Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida

Weeki Wachee Springs starts at a big Florida State Park famous for mermaids.  Behind the state park, Paddling Adventure rents kayaks to folks to ride the spring waters down to Rodgers Park.  In 2012, we just that.  On the way down stream we met several canoes and kayaks headed upstream.  And that seemed like much more fun, working against the steady  1.5 knot current, then riding the cool waters back to the start.

  So this year we started at Rodgers Park, about 4 miles down from the beginning, and began paddling upstream.

  We started early, because the air was cooler and so we wouldn't have to dodge downstream kayaks.

  The paddle began pleasantly enough, we paddled by an array of canals providing water-access to various neighborhoods.  Along the main river, folks sat out enjoying leisurely Sunday morning coffees while overlooking the river.  If they were annoyed to see paddlers disturbing their breakfasts, they were gracious enough to keep it to themselves.

   But as we reached the edge of the development, where the wider stream capable of hosting motorboats faded into the more natural river we had to work harder.  The current was strong, and the stream narrow.  The edges, where the current should be less, were blocked from our use, either by low branches, or shallow water, which couldn't accommodate our 9 inch fins.

  By about two miles up, beating against the stream had lost its luster, so we turned around and flew back.

Headed downstream, the river is a 3-4 feet deep, not the few inches it appears in this photo

   I did feel that we might not have had the right boats for this adventure.  To keep up our gains against the current we did wind up needing to sit/kneel a good bit of the time.  We wound up doing about 4 miles in total, which is pretty standard for a paddleboard venture, but I knew with kayaks we'd have made it further.
   On the plus side, our boats were very light and we were able to store them inside our van.  Although they weren't ideal for this water, we were able to be on the Weeki Wachee before it was too hot, and before the river was filled with canoes and kayaks headed both directions; and I did feel like I'd put enough effort out to deserve a swift ride downstream.

Fishing boat with 2 dogs.  This was followed closely by 2 canoes, with 2 dogs each. 

Links:
Rodgers Park:  http://www.co.hernando.fl.us/parks_rec/Parks/Park_detail.asp?Key=22
Weeki Wachee Springs State Park http://www.weekiwachee.com/
Paddling Adventure :  http://www.paddlingadventures.com/

Summary:  Launch: 8:45 AM from Rodgers Park, finish 10:30AM   4.2 miles.  Launch from Rodgers Park, fee to use, toilets, picnic area and swimming available.

Florida: Paddling Adventure at Weeki Wachee

Two kayaks run into a bar....

   First thing to know about Paddling Adventures at Weeki Wachee; though they list their hours as 8 AM to 3 PM, you should look further down the webpage.  Below those first hours is a note: if you are renting their boats OR plan to use their shuttle you need to launch by 11:30AM.

  Unfortunately we learned this the hard way, Sunday at 1 PM.  On the plus side we got to see all sorts of kayaks being unloaded from their shuttle service.  Lots of fine looking kayaks take the Weeki Wachee express on the weekends.

  The Weeki Wachee River would be a fun place to bring beginning paddlers.  The water moves swiftly and easily carries the boats along.  Summer is their busiest season, when all 120 boats in their rental fleet will be in the stream.  There is no swimming in the first half mile after the launch.  I get the impression that after that first half mile many people use their kayaks as float toys for a four mile ride.  For the last mile, or so, depending on the tide, they may actually need to paddle. 

Which leads to tip two:  you might want to call ahead for reservations.

Midway, showing the current better

  Paddling Adventures offers canoes, sit on tops and sit insides.  We were given Old Town Vapors which were comfortable enough.  The front deck was a bit high, and my boat had a slow leak (the keel line showed many patches), but for a glide on a river, they were fine.

Sponging out the kayak

The Weeki Wachee river has the beautiful clear blue water Florida springs are known for.  The water was partially shaded by tall trees, though there were also sections of marsh grass.  It also has a plant which looked like a water lettuce growing off to the side.  I saw this particularly near the start, where the water was quite fast-moving. I assumed I'd see more of it later, when the water was slower and the pictures would therefore be in focus.  In fact, I thought I'd see manatees chowing down on this water lettuce and get amazing shots.

Blue heron

  Turns out I didn't see the plant further down.  Also, manatees eat mostly sea grass, though they will eat random plants in their environment and even small invertebrates.  (I swear - at the Homosassas Spring State Wildlife Park the manatees are fed lettuce)  Finally, if it was water lettuce, Florida considers it an invasive weed plant.

Manatees hanging out in a pool

  We did see a couple of manatee hanging out further down stream, lounging off to the side.  By then, the forest lined stream had given way to houses and cottages. 

A cool house below Rogers Park

   We launched at 9:30AM.  It's five and a half miles to the pick up point, and wasn't quite warm enough for swimming. So we arrived at the end point, Rogers Park, well before the first return shuttle was scheduled (noon). Wanting to explore more so we continued on through the development until we happened on coastal marsh.  We were still a mile or so from the gulf, but making it to the grass and palm tree eco-system felt like a good accomplishment.

Coming into the marsh area

   Along our trip we met a few other paddles, all heading up from Rogers Park, four paddlers in wood strip canoes and one paddler in an nckayak.  We'd seen the nckayaker early on, charging up the Weeki Wachee.  And shortly after we returned to Rogers Park to await our shuttle, he paddled in. He'd paddled 11 miles that morning.  Mark helped him load his sparkling green kayak onto his car and they compared break-apart Greenland paddles.  Rogers Park is a very bland park; a dusty lot with a small swimming area, boat launch and restrooms.  However, paddling up the Weeki Wachee River and gliding back down seems like a great way to start any day.

A canoe heading up stream

Kind of a chart with two happy paddlers in front