Exploring Florida - Kayaking The Waccasassa & Wekiva Rivers

Living in Florida we are pretty blessed to be surrounded by water, giving us mulitple oppourtunities to explore. Whether you like the Ocean or Gulf or rivers or lakes, Florida has it all. We just recently got a pair of kayaks and have enjoyed not only scouting for launch spots but exploring areas you wouldn't normally get to see.

On this kayaking adventure we decided to put in at the public boat ramp on the Waccasassa River located in Levy County, off of county road 326. This boat ramp gets quite a bit of action with people putting in and going down river to the Gulf of Mexico. Kayaking on a river means there is a current, so we put in and went up river as to do all the hard paddling first and then the return trip is basically letting the current take you back.

Our destination is the clear waters of the Wekiva river, located up the Waccasassa river a ways. Neither the Waccasassa or the Wekiva are very wide and in some places the Wekiva gets very shallow. The water of the Waccasassa is a dark brown but the Wekiva is clear as can be and you can see fish swimming under you as you paddle around. On this trip we saw a few deer eating along the banks and lots of owls. We paddled for about two hours up river till we got tired and the river got narrower and the current was stronger. Eventually the Wekiva ends at a spring that is closed to the public because they bottle water there. There are a few houses along the river but for the most part it's just nature, the way it was years and years ago.

One thing that really interested me was this old boat and boat house. It looked like the boat was parked fifty years ago and never touched since! There was also a neat old house along with it and a wonderful sea wall with docking cleats on it. You could really tell that at one time this place was centered around the rivers. The river must have been a lot deeper at one point in time, this boat is way to large to get down this river now! It's amazing how time can change water levels and the lay of the land. There was another large boat house we had passed as well which again leads me to believe that this river was deeper at one point in time.

This kayaking trip on the Waccasassa River was filled with nature and enjoying the Old Florida. If you are going to plan a kayaking trip here I would make sure you bring a snack and plenty of water. Don't forget the sunscreen either! Keep in mind that Florida has those pesky afternoon thunderstorms that tend to pop up in the summer, so if you are planning a trip keep a close eye on the weather. You wouldn't want to be two miles up river with a thunderstorm brewing! Kayaking is great exercise and really can take you some places that not many other people have been. So get out there and enjoy nature and make some memories! Just remember...take only pictures..leave only footprints!

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