This trip to Weeki Wachee was not quite as good as it could have been, not that there is anything wrong with the river just the timing was off. Just me and my wife went not our group is normal.Weeki Wachee is one of those places where when the waterpark is open the parking lot gets crowded. Between the mermaid show in the waterpark it can be very hard to find a place to park. Not to mention that Rogers Park is also a place with limited parking.

So we arrived at Rogers Park to drop off the car to drive us back, and there is no place to park at Rogers Park. I went and drove around to find a new point to park at. After some driving around I found another park down the street named Jenkins Park. This park seemed like it might be possible to paddle to Rogers Park. So we left the car at Jenkins Park and went back to the canoe outpost, drop the kayaks off and then tried to park. After some time trying to park I decided to swap the truck for the car and try to park the car at the canoe outpost. The car is a little bit smaller than the truck and easier to park. Not too long after getting back I was able to park the car.

Then we pay the five dollars launch fee and started paddling down the river the first thing that you notice with a late start is there's more people. Then he also run into the tour boats that are going up and down the river. But as you get down the river a little ways your away from them. At that point the tour boats are gone. The rest of the trip downriver all the way to Rogers Park went as expected there was a great trip. Once we got to Rogers Park we paddled by the park in paddle down the canals that the river changes into. My intentions were to paddle out into the salt marsh and around up to Jenkins Park. Not paddling this area before and looking the GPS we turned up one of the inlets that look like would get us to Jenkins Park. This turned out to be a mess reached a point where we could not even paddle and the ground was so mucky you could hardly walk. The trip was turning into a disaster it was hot, we were running out of water and it was getting late. So we turned around and started paddling back to Rogers Park and I was going to hike from Rogers Park to Jenkins Park to pick the truck up. On the way back we turned on one of the canals and as we paddled up the canal I realize it was the wrong one. But there was a canal that followed the road all the way up to Jenkins Park and that's were heading. As returned and headed towards Jenkins Park we came across a stream that went off to the right. This was big enough that we could do paddled down and I was not sure where it went, so we went and continue to paddle down the canal alongside the road. We finally got to Jenkins Park and to get out there was a steep embankment and no place to pull off the side of the road to pick up the kayaks. Not feeling like carrying the kayaks 50 yards to the truck. I pulled the truck alongside the road and related the kayaks Park Said half out of the road. As we closed up the truck it was just getting dark and we were happy to be back in the truck.

This trip not be in the best one we've ever taken, but I would say one of the worst. This trip had good parts as well as bad parts. And the good ones outweigh the bad ones. Weeki Wachee is one of those places where starting early is best. What is nice about starting early is you can take your time and spend the full day on the river. Weeki Wachee because of the Clearwater is hard to be. Lot of people like it because the cool water keeps alligators away and there's always a chance of seeing a manatee.

The key points to remember about Weeki Wachee is they have canoe and kayak rentals, the water is always great, they offer pickup and there's other people around. The only downside to Weeki Wachee is the five dollar launch fee, the people and if you are being picked up you have to be to Rogers Park by 3 PM. The amount of people around has its good points and bad points everybody coming down the river is in a party atmosphere and is out having a good time. If you like quiet peaceful float trips this is not what you have here. Wildlife is not too abundant but you can see some birds and you have a good chance of seeing manatees.

Weeki Wachee is a river that is well worth doing the five dollar launch fee is very minimal and the canoe outpost is pretty nice.

Questions about a river in Central Florida

If you have questions about a river in Central Florida go to High Mountain Campings contact page and send us an email and we will try to help

Trip from River Hills Park to lettuce Lake Park

Made a trip on the Hillsborough River from River Hills Park just upriver from the dam to lettuce Lake Park. The trip was good. This trip I made myself and was alone. This section of the Hillsborough River is pretty populated. It's like kayaking through people's backyard. There is sections that is vacant property. Was able to see some birds is I paddled down but very little wildlife. Did see a few alligators. The gators are pretty common on the Hillsborough River. It is great that they have made such a comeback. I made trips along this river when I was a kid and you could see numerous gators. As I got older it got to the point where you did not see any alligators. Along this section of the river there is still a lot to see. You go through areas of cypress trees. Where you have to weave your way through. There are sections that are wide open with very little shade. It was a nice trip as I went up the river but what I turn to come back the weather started getting bad. As I paddled back I saw a black cloud coming. I knew I was not getting around it. When it started raining the rain was cold and I have forgotten my hat. The only good thing is that I was going downstream. When I made it back to the truck I had quite a bit of water in the kayak from the rain.

This section is still a nice trip but the area upriver from lettuce Lake is much more secluded. I like the area up from lettuce Lake for this reason. There are plenty of areas to fish. This section is open and easy paddle.