Kayak, Canoe, Paddle Trails

This is your first step in planning adventures for the coming cooler weather. We’ve paddled dozens of Florida waterways and here’s our pick for the best places to kayak by region plus a few “unsung” favorites we recommend you discover.

Development is creeping up on Spruce Creek and Strickland Bay, but enough has been preserved — for now — to enjoy an awesome day of kayaking. (Watercolor by Stewart Jones)

Paddle Florida is a non-profit that organizes a few paddling trips each year on Florida’s greatest waterways. Limited in size and carefully researched, these trips are great for solo paddlers or folks who appreciate a little support in undertaking a several day paddling and camping trip.

With expansive state parks and a national wildlife refuge plus several attractive county and city facilities, Jupiter offers many excellent places to kayak, hike, bike and learn about native wildlife. Within a two hour drive of 6 million people in South Florida, it’s a good getaway for lovers of the outdoors .

If you think all there is to the Suwanee River is an old song with problematic lyrics, you’re missing out on one of Florida’s greatest kayaking, canoeing and camping rivers.

Peanut Island, reached only by boat in Riviera Beach, has clear turquoise water full of visible sea life. It’s great for a picnic at the beach — even camping. It’s an exceptional county park.

The Calusa Blueway is a 190-mile long paddling trail through the Gulf Coast waters around Fort Myers. It’s not designed to be through-paddled, but it IS designed to be Florida’s best kayak trail. You can get free maps of the various paddling trails sent to you.

If you haven’t experienced Florida’s most famous spring, you’re missing one of the most beautiful spots in Florida. This weekend, Ocali Country Days, a special living-history festival, will re-create the Ocala of the 1800s. Year-round, this park has it all: kayaking, hiking, glass-bottom boat rides, horseback riding and terrific cabins.

Within an hour’s drive of the urban tangle of South Florida, one of Florida’s two nationally designated “wild and scenic” rivers meanders through a spectacularly lovely cypress swamp. Kayak trips range from an hour or two to a strenuous all-day adventure.

Folks who dream of picnicking or even camping on their own little island can do just that quite easily by kayaking the Indian River Lagoon. There are dozens of spoil islands in the lagoon that make great paddling destinations.

A kayak paddle in the nearby waterways is a way to reduce traffic hassles and still experience some of the Fort Lauderdale Air Show April 30-May 1, 2022. Here’s how to do it.

Life doesn’t get much better than a day of kayaking in the Florida Keys. Here are 12 of our favorite outings.

Faver Dykes State Park offers excellent kayaking, productive fishing and woodsy camping just 15 miles from historic St. Augustine.

O’Leno State Park is a Florida treasure. It is here that the Santa Fe River vanishes, only to re-emerge a few miles south to continue its scenic crawl to the Gulf of Mexico.,

Curry Hammock State Park is a hidden island in the Florida Keys near Marathon right off US 1. It has excellent camping and a swimming beach safe for kids. The park offers a kayak trail that is perfect for a short, inexpensive paddling experience. (They rent kayaks and SUPs.)

When it’s chilly, you can see dozens of manatees at this free park. Even without manatees, the Orange River is a beautiful kayak trail through Old Florida scenery.

The Ichetucknee is the most pristine spring run in the state. It has eight major springs, crystalline water, lush jungly vegetation plus plentiful birds and wildlife. It’s a shame that most visitors only experience it as a busy tubing river. It’s a fabulous winter kayaking destination in North Florida — worth a drive!

Mount Dora has a lively downtown and a well-preserved historic district on a pretty lake. It’s a walkable small town with good dining and shopping. What we like just as much: There is great kayaking and biking nearby.