Paddling the Ichetucknee

By: Stacy Lothridge, PaddleDogNation.com

October 2007

    My brother and I have birthdays only a couple of days apart so we have always shared a family birthday party. For our birthdays this year, my brother and I wanted to do something new besides the traditional nice dinner and movie as a family. I had been at the PaddleDog Nation office working on a cool project involving paddling outfitters around Florida so I thought to myself, “Hey we should go paddling!” I called up my brother and told him the idea, he liked it and the message was passed along to mom and dad. For the next week or so we checked out different websites for state parks and outfitters within a few hours of the Tallahassee area, so we could make a daytrip of it. We had narrowed it down to Suwannee River and Manatee Springs. We aren’t much for specific planning, more of a spur of the moment decision making family. So we figured we’d decide when we got up in the morning.

    We woke up the next morning and dad got on the computer to get final driving directions and by request of my fiancé checked out Ichetucknee Springs. We looked at the website a little and decided it looked like fun. Plus it was only a little over an hour away. By 9am we were out the door with dad driving a car full of backseat drivers, heading towards Ichetucknee Springs.

    Brown-colored state park signs let us know we were close. We pulled into the south entrance of the park, paid our $5 entrance fee, and found someone who worked there. We were then told to go back to the north gate for rentals. So we piled back into the car and headed back to the north entrance. By the north entrance we found the rental location, Ichetucknee Family Canoe & Cabins. We got out of the car and were almost instantly greeted by a man who worked there. We told him we were looking to rent some canoes and he said sure but he recommended the kayaks because they were easier, more stable, and more comfortable. So we went with his suggestion and got kayaks. Being that the last time my dad had been paddling was about 30 years ago, and my mom and brother had never been, we got two double kayaks and one single. My fiancé volunteered to go solo, as he likes that better anyways. So, mom and dad were together in one and my brother and I in the other.

    The employees at Ichetucknee Family Canoe & Cabins were extremely friendly and eager to help us enjoy our paddling adventure. The rates weren’t bad either, $16 a person (plus a small state park fee) for a four mile trip, and you could take as long as you’d like. This also included a shuttle service for everyone and the kayaks to the river and back. Everything was supplied in the cost (kayak, paddle, pfd, whistle, and shuttle).

    The shuttle driver drove us up to the put in spot and then helped us all into the kayaks. He recommended only paddling to avoid obstacles because the current was strong enough for us to sit back and enjoy the ride. We took his advice and the trip was a nice 2 ½ - 3 hours. The scenery was really beautiful and wildlife all around. Tons of potential for photography!

    There weren’t too many other people on the river, while we were there, which left it peacefully quiet except for our laughter and chatter. Most of the laughter came while I was busy snapping pictures, and my brother trying to maneuver around fallen trees by himself. We had near misses or bumps for most of them. We did get stuck on some of the trees that had fallen into the water and were just barely covered by the water level though, that made for a good laugh from everyone including ourselves.

    On the river there were multiple places to stop and get out of the kayaks to swim in the springs. After watching the expressions of some of the other kayakers’ faces as they plunged into the water we decided it might be a bit too cold for us so we stayed in our kayaks. It was quite funny to see people who were behind us zooming past when it started to rain a little. We didn’t rush because of the rain, it actually made the river even more spectacular seeing all the tiny drops hitting the surface and rippling outward.

    When we got to our stopping point in the river, the shuttle driver was there and waiting as he said he would be. He helped us out of our kayaks and loaded them back on his cart.

    After the kayak trip we headed back to the car and drove into the park to enjoy a picnic lunch and some trail hiking. We hiked around the rest of the park, taking the trails to go see the other springs that weren’t accessible on the kayak trip. They weren’t that hard to get to and the trails had been kept up with nicely. This park definitely takes pride in cleanliness as I don’t remember seeing any trash on the trails or in the river.

    I give the overall experience, Ichetucknee Family Canoe & Cabins, and Ichetucknee Springs State Park 5 out of 5 paws!

 If you would like to reprint this article please email Stacy Lothridge at Stacy@PaddleDogNation.com for permission.