Paddling the Weeki Wachee River

The Weeki Wachee River runs about seven miles from the spring to the Gulf at Bayport, and for most of that distance you can see the bottom. It is one of the best paddles in this part of Florida and it is busy for exactly that reason.

The current only goes one way

This is the thing that catches people out. The river flows steadily from the spring toward the Gulf, and it is strong enough that paddling back upstream against it is genuinely hard work. Plan a one way trip with a shuttle or a livery pickup rather than assuming you will paddle out and back.

Rogers Park, off Shoal Line Boulevard, is the common downstream take out. Liveries operating on the river handle the shuttle for you, which is the simplest option if it is your first time.

Launching has changed

Access to the upper river has been actively managed in recent years in response to crowding and to erosion on the banks. Rules about where you may launch, whether you may bring your own vessel to the state park, and how many boats are allowed have all been adjusted more than once.

Getting out of the boat

Standing on the riverbed and trampling the vegetation is the single biggest source of damage here, and it is why restrictions keep tightening. There are designated spots to stop. Use those, stay in your boat elsewhere, and the river stays open for everyone.

What you will see

Turtles, mullet, gar, herons and ospreys are routine. In colder months manatees come up the river for the warm spring water, and when they are present you are required to give them space and let them pass. Do not chase, touch or ride them. It is both illegal and a good way to injure an animal that has come here to survive the cold.

Cover photo: Gzuraski / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Source.