Photo Credit: Bonnie Gross

Summer is already here and we will soon be celebrating July 4th. It’s hard to believe that fall is around the corner. We hope you will take a moment to peruse our schedule, and we hope to see you on the water during our 2023-2024 season!

In November, we will be visiting Fisheating Creek as part of our Fall on the Peace trip. Bonnie Gross with Florida Rambler does a great job of describing her experience. We are very excited that we were able to add this to our Peace River trip!

Did you know that a million seagrass plants have been placed in the Crystal River ecosystem since 2014 in a complex process that included first having individual scuba divers vacuum up muck and decaying vegetation on the bottom? It has apparently been very successful. Please take a moment to read this inspiring success story

Included in this issue are: "Legendary Fisheating Creek: Kayak trail lives up to hype, but timing is everything" by Bonnie Gross; "Crystal River is making a comeback and the manatees are loving it" by Florida Rambler; Wildlife and Birding on Fisheating Creek; and How to Use Landmarks for Kayak Navigation.

Enjoy your summer! We'll see you on the water soon.

Legendary Fisheating Creek: Kayak trail lives up to hype, but timing is everything

For decades, I have wanted to kayak Fisheating Creek, which is just west of Lake Okeechobee.

The problem: For 10 years, the stream was closed to kayaks and canoes because it was in private hands. During that time (1989-1998) Fisheating Creek achieved legendary status. (Isn’t that how prohibition works? Forbid it and we want it even more?)

But since the state purchased the creek lands in 1998, the biggest challenge to Fisheating Creek kayak trips has been fluctuating water level. In the summer, when Florida is hot and buggy, water levels are high enough to kayak Fisheating Creek. When the weather cools and the mosquitos subside, water levels plummet.

 [Read More…]

Kings Bay is awash in seagrass. It floats in green mats on the surface. Kayakers sling it away with their paddles. It hangs on boat lines like strands of pasta drying in the sun. Tourists swoosh it away with their pool noodles while watching Crystal River’s most famous residents – the manatees.

Kings Bay, the spring-fed headwaters of Crystal River, about 80 miles north of Tampa, has sea grass in such abundance that visitors cannot help but comment. Some marvel at it.

“You just don’t see this anywhere else,” said Gwen Hamlin of Tarpon Springs, who recently sailed her catamaran, “Tackless Too,” into Kings Bay for a few days of kayaking and relaxing.   [Read more…]

Fisheating Creek is an area abundant with wildlife. Wildlife along the Creek include whitetail deer, turtles, wild hogs, black bear, otter and some of the biggest alligators you’ll ever see. Florida panthers have also been spotted. 

[Read More …]

Get your very own Camp Coffee Mug! $20 to help support our environmentally friendly dish program

How To: Use Landmarks for Kayak Navigation

Click here for the article.