Two years ago John and I paddled down the Rainbow River. It was such an incredible experience we wanted to share it again with our friends JC & Bev.
This time we stayed for a week at the lovely Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnallon ($266/7 nights, full hook up). There is a nice kayak/canoe launch at the campground where you can paddle upstream to the headsprings. From there you float down the river (six mile to a take out)with very little effort. The river is feed by numerous fresh water springs (vents) which pour in 400-600 million gallons of water a day.
The white sand bottom sets off the water with striking colors of blue and turquoise. The temperature is a constant 72 degrees and we saw several hardy soles swimming the river as we paddled down. We saw lots of birds, otters, an eagle, and lots and lots of turtles sunning themselves on any available log. Pretty homes and cottages dot the shore most of the route and eventually the river joins the Withlacoochee River where the color changes dramatically.
Unfortunately we were all struggling with the flu (except for JC) and our paddle trips were short in length. There a lots of paddle trips that you can take in this general area. An author of guide that I'm currently reading about the Florida rivers says the following...."I came to Florida for the beaches, however, I stay in Florida because of the rivers". We certainly can agree. This beautiful river is a gem.
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| Rainbow Springs State Park, Site #10 |
This time we stayed for a week at the lovely Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnallon ($266/7 nights, full hook up). There is a nice kayak/canoe launch at the campground where you can paddle upstream to the headsprings. From there you float down the river (six mile to a take out)with very little effort. The river is feed by numerous fresh water springs (vents) which pour in 400-600 million gallons of water a day.
The white sand bottom sets off the water with striking colors of blue and turquoise. The temperature is a constant 72 degrees and we saw several hardy soles swimming the river as we paddled down. We saw lots of birds, otters, an eagle, and lots and lots of turtles sunning themselves on any available log. Pretty homes and cottages dot the shore most of the route and eventually the river joins the Withlacoochee River where the color changes dramatically.
I can see why you wanted to do that paddle a second time...beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhat great photos! I love the turtles. Glad you all are over the bug..
ReplyDeleteDo you see 'gators?
ReplyDeleteThere are "gators" but we didn't see any this time. Due to most of the shore being developed there are not very many.
DeleteOr manatees?
ReplyDeleteThere are not any manatees on this river. However, there are lots of them hanging out at the Crystal River (about an hour away) Check back for our next post. We took a boat out to swim with them.
DeleteLove the color of that water.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a beautiful place!
ReplyDeleteI think the Rainbow is one of the prettiest rivers in Florida (and that's saying a lot). Glad you got to go back. How nice for a state park to have full hook-ups. I guess you must have gotten the MH fixed up!
ReplyDelete