Kayaking Silver Springs…Spectacular!
When our family decided to purchase our own kayaks five years ago, I honestly had no idea there were so many beautiful places in my home state of Florida to paddle. After consulting maps around the southeast for flatwater kayaking opportunities my eyes have been opened to just how many rivers and lakes exist for this type of exploration.
Florida is a flatwater dream of a vast array of crystal clear springs with gentle currents, manatees, and a steady 72 degree environment all year. Until a few years ago, my experience with the springs in our area was through scuba and cave diving–another post for another day! Some of our springs flow into darker rivers (like the Santa Fe river) and some springs produce rivers that stay clear (and are often fed by more springs). One such river is the Silver River in Ocala, Florida.
Kayaking near the head spring of the Silver River in Ocala, FL
Our family has a tradition to include kayaking together on the itinerary anytime our daughter visits us on her college breaks. We chose the Silver River. This river originates in Silver Springs, which has been a tourist attraction since the 1820’s and opened as a public park in 1987 under the name Silver River State Park. In 2013, management was acquired by the Florida Park Service and the name was changed to Silver Springs State Park. The river is crystal-clear, and both wide and deep enough for two boats and four kayaks to pass at the same time in some parts. Visitors are not permitted to swim or scuba in the river, but enjoying it from a kayak doesn't diminish the experience by any means. The front-row seat to an array of wildlife in and along the river makes the serene river the amusement park of natural water experiences.
Our family dog, Georgia, also enjoying a day on the river
It’s common to see manatees swimming in the river and breaching to come up for air. These gentle and massive creatures are really amazing to watch, even if it is from the surface of the water. They are playful and meditative, and often can be seen with their young. Fortunately, the water is so clear that you can see them swimming under your kayak!
Watching a manatee from above
Manatees are mammals, so they have to come up for air, which makes for a good photo opp
Gators are somewhat of a common sight along the Silver River
I’m commonly asked in comments on my social media posts of my kayak outings if I see alligators. The questions seem to be centered around concern and even fear, but I cherish the opportunity to see a gator while paddling. On the rivers I paddle near my house I do see one from time to time, but it is rare. And contrary to popular belief, they won’t swim to your kayak and try to eat you alive! The gators recline on the banks of a river and enjoy the day just like the visitors. The Silver River, however, is a bit different in that I will usually spot at least two or three gators, as we did on our recent outing.
What makes the Silver River unique to just about any other place I kayak is that there are monkeys along the river. Yes, monkeys! There is a population of 300+ rhesus macaque monkeys that reside in the woods of Silver Springs and along the river. There are false rumors (that I actually believed until doing some research recently) that these monkeys were left from filming Tarzan movies. Although this area was a Tarzan filming location, the monkeys were released almost 100 years ago by a jungle boat captain to promote tourism. The monkeys can be quite elusive. There have been trips where I spot several groups of them, and there are trips, such as our recent one, where we do not see a single one. When they are spotted, visitors need to keep their distance, as many of them carry viruses that are harmful to humans.
Monkeys roam the woods along the Silver River but were hiding from us on this outing
Monkeys spotted on a prior kayaking trip to Silver Springs
My wife enjoying her day on the Silver River
And now on to our family’s recent kayak trip to Silver Springs! This was a great way to wrap up our holiday break. We needed one last family adventure together before being apart from my daughter as she dove into another college semester. On this trip, as we usually do when we kayak the Silver River, we dropped off our kayaks at Silver Springs State Park, which has a very nice launch area and is worth the fee paid to launch (it also helps that we have a family state park pass, which reduces the fees). I typically take our vehicle with the kayak trailer to our take-out point, Ray Wayside Park and then I grab a shuttle or Uber back to the state park. However, on this trip, since my daughter was driving back to college, she was able to drive me from the take-out point back to the launch area, saving some cash on a shuttle. It’s the least she could do for us supporting her in college, right?!
The head spring of Silver Springs
Although the launch area can be crowded, as it was on this trip, once the boat dips into the water the crowds thin and nature is yours to enjoy! We were fortunate to have a beautiful weather day. We paddled around the head spring for about 10 minutes, which I would highly recommend. At the head spring, if you look carefully, you’ll spot some Greek statues that are props left from the old TV series ‘I Spy‘. It’s also here that I REALLY wish I were permitted to get out of my kayak and snorkel, as doing so would be absolutely spectacular. But hey, I’ll enjoy it any way I can. Also at the head spring you’ll also see the glass-bottom boat tours coming and going…another great way to enjoy this river.
Once we started down-river, we immediately started spotting manatees. In fact, I think I saw more on this trip than I ever have. Since our trip was following the current, we were free to take our time and enjoy the river while paddling at a relaxing pace. My daughter and I brought our big cameras (something that takes some concentration while kayaking) and enjoyed slowing down to take some photos of the trip. I chose to paddle my sit-on-top kayak to give me a bit more stability and freedom to move around and take pictures. It was actually the first time using this kayak in about a year, as I usually like the speed and tracking of my sit-inside sea kayak. The sit-on-top definitely wanders around more in the current, which took some getting used to. The trip down-river to Ray Wayside park is six miles, and we enjoyed every minute of it.
Since the Silver River is spring-fed, the water is crystal clear
After the day of kayaking my daughter headed off for college and my wife, son and I headed to Tijuana Flats, home of some of the best burritos around!
Finishing the day with a burrito at Tijuana Flats
If you’re interested in kayaking the Silver River, you can rent kayaks, canoes and paddle boards in the park. The park does two-hour guided tours or you can choose to go at your own pace for a self-guided tour. Check out their website for more info. Thanks for reading. As always, remember to not just live but explore!
