I have had a lot of requests for more detail on my recent trip to paddle the Suwannee River...so here it is. Pictures of the trip are at http://community.webshots.com/user/johnsonkw1-date Suwannee River Trip: 3/15/04 to 3/22/04 Sunday 3/14 Left Corpus Christi TX at 3am..arrived at Jeanerette (471 miles) at 11am (8 hr drive) Stayed at Donovan Garcia's home. Packed my kayak and gear in his Truck/camper and after a good night's sleep, we left at 3am Monday Monday 3/15 3am departure, then met Dale (from New Orleans) in his new Van at the Mississippi boarder. Then drove together in the two vehicles to the Stephen Foster State Park in White Springs, FLA. Arrived about 4pm. River was very high (56 feet) and fast (3-4 mph). Stopped by the American Canoe Adventures, 10610 Bridge Street, White Springs, FL 386-397-1309 e-mail address: aca1.com) just as they were closing for 2 days. Fellow at the store was new, knew nothing about the river, and fortunately we were able to pick up what turned out to be a critically important folder/brochure (Upper Suwannee & Withlacoochee Rivers: Boating, Canoeing & Recreation Guide, put out by the Suwannee Canoe Outpost, 2461 95th Drive, Live Oak, FL 32060 386-364-4991 or 1-800-428-4147) which showed all the many boat ramps and canoe launches on the rivers, along with a pretty good map showing how to get to each. We knew there were shoals on the Suwannee just before White Springs that had a 500' portage (recommended loaded canoes and kayaks not try this section), and then read of the Little Shoals about a mile later that had no portage. Couldn't find anyone who knew the river to give us some pointers/advice, so set up camp at the Stephen Foster State Park ($15 site with elec & water for 3 of us and our 2 vehicles), had dinner, studied the guide, and then decided rather than plunge into the 125 mile paddle from Fargo, GA to Branford, FLA, we would check out the river the next day with a safe paddle from the 1st boat launch above Hwy 6 to the boat launch just before the shoals. 12 mile paddle, no need to load up the kayaks. (BLSR <on west side of river> to TOS <on east side of river> waypoints as shown below). Had heavy rains that night as we slept in the truck camper and Van. Were concerned about a high raging river the next day. Park has beautiful grounds and impressive memorial buildings. Tuesday 3/16: Drove from Park at White Springs up Hwy 135 to Hwy 6, then east on Hwy 6 to Hwy 441, then south on Hwy 441 to Loan Bridge Road (sand road), then west to the TOS Boat Ramp on the river. Left one vehicle, then retraced our steps up to Hwy 135 and Hwy 6, and from that intersection drove north on NE 180 Blvd (narrow sand road through the woods) to the BLSR Boat Ramp to launch. Kayaks averaged 4.5 mph, canoe 3 mph. Did the 12 mile paddle with no problems. Very remote and wooded. Used the vehicle at the take out to go back and pick up the vehicle at the put in, then back to take out to pick up the kayaks, then back to camp for dinner and hikes around the park. Analyzed the river guide again and decided to take simple one day shuttles to do the rest of the river rather than do the entire river in one shuttle and have to pack camping gear. With the river as high as it was, we were unsure whether there would be adequate places to camp on the river. Decided to do the 44 mile section of the river between the Stephen Foster Park and the Suwannee River State Park.described as the most beautiful section of the river with many beautiful white beaches for camping. Planned on going from Stephen Foster State Park to the Spirit of Suwannee Music Center Park which was about half way and had the Canoe Outpost outfitters there where we could get more information on the river. Then the next day we could paddle to the Suwannee River State Park. Spent our second night at Stephen Foster State Park, and planned to leave early the next morning to check out the next park where we would leave one vehicle. Wednesday 3/17: Got up early, checked out of the Stephen Foster State Park and drove to Spirit of Suwannee Music Center Park. Ooops..huge music festival there that week and $125 per site per night. They wanted $4 per vehicle just to get in the gate to drive down to Canoe Outpost just to ask questions. Decided to forget that.went to the Hwy 129 bridge where it crosses the Suwannee. Donovan spotted a small rough dirt road that went down to the river. Left one vehicle there (SRTO waypoint below), then drove back to White Springs to launch. It is reported they have a good canoe launch site at Stephen Foster State Park, but we couldn't find it, and instead used the Boat Ramp we had seen in town on Hwy 41 just south of Hwy 136 (no GPS waypoint, but it is easy to find and marked from the highway). Launched and paddled the 22 miles to the other vehicle at the Hwy 129 bridge (22 miles). Drove back to the launch point to pick up the other vehicle, then back to the Hwy 129 bridge to camp for free that night. Thursday 3/18: Got up early, launched Dale in his canoe in the early morning low-laying fog, then Donovan and I did the 2 vehicle shuttle to Suwannee River State Park (SRTO2 waypoint below). Got back to bridge in about an hour and launched about 1.5 hours behind Dale. Beautiful section of the river. Met 2 men from Toronto, Canada, camping on a sandy beach who had paddled the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia and then were paddling all the way to the Suwannee River State Park. Next met two kayakers who were from Vermont and paddling the 44 mile section of the river between the two state parks. Arrived at Suwannee State Park mid afternoon, got a campsite for 2 nights ($15 per nite again for the 3 of us) and then picked up the other vehicle at the bridge. Late that afternoon we hiked some of the fantastic trails throughout the park, had dinner, and planned for the next day's paddle from the Suwannee River State Park south to Dowling Park. We selected the Boat Launch just north of Dowling Park on the west side of the river (SRTO3 waypoint below) which provided us with a 22 mile paddle. Friday 3/19: Drove both vehicles to the take out. From park drove west on Hwy 90, taking River Road (west of river) south to the takeout (SRTO3) at Mill Creek South. Very narrow soft sandy road through woods. No people.no cars. Left one vehicle, returned to the park, and launched on the river about 10am. This section of the river was a little wider, had a few motor boats, and was not as pretty as the section between the two parks, but a great 22 mile paddle nevertheless. Did the shuttle to get both vehicles back to the State Park. More hiking and exploring.great wooded park. Saturday 3/20: Decided to do the Withlacooche River West that joins the Suwannee River at the Suwannee River State Park. Finally figured out we could get all boats on one vehicle (duhh.Donovan's truck/camper with 2 kayaks on roof rack, and canoe in camper) so only had to take one vehicle with kayaks up to launch site (WRBL waypoint below). Very pretty river, lots of rocks and rapids but water level was high enough that with a little caution I was able to get my fiberglass kayak through with no rock contact or scratches. What looked like a 14 mile paddle turned out to be a 19 mile paddle. Had to paddle about 1,000 feet upstream from where the river meets the Suwannee to the Suwannee River State Park boat ramp. No problem if you stayed close to the shore, but our 4-5 mph speed decreased to 0-3 mph. Sunday 3/21: Decided to go up to Fargo, GA, and do the most remote part of the river down to Hwy 6 just before White Springs. Launched in Fargo where they are building a magnificent new Visitor Center and Condo-Convention Center complex. Had a great breakfast at a small restaurant just before town, and then paddled from down the river (FARGO launch, FTO take out waypoints below). About a 22 mile paddle. Very remote, beautiful, with only very few campsites. The two canoers from Toronto had told us they passed up one campside hoping to find a better one, and had to put up with a space barely able to hold their canoe because it was getting dark. There are a few more campsites during low water seasons. Camped the night at the FTO Boat Launch (2nd one north of Hwy 6) and then left for home early the next morning. Actually Dale wanted to do one more day of paddling in his solo canoe, so we dropped off his car at Hwy 6 (again small dirt road from the highway to the river) so he could squeeze in another 12 mile paddle. Paddle was fantastic, and except for first night's rain and boggy threats of rain for the remainder of the week, we had beautiful sunny paddling weather. We were able to see some of the earlier spring flowering trees, but about 1 or 2 weeks later everything would have been green and flowering. It was beautiful nevertheless. Great trip.recommend it highly to anyone. But make sure you get the River Guide (I think you can order it by phone) and check river height and current (website for ACA) in advance. Except for very high water as we had, might be best to take a plastic kayak if you do the Suwannee River Shoals and the Withlacoochee River. Easy to avoid the shoals area on the Suwannee and the river is deep everywhere else. We never made the last 20 miles to Branford, nor to the actual town of Dowling Park which has a charming town center dock right on the river..next time. Did about 100 river miles, but think next time now that we know what we are doing, would do a shuttle with American Canoe Adventures for the entire 125 miles (about $85). Car mileages: Corpus Christi TX to Fargo, GA 1057 miles Fargo GA to Branford FL 63 miles BLSR 16-MAR-04 09:24 N30 31.472 W82 43.687 TOS 16-MAR-04 14:13 N30 26.712 W82 40.281 SRTO 17-MAR-04 08:16 N30 23.906 W82 56.246 SRTO2 18-MAR-04 07:25 N30 23.263 W83 10.134 SRTO3 19-MAR-04 08:20 N30 15.672 W83 14.293 WRBL 20-MAR-04 08:44 N30 30.068 W83 14.534 FARGO 21-MAR-04 N30 40.924 W82 33.983 FTO 21-MAR-04 06:55 N30 33.846 W82 43.502 BRANFORD US 129 N29 57.542 W82 55.751 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). 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