Paddling the Everglades Wilderness Waterway: Your All-in-One Guide to Florida's 99-Mile Treasure plus 17 Day and Overnight Trips

by Holly Genzen, Anne Sullivan

Overview

Create a canoeing or kayaking experience you’ll never forget, through Florida’s Everglades National Park and the 99-mile Wilderness Waterway.

Those in the know will tell you there is only one way to truly experience Florida’s Everglades National Park, and that is by canoe or kayak. Whether you are a novice paddler or a seasoned whitewater river runner, Paddling the Everglades Wilderness Waterway is your all-in-one guide for safe adventure on this spectacular route.

Authors Holly Genzen and Anne McCrary Sullivan present 17 of their favorite day- and overnight trips from various Everglades departure points. Having spent years exploring this maritime labyrinth, the authors share their intimate knowledge of historic Everglades rivers and bays, the endless horizon of its Gulf Coast, the eerie beauty of its mangrove forests, and the secrets of ancient tribes and early American pioneers. Descriptions of wildlife abound (the birds! the alligators!), as do the details of exquisite flora that flourishes here.

Inside you’ll find:

• The complete 99-mile Wilderness Waterway route between Everglades City and Flamingo—north to south and south to north
• 17 day trips and overnight paddles
• Nearly 30 campsites and gazebo-like chickees stilted over the water
• Maps, GPS coordinates, trip preparation, safety tips, and waterway etiquette
• An expansive directory of Everglades flora, fauna, people, and places
• Intimate observations about Everglades history, environment, and its future

Whether you only have time for a brief Everglades visit or are embarking on a 10-day expedition, this book is for you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780897328999
Publisher:	Menasha Ridge Press
Publication date:	08/09/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	51 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Authors Holly Genzen and Anne Sullivan began frequent paddling trips on the Everglades Wilderness Waterway six years ago. Both are Florida Master Naturalists certified by the University of Florida.

A longtime outdoor adventurer, Holly Genzen has a Masters degree in Outdoor Education and a PhD in Educational Administration. She is a former associate professor at Chicago-based National-Louis University. In recent years, she has focused her canoeing and kayaking activities on Florida's many springs, streams, and rivers. She is also an avid hiker, and has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail alone. She has been a volunteer resident at Hoover's Camp Rapidan in Shenandoah National Park, and she is a volunteer environmental educator at Trout Lake Nature Center in Eustis, Florida.

In a small wooden boat, with her marine biologist mother, Anne McCrary Sullivan began adventuring on the water before she could walk. Now she is a volunteer naturalist at Everglades National Park and a professor at the Florida Regional Campus of National-Louis University. With an MFA in poetry and a PhD in English education, she has been poet-in-residence at Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and at locations beyond Florida. Her book of poems, Ecology II: Throat Song from The Everglades. (Word Tech Editions in Cincinnati), explores Everglades flora, fauna, and ecology through a poetic lens.

Read an Excerpt

SECTION 1/U:

• Everglades City (Gulf Coast Visitor Center)/Chokoloskee Island (south end)
• Gulf Coast Visitor Center: N25° 50.730' W81° 23.234'
• Chokoloskee Island: N25° 48.537' W81° 21.442'
• Estimated paddling distance: 3.5 miles

NORTH TO SOUTH: Everglades City to Chokoloskee Island

Launch your canoe or kayak to the right of the Gulf Coast Visitor Center at Everglades National Park. The park provides a wheelbarrow to carry your gear from your car to the launch site on Chokoloskee Bay. Make every effort to launch near high tide because launching at low tide may necessitate pulling your craft through thigh-deep mud before you can climb into your boat and paddle off. (For alternative, fee-based launch sites, see Appendix 2, Launch Sites, on page 269.)

Just before you reach the bridge, you have two choices—the Causeway Canal route or the Chokoloskee Bay route.

Be aware that launching on an outgoing tide will make it difficult to paddle under the bridge if you are planning to take the Causeway Canal route. On the other hand, the advantage of the Causeway Canal route is that you avoid the waves and oyster beds of Chokoloskee Bay. For the canal route, turn left (east) and paddle under the causeway bridge and then turn right, heading southeast along the canal that follows the eastern side of the Chokoloskee Causeway. Be sure to stay to the far left (east) as you paddle the canal because the western (right) side can become too shallow to paddle.

The advantage of the Chokoloskee Bay route is that it conveniently passes Historic Smallwood Store (see page 260), and it makes a delightful place to stop for a break. If the tide is ripping out under the bridge and you fi nd that you cannot paddle against the tide, take this route for sure. On the Chokoloskee Bay route, continue southeast down the bay and pass Chokoloskee Island on your left (east). Watch out for the oyster beds.

SOUTH TO NORTH: Chokoloskee Island to Everglades City

Heading for your takeout by way of the Causeway Canal route, pass Chokoloskee Island to your left (west) and the Turner River to your right (east). (See “Chokoloskee Island” on page 248.) You will be funneled into the canal that lies to the right of the Chokoloskee Causeway. The advantage of this route is that the canal itself offers a calm passage with great birding. The disadvantage is that you may face a ripping incoming tide as you paddle under the bridge.

Stay to the right in this canal, as the left side can become impassable at low tide. When you come to the bridge, turn left. Pass under the bridge, turn right, and head to your takeout point at Gulf Coast Visitor Center, Everglades National Park, in Everglades City.

If you are coming in via the Chokoloskee Bay route, paddle northwest across the bay, passing Chokoloskee Island to your right (east). This route is often wavier than the canal option, and the shallow bay is lined with oyster beds. The advantage is that you will pass Historic Smallwood Store on the west side of Chokoloskee Island. Now a museum, the store is worth a visit, particularly if you are waiting for the tide to come up for your takeout at Everglades City. You can purchase your first cold drink since you left Flamingo.

Leaving Smallwood Store, paddle northwest from the northern end of the island, passing the Chokoloskee Bridge on your right. Gulf Coast Visitor Center will appear shortly on your right. The takeout point lies immediately past the visitor center.

Make every effort to take out near high tide because there is no dock. Low tide may necessitate dragging your boat through thigh-deep mud. The park provides a cart to carry your gear to your vehicle.

Table of Contents

Everglades Wilderness Waterway Overview Map

Front Cover

Overview Map Key

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Preface

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE: On the Everglades Wilderness Waterway

• Section 1/u: Everglades City/Chokoloskee Island
• Section 2/T: Chokoloskee Island/Lopez River Campsite or Crooked Creek Chickee
• Section 3/S: Lopez River Campsite or Crooked Creek Chickee/Marker 123
• Section 4/R: Marker 123/Marker 107
• Section 5/Q: Marker 107/The Watson Place or Sweetwater Chickee
• Section 6/P: The Watson Place or Sweetwater Chickee/Marker 79
• Section 7/O: Marker 79/Plate Creek Chickee or Lostmans Five Campsite
• Section 8/N: Plate Creek Chickee or Lostmans Five Campsite/Marker 49
• Section 9/M: Marker 49/East End of Big Lostmans Bay
• Section 10/L: East End of Big Lostmans Bay/Willy Willy Campsite or Rodgers River Chickee
• Section 11/K: Willy Willy Campsite or Rodgers River Chickee/Marker 26
• Section 12/J: Marker 26/Camp Lonesome or Broad River Campsite
• Section 13/I: Broad River Campsite & Highland Beach Excursion
• Section 14/H: Broad River Campsite/Harney River Chickee via The Nightmare
• Section 15/G: Harney River Chickee/Marker 9 or Canepatch Campsite
• Section 16/F: Marker 9 or Canepatch Campsite/Shark River Chickee
• Section 17/E: Shark River Chickee/Oyster Bay Chickee
• Section 18/D: Oyster Bay Chickee/Joe River Chickee
• Section 19/C: Joe River Chickee/South Joe River Chickee
• Section 20/B: South Joe River Chickee/Tarpon Creek
• Section 21/A: Tarpon Creek/Flamingo
• Map 22: The Historical Route

Part Two: North Everglades Day & Overnight Paddles

• Plan Ahead
• Day Paddles—Everglades City Area
• Halfway Creek/Turner River Loop
• Lopez River Route
• Sandfly Island
• Sandfly Island Loop
• Smallwood Store Loop
• Overnight Paddles—Everglades City Area
• Hurddles Creek Loop
• Indian Key Pass
• Jewell Key

Part Three: South Everglades Day & Overnight Paddles

• Plan Ahead
• Day Paddles— Flamingo Area
• Bear Lake Canoe Trail
• Mud Lake Canoe Trail
• Nine Mile Pond
• Noble Hammock Canoe Trail
• Overnight Paddles— Flamingo Area
• Hells Bay Canoe Trail
• Johnson Key
• Shark Point
• South Joe River
• West Lake to Alligator Creek

Part Four: Summer Paddling

Part Five: The Campsites

Part Six: Everglades Flora, Fauna, People, & Places

Appendix 1: Checklist

Appendix 2: Launch Sites

Appendix 3: Outfitters, Suppliers, & Canoe/Kayak Rentals

Appendix 4: Resource Overview

Appendix 5: Internet Resources

Appendix 6: Suggested Reading

Appendix 7: Wilderness Waterway GPS Coordinates

Index

Map legend

About the Authors

Everglades North & South Day & Overnight Paddles

Overview Map