

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 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.

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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.