There Is Nothing On Earth That Compares To It - Silver River Paddle

Silver Springs, Florida (68 degrees, cloudy)

 

Harriet Beecher Stowe best described the Silver River - "there is nothing on Earth that compares to it".   We love this river too and wanted to  show it to Bev and JC.  It's the natural setting and the clear water which makes this river so special and you can expect to see lots of wildlife along the way.  The river explodes in bright blue colors at the head springs.

 

 

 

 

Launch info:  Two years ago we launched at Ray's Wayside Park about three miles from Sliver River State Park.  It's a strenuous up stream paddle to the head springs so this time we decided to start at the State Park.  The only caveat is the launch requires getting your kayak down a half mile trail.  No problem, we thought, since we'd recently purchased a kayak cart.  Oops, in hindsight it would have been a good idea to test drive it.  The cart did not fit our inflatables very well and we ended up carrying them much of the way.  John has figured out a way to correct this next time, however, we were somewhat exhausted before we even  started paddling.  Sheesh!

 

Note the only accessible bathrooms are at the State Park and Ray's. and landing is prohibited along the Silver River.  Maybe it's because of the alligators hanging out. We left from the park in the morning and  after exploring the head spring returned again for lunch before continuing down stream.  

 

 



 

Take out:  Our take out site was our campground, Wilderness RV Resort.  We paddled from the State Park to the head springs then back down the river with the current past Ray Wayside Park.  The Silver River joins the tea colored Oklawaha River and about half a mile downstream our campground ramp awaited. 

 

Length:  Approximately eight miles

 

Difficulty:  Moderate

 



Double-Crested Cormorant



Little Blue Heron

 

Wood Duck

 

Lots of turtles

 

Look what else we found along side the river....

 

Rhesus monkey

 

 

 

 

Yes, that's right...monkeys and lots of them.  Legend has it the monkeys are descendants of escapees from Tarzan films shot at Silver Springs; however the Silver Springs theme park website lists the source as a concessionaire who operated the Jungle Cruise boat ride during the 1930s. Be sure not to feed them.  We could hearing them howling back and forth.  Pretty cool!

 

 

 

 

As we approached the headwaters of the spring we saw a tree full of nesting Cormorants and Anhinga's   The babies were putting up quite a racket.  Below the tree lurked an alligator probably hoping to lunch on a baby. Yikes!

 

Cormorants and Anhinga's

 

 

Cormorant and her babies

 

 

Alligator hanging out

 

 

The head waters start at Silver Springs Nature Theme Park (a private business). The world's largest natural spring  produces nearly 450 million gallons of water each day. The head springs of the river are surrounded by park buildings, boat docks, and a circular rock wall. You can get a "free" tour if you paddle near the glass bottom boats and listen to the guide.  The springs are so beautiful and we enjoyed circling around them.

 

 



 



 

 

Glass Bottom Boat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The park ranger told us the State Park will take over this amusement park in October and incorporate it into the State Park system.  The zoo and attractions will be removed except for the glass bottom boats and restored to a more natural setting.  It's an ambitious two year project. 

 

 

 

JC & Bev

This kayak trip was one of our favorites this winter.  I'm sure you can see why.  

 

 

 

 

Ibis

 

 

Green Heron

 

 

 



 

Campground:  We stayed at the Wilderness RV Resort in Silver Springs.  It has a great Passport America rate of $20/night and includes full hook ups (no restriction on stay or season).  We met the owner at the Tampa RV Show and really liked the campground.  It is well kept, scenic, with large sites.  There are several pools and lots of activates.  The boat launch really came in handy.

 

 

We also went out to the Salt Springs Campground in the National Forest campground and showed it to JC and Bev.  It's a more remote campground and has  another beautiful natural spring and swimming area.  The rate is great with a Senior or Access pass ($16/night for full hook up). Reservations are recommended in advance. 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.  We are now headed to a sleepy little island called Cedar Key. 

Happy Trails!