Canoeing & Kayaking Florida

by Johnny Molloy

Overview

Get the authoritative guide to the waterways of Florida, featuring almost all of the state’s paddleable waterways in 73 river profiles.

From the exciting and beautiful runs of the Panhandle’s Econfina Creek to slower floats through wildlife-rich Everglades National Park, the best way to experience the Sunshine State is by paddle! Canoeing & Kayaking Florida is the most comprehensive guide to the best of Florida’s unique streams, springs, creeks, rivers, and coastal waterways. Written by acclaimed author and adventurer Johnny Molloy, the guidebook provides engaging and concise information, while offering carefully selected details vital to a successful paddling trip.

For more than 35 years, Canoeing & Kayaking Florida has been a trusted source for paddlers. This updated edition presents paddling destinations like Seven Runs, a secluded tributary of the Choctawhatchee River; quiet, coastal Shell Creek; and the mighty Apalachicola River, with big sandbars, big hills, and a fast current. Those looking for still-water locales will enjoy secluded places such as Stagger Mud Lake.

Inside you’ll find:

• Details on 73 top paddling trips
• River profiles with maps and contact information
• Recommended runs for novice paddlers, trips with children, overnight trips, and more
• At-a-glance data including river class, length, and time
• GPS coordinates for all river put-ins and takeouts

Canoeing & Kayaking Florida is simply the best and most informative Florida paddling guide. Wet your paddle and whet your taste for outdoor adventure!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781634043625
Publisher:	Menasha Ridge Press
Publication date:	12/05/2023
Series:	Canoe and Kayak Series
Edition description:	4th Revised ed.
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Johnny Molloy is an outdoors writer based in Johnson City, Tennessee, who spends his winters in Florida. Born in Memphis, he moved to Knoxville in 1980 to attend the University of Tennessee. During his college years, he discovered a love of the natural world that has since become the primary focus of his life.

It all started on a backpacking foray into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That first trip was a disaster; nevertheless, Johnny developed an appreciation of the outdoors that would lead him to canoe-camp and backpack throughout the United States and abroad over the next 30 years. To this day, he averages 150 nights per year camping out.

After graduating from Tennessee in 1987 with a degree in economics, Johnny spent an ever-increasing amount of time in the wild, becoming more skilled in the environment. Friends enjoyed his adventure stories; one even suggested he write a book. He pursued that idea and soon parlayed his love of the outdoors into an occupation.

The results of his efforts are more than 80 books. These include hiking, camping, paddling, and other comprehensive guidebooks, as well as true-adventure books. In addition to updating and rewriting Canoeing & Kayaking Florida, he has written several other Florida-focused outdoors guides, including A Paddler’s Guide to Everglades National Park; Backpacking Florida; Best Tent Camping: Florida; Beach & Coastal Camping in Florida; The Hiking Trails of Florida’s National Forests, Parks, and Preserves; Day Hiking Southwest Florida; Best Easy Day Hikes: Jacksonville; Best Easy Day Hikes: Tallahassee; Best Easy Day Hikes: Tampa Bay; and two true-adventure stories, From the Swamp to the Keys: A Paddle Through Florida History and Hiking the Florida Trail: 1,100 Miles, 78 Days, Two Pairs of Boots, and One Heck of an Adventure. His other books primarily cover the Southeast but range over 28 states.

Read an Excerpt

Silver River

Overview: Silver Spring, which feeds the Silver River, has long been a Central Florida tourist attraction. Located east of Ocala, the beautiful Silver River corridor below the springs is part of Silver Springs State Park. River access has been improved with the establishment of the park. Now you can follow the current downstream from the headspring to the Silver River’s confluence with the Ocklawaha, rather than beating your way upstream from the Ocklawaha all the way to the headspring. The Silver River is an Outstanding Florida Water.

Maps: Silver Springs State Park (Florida State Parks); USGS Ocala East, Lynne

Silver Springs State Park to Ray Wayside Access

• Class: I
• Length: 5 mi
• Time: Varies
• Gauge: Phone, online
• Level: Spring fed
• Gradient: 1 fpm
• Scenery: A

Description: The Silver River is where the first glass-bottomed boats were used. And they are still used today to see the array of aquatic life below the water’s surface. I can still remember touring Silver Springs as a kid, looking down on another world. Nowadays, the headspring area and downstream to the Ocklawaha River are a state park. There is a fee-based canoe-and-kayak launch at the park’s main entrance at the headspring, and a free second launch (still requiring a park entrance fee) at the park’s campground entrance that requires a half-mile carry to the put-in. I have done both—pay the launch fee, it is worth it. Canoes and kayaks can be rented at the headspring.

Once on the river, you can enjoy spring water measured at 550 million gallons flowing per day. It is 2.0 river miles from the headspring launch to the carry launch. It is 3.0 more miles downstream to the Ocklawaha River through junglelike banks with waterweeds bordering the steady current. The takeout is downstream on the west bank of the Silver River, at Ray Wayside Park, which is reached via a short canal.

Shuttle: To reach the takeout at Ray Wayside Park from Exit 352 off I-75 in Ocala, drive east on FL 40. After 11.9 miles, bear right on Northeast 28th Lane. In 0.5 mile, reach the takeout before you reach the bridge over the Ocklawaha River. GPS Coordinates: 29.214034, -81.992374

To reach the put-in at Silver Springs State Park, backtrack 3.9 miles west on FL 40 to the park’s main entrance, on your left. Head to the paddlecraft-rental and launch area. GPS Coordinates: 29.213189, -82.055377

Gauge: The spring-fed Silver River is paddleable year-round. Call Silver Springs State Park (352-236-7148) for the latest river conditions, and find real-time water levels and flow rates at waterdata.usgs.gov/fl/nwis/rt. The USGS gauge helpful in determining flow rates for any given day is Silver River near Ocala, Florida.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Preface

Overview Map

River-Locator Map Key

Introduction

Part One: The Western Panhandle

• Perdido River
• Coldwater Creek
• Sweetwater Creek and Juniper Creek
• Blackwater River
• Yellow River
• Shoal River
• Seven Runs
• Choctawhatchee River
• Holmes Creek
• Econfina Creek of Washington and Bay Counties
• Chipola River

Part Two: The Central Panhandle

• Apalachicola River
• Ochlockonee River
• Sopchoppy River
• Graham Creek and East River
• Doyle Creek
• Owl Creek
• River Styx
• New River
• Lost Creek

Part Three: The Big Bend

• Wakulla River
• St. Marks River
• Wacissa River
• Aucilla River
• Econfina River of Taylor County
• Steinhatchee River

Part Four: The Northern Peninsula

• Withlacoochee River (North)
• Suwannee River
• Santa Fe River
• Ichetucknee River
• St. Marys River
• Black Creek
• North Fork Black Creek

Part Five: The Central Peninsula

• Withlacoochee River (South)
• Rainbow River
• Silver River
• Ocklawaha River
• Alexander Springs and Alexander Springs Creek
• Juniper Springs and Juniper Creek
• Salt Springs and Salt Springs Run
• Blue Creek
• Stagger Mud Lake
• St. Johns River and St. Francis Dead River

Part Six: The Central Highlands

• Wekiva River and Rock Springs Run
• Black Water Creek and Lake Norris
• Econlockhatchee River
• Shingle Creek
• Arbuckle Creek
• Peace River
• Fisheating Creek

Part Seven: The Atlantic Coast

• Pellicer Creek
• Bulow Creek
• Tomoka River
• Spruce Creek
• Turkey Creek
• South Prong of the St. Sebastian River
• South Fork of the St. Lucie River
• Loxahatchee River

Part Eight: The Southwest Gulf Coast

• Weeki Wachee River
• Hillsborough River
• Alafia River
• Little Manatee River
• Manatee River
• Myakka River
• Prairie Creek
• Shell Creek
• Caloosahatchee River and Hickey Creek
• Estero River

Part Nine: The Everglades

• Blackwater River at Collier-Seminole State Park
• Everglades National Park and the Wilderness Waterway
• Turner River Canoe Trail
• Nine-Mile Pond Canoe Trail
• Noble Hammock Canoe Trail

Part Ten: Appendixes

• Appendix A: Outfitters
• Appendix B: Safety Code of American Whitewater

Glossary

Index

About the Author