You may be shocked. I'm a former 'Gator and did lots of paddling in that area years ago. Things have changed horribly. There has been a spate of water withdrawals from the aquifers there with no regulation at all. Photos I've recently seen show the Santa Fe as a trickle. I too know that river well and have camped along it. Also the Itchtucknee (which is now a state park and has 'seasons'). A lot of springs seem not to have fared well either. Those along the Santa Fe are heavily commercialized and often trashy. Camping's possible along the Suwannee. The places I always liked were Alexander and Juniper Springs in Ocala National Forest, Hillsborough River near Tampa/St. Pete, The Wekiva River North of Orlando, and parts of the WeekiWachee river. The Silver River (& silver springs) is nowhere near as good as it once was... All these are daytrips and need a shuttle. There's a book I ran across recently on "Soft Paddling in Florida" which has useful information and there is an outfitter's association with a website. I would also recommend googling Mark Renz and browsing his blog. He's a photographer/amateur paleontologist down near LaBelle, but wanders all over... Joe Pylka Hopewell, NJ -----Original Message----- >From: E Sullivan <sullied33_at_hotmail.com> >Sent: Jan 30, 2013 11:54 AM >To: paddle wise <paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net> >Subject: [Paddlewise] Florida Springs Paddle? > >Paddlewisers, Returning to my ancestral home in Florida (Hollywood!) and >looking for a paddle trip upstate involving springs. In the distant past I've >canoed on the Santa Fe river and camped at will next to lovely little springs. >Anybody have any insider info? We're looking for a short trip, a night or two >out. We will probably do a round trip, as we'll be just one vehicle. We'd also >entertain several day paddles not too far apart. Withlacoochee? Ocala? Thanks >y'all *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Jan 30 2013 - 13:11:48 PST
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