I love Silver Springs in central Florida. The variety of tropical shore birds is wonderful. The stream gets enough traffic that the birds are somewhat used to humans and don't spook easily. The entire river is a no wake zone so even though there are power boats, there are not many and they tend to be moving slowly. There is a large rhesus monkey colony along the river and they are very photogenic. Keep your distance however as they will try to get into your boat and they are NOT as friendly/cute as they look. Of course there are a fair number of gators as well. When you get to the headspring be prepared to be part of the tourist show at the Silver Springs attraction. You're not allowed to exit your boat at the theme park however you can pull up to the bulkhead and ask one of the tourists to get you an ice cream.
What do you get when one of the monkeys falls into the alligor infested river?
Rhesus pieces.
Marc Ornstein
Dogpaddle Canoe Works
Custom Freestyle Paddles and Cedarstrip Canoes