Canoe/kayaking in west central Florida
Ephiny(Co30)
"volume II, central and south peninsula" by Lou Glaros & Doug Sphar
It covers the streams you mention and many more,maps decriptions etc.
<paddlersrest@-nospam.org> wrote in message
news:x4K17.10994$Kf3.1...@www.newsranger.com...
> I am looking for anyone who is familiar with the creeks that feed the
Little
> Manatee or the Alafia rivers and information on these two rivers. Anyone
know of
> where to find a good source of river and creek maps for Florida? Prefer
narrower
> and scenic as opposed to wide and crowded with motorboats. I just moved to
St.
> Petersburg and am looking for quality day trips.
>
>
Mark Hickey
>I am looking for anyone who is familiar with the creeks that feed the Little
>Manatee or the Alafia rivers and information on these two rivers. Anyone know of
>where to find a good source of river and creek maps for Florida? Prefer narrower
>and scenic as opposed to wide and crowded with motorboats. I just moved to St.
>Petersburg and am looking for quality day trips.
It's been a million years or so (or probably 20) but I used to live
right off the Alafia in what's now South Brandon. Great little river!
Lots of twisty, technical turns in the top part, and a slow, pleasant
finish. It gets pretty boring if you go much past where I used to
live though... (just off Kings Avenue).
IIRC, we did about 20 miles from the put in to the dock down the
street (again, off King's Avenue where Alafia Blvd turns to the
right). Can't remember where we put in exactly, but it shouldn't be
too hard to find someone who does know.
Enjoy!
Mark Hickey
Marcos
> where to find a good source of river and creek maps for Florida?
I realize you were asking about a very particular area of Florida, but
I thought you might like to know of paddling guidebooks for all parts
of Florida as well. I think this is a fairly exhaustive list. If
anyone knows of any other Florida paddling guidebooks or maps, I would
appreciate the info.
I have 9 or 10 of these; I can provide xeroxes of the ones that are in
the public domain. Here they are:
American Camping Association, Canoe Trips in Florida, American Camping
Association [1970].
Anderson, Robert, Canoeing Florida, Volume 1: The Panhandle, Winner
Ent, 1990.
Anderson, Robert, Canoeing Florida, Volume 2: The Northern Peninsula,
Winner Ent, 1990.
Anderson, Robert, Canoeing Florida, Volume 3: The Southern Peninsula,
Winner Ent, 1990.
Bergen, Bernice Brooks, Carefree Canoeing in Florida, Gulf Publ, 1997.
Boy Scouts of America, Central Florida Backcountry: A guide to
camping, hiking and canoeing, Central Florida Council of the Boy
Scouts of America, 1983.
Burmeister, Walter, Appalachian Water Volume 2: Maryland, Virginia,
West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia,
South Carolina and Florida, Canoe Cruisers Association, 1962, MHC.
Canoe Guide to the Suwannee, Withlacoochee and Alapaha Rivers, [1970].
Carter, Elizabeth F, and John L Pearce, A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide
to the Streams of Florida, Volume 1, Menasha Ridge Press, 1985, MHC.
Carter, Elizabeth F, Down River Canoeing in Florida's Big Bend,
Downriver Canoeing, 1985.
Council, Clyde, Suwanee Country: A canoeing, boating and recreational
guide to Florida's immortal Suwannee River, self-published, 1976.
DeLorge, John O, West Florida Canoe Trail Guide: Perdido River
Blackwater River and tributaries, Yellow and Shoal Rivers, Econfina
River and Holmes Creek, Recreational Publ, 1978.
Everglades Natural History Association, Everglades National Park Canoe
Trail Guide, Everglades Natural History Association.
Everglades Natural History Association, The Wilderness Waterway,
Everglades Natural History Association.
Farron, Richard, Big Bend Outdoors: A detailed guide to canoeing,
camping, hiking, biking and more in Florida's Big Bend region,
Woodland Productions, 1994.
Florida Department of Natural Resources, Guide to Florida Canoe
Trails, Florida Department of Natural Resources, [1980].
Florida Department of Natural Resources Division of Recreation and
Parks, Florida Canoe Trail Guide, Florida Department of Natural
Resources Division of Recreation and Parks, 1973.
Florida Department of Natural Resources, Florida Canoe Trail Guide
1973 Supplement, Florida Department of Natural Resources, 1974.
Glaros, Lou, and Doug Sphar, A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to the
Streams of Florida, Vol 2: The central and southern peninsula, Menasha
Ridge Press, 1987.
Kalma, Dennis, Boat and Canoe Camping in the Everglades Backcountry
and Ten Thousand Islands Region, Flair Books, 1988.
Marks, Henry and Gene Britt Riggs, Rivers of Florida, Southern Press,
1974.
Scalpone, Joan Lundquist, Mini-maxi Trails Florida: Hike paths, canoe
trails, horse trails, biking, geo photo sites, Mini-Day Trip Books,
1997.
Toner, Mike and Pat Toner, Florida by Paddle and Pack, Banyan Books,
1979.
Trails Illustrated, Everglades National Park, Florida: Hiking and
canoeing trails, Trails Illustrated, 1995.
Truesdell, William, Guide to Wilderness Waterways of the Everglades
National Park, University of Miami, 1969.
United States Forest Service, Canoeing the National Forests in
Florida, United States Department of Agriculture, 1990.
United States Forest Service, Canoeing Your Appalachicola, Osceola,
and Ocala National Forests, United States Department of Agriculture,
[1980].
-marcos
Galen Hekhuis
(Florida). alva...@kayakguide.com is the guy who runs the site, and a
pretty nice guy besides.
Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA ghek...@earthlink.net
They killed his mother, they burned his forest, he's back, and he's pissed
Bambo!
Ephiny(Co30)
you just lit my fire!If I remember correctly this area is restricted,no
motorized
traffic.Ahhhh no gadflies on wave runners!!!!!! Heavenly silence!!!
gladerunner <sta...@tampabay.rr.com> wrote in message
news:mvgsktk6o1li69gqe...@4ax.com...
> if you don't mind saltwater paddling, try heading out to Cockroach Bay
> Preserve just south of Ruskin. Go south on I-275 across the Skyway and
> get off at Exit 1. Go north on 41 for almost exactly 9 miles until you
> see a Circle K store on the right. Cockroach Bay Blvd. is right across
> the road on the left. Follow this straight out for a couple of miles
> and it ends at the boat ramp. There are a number of marked canoe
> trails here if you go south from the boat ramp, in an area I like to
> call the South Maze (the trail markers will keep you from getting
> lost). It's more open to the north, where it eventually meets the
> mouth of the Little Manatee (good snook fishing up here). This is a
> wonderful place for paddling - I've spent the last 9 years paddling
> Cockroach and I've never gotten tired of it.
Paddle...@no-spam.org
says...
>
>On Fri, 13 Jul 2001 02:49:23 GMT,
"Ephiny(Co30)"
><Ama...@rivercamp.com> wrote:
>
>
>>If I remember correctly
this area is restricted,no
>>motorized
>>traffic.Ahhhh no gadflies on wave
runners!!!!!! Heavenly silence!!!
>>
>
restricted, but most of it is
>open to motorboats, although i have yet to see
any jet skis. there are
>even a few spots where boats of -any- kind are
restricted (seagrass
>protection areas), including canoes and kayaks. you'll see
a lot of
>motorboats launching at the ramp on a weekend. even so, most
bigger
>boats tend to stay out on the bay side, and the backwaters
are
>relatively quiet, even on weekends, since it's generally too
shallow
>and/or narrow for anything but paddlecraft. the area I call the
'South
>Maze' is literally just that - an elaborate network of twisty,
skinny
>trails and mangrove tunnels that you can spend a day exploring
without
>seeing the same water twice.
>>What are all you folk using down here
in the way of recreation kayaks? I am a former rr from the north east and know
my way around canoes and whitewater rafting but the few times I have rented
kayaks here I loved it. I am not that interested in saltwater paddling unless it
is the marshes and more serene paddling, so I know I will try the Cockroach Bay
soon myself. I prefer the rivers and swamps..in other words, you won't find me
island hopping in the Gulf. I have kids so a tandem would be the way to go and I
really like the way the Dagger Drift can be paddled solo by seat adjustment, but
I admit I have not tried it yet. Not real knowledgeable on kayaks. The
occasional overnight trip may occur, but mostly river running and our rivers are
pretty flat and calm except for the flood stages which I have taken advantage of
twice this week thanks to heavy rains. Any comparable suggestions on tandem
kayaks anyone?