Canoe Camping on the Suwannee River | 2021
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- čas přidán 19. 05. 2021
- On April 18th, 2021 I drove north to Live Oak, FL for a canoe camping adventure on the historic Suwannee River. I made shuttle reservations with the Suwannee Canoe Outpost and was dropped off at Roline Boat Ramp which was approximately 60 miles up river. I had no idea how fast my progress would be so I kept the option open for a pickup further downstream from the outpost. I ended the trip at Suwannee River State Park boat ramp near the confluence with the Withlacoochee River.
I know it's a long video, but I figured a few people will enjoy the whole experience and I didn't want to leave anything out. I make these videos simply to inspire people to try new things!
The river height at White Springs was 53ft which is considered ideal conditions for both paddling and camping.
The weather was perfect with light rain in the early morning hours on two days, daytime temps in the mid 70's, and nighttime temps in the low 40's to 50's.
I began my paddle at 1030 am on Monday and finished at 5pm on Thursday for a total of 76 miles. My average moving speed per GPS was 3.5mph.
Gear List:
Hornbeck Boats Classic 13' solo pack canoe
Werner Camano paddle
Tarptent Motrail 2p tent
Insta360 one R 1" mod
Sony ZV-1
DJI Mavic Air
Google Pixel 5
Garmn Etrex 30x GPS
Music provided by Epidemic Sounds
Great Video! Thoroughly enjoyed the adventure, thanks for taking us along for the ride. Those white sand beaches looked appealing for sure haha
Thank you! I love your channel and any praise from you is awesome!
I'm fortunate to live on the Suwannee River. It is as amazing as you are seeing. Come visit. This is the real Florida.
Florida mornings out on a river is the most peaceful thing with all the birds and sounds. My favorite time to be outside
Thanks for sharing this great river trip. Enjoyed every minute of it. Love Florida and it's beautiful nature around every corner.
Original springhouse in White Springs was 5 stories with elevators taking people in wheel chairs down so they could "take the waters." The spring then was very deep and the more adventurous would dive from the roof. Had to be careful though as the spring proper was in the middle of a rock formation.
I’m late to the party, but in the’90s I, my best friend and my brother in law canoed and camped on the banks of the Suwannee River at least 5 times. Twice on the lower end to Branford and 3 times on the upper end. Longest was 5 days. The first was for 2 days. Absolutely loved every minute of it. Too old now, but great memories.
Absolutely epic trip man! Thanks for sharing. Definitely some spots to note.
Wonderful. Best Suwannee trip video I’ve seen yet.
Thank you, glad it was enjoyable!
Awesome adventure dude! I'm moving to miami and this one is high on the list to do with my 7 yo son! Keep on adventuring brother!
Great to see a Hornbeck on those southern rivers! Thanks for the posting the video, I enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed your video. I plan to do part of this trek soon. Thanks for sharing.
Very nice video, beautiful scenery, thanks for allowing us to ride along.
gREAT PHOTOGRAPHY AND NARATION, YOUR PRESENTATION DOES MAKE THIS TRIP INVITING, THANK YOU
Really good job on the video ... very helpful for planning purposes. I'm hoping to do a similar trip in the Spring of 2022. I wish Ohio had canoe trails with river-access-only campsites.
4 of us are doing a two night from Stephen foster to the state park August 13. Thanks for the great video.
Great Video. I'm on the east coast of Fl and this river is now on my To Do list. Thanks for sharing your trip!
Glad you enjoyed it! Def remember to check the water levels!
@@TheHavnmonkey Hey buddy, I'm planning my trip and had a question for you, the guy who did it. 1. You camped North of Cone Bridge Road, Was it the point just NW of Cone Bridge and NW Fargo Rd? Also, 2. How did you get around the rapids at Big Sholes? Is there a dedicated Portage trail? I would appreciate any intel. Thank you.
So pretty! Loved the video! Goals!
Thanks for the great video, planning a trip here in the fall and learned a lot from your experience.
Enjoyed your video , love the Suwannee, I did about 80+ miles on it last year prepping for a race , but your method looks a lot more fun
Nice, yea I really enjoyed the "lazy river" type feel!
Great video! Looked like an awesome trip.
Loved the trip. I have taken my family to the state park several times! One of a kind river. Enjoyed your film a lot! 👍🏽🤙🏾
Great video man. Cheers from Brazil!
Great content, thank you
This is a really good video. I also like the boat. I use an UL Kevlar canoe on the Suwannee and it sure makes portages a little easier. I always bring way too much stuff so it’s still tough. I remember the first time I saw the river camps and said the same exact thing. Couldn’t believe it was free. Anyways, great job capturing the beauty of this river. It’s a whole lot of work to film, paddle, setup camp, load, unload, etc…. Thanks for that.
looks like a beautiful river!
Great video.
4 times a yr my friend as my wife likes the camper and i like the woods.
Love this canoe trip. You missed Alapaha rise between holton and Suwannee state park. Largest spring in the world
Thank you! Actually, I think I explored that confluence for a few minutes, it is now marked on my POI map for when I return.
enjoyed the ride.
Omg good luck 🤞
Good. Vidoe
Great video. How bad were the bugs at night?
I plan on doing a similar trip next year and was wondering if you could recommend any maps with camp locations and other useful info along the river. Thanks. Enjoyed your videos, those drone shots were especially cool. Happy paddling!
Thank you! There are several different versions of the managed campsites that have been produced by different sources (state parks, non-profits, river outfitters, and privately organized trips). In FL you are allowed to camp on most exposed sand below the high water line, just use some common sense and be responsible as private property lines may get a little blurry in some sections of the river. If the water level is high, camping on the sand may not be available for several stretches along the river. The official river camps are clearly marked along the water and available on most online maps.
I planned ahead and marked all the official camps on my Google maps account and downloaded the offline map beforehand.
Here is a good starting point, they have an interactive map about 2/3 down the page. Also, any river outfitter will be able to provide you with campsite information as long as you are using their services for something (boat rental or shuttle service).
www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/suwannee-river-wilderness-state-trail
@@TheHavnmonkey Good stuff! Thanks.
I loved this video thank you! How did you get around all the rapids in the drone shot? We are wanting to do a Kayak camping trip in march on the Suwanee but rapids make me nervous.
There is a path that goes around the rapids. The path is pretty flat with a large campsite in the middle, the take out was kinda steep and tricky though.
How do you like that Hornbeck? How is the seat? What model is that? As you can tell I am shopping for my first composite boat. I''m torn between Hornbeck, Adirondack Boreas and Swift (torn on which model).
I am loving the Hornbeck, it is the Classic 13. I demo paddled a few of their models (11-14ft, both Classic and New Tricks). I liked the added stability of the Classic for camping and taking photos. I have lots of experience in canoes, but most of that has been in heavy FL aluminum ones. For where I was mostly going to be paddling (twisty FL mangroves and wetlands) I couldn't justify the extra cost for a Swift or Northstar canoe. I have paddled a Norrhwind solo and that was wonderful in BWCA lakes. If you are going to be doing longer lakes, a Swift may be better. I never looked at the Boreas when I was shopping, but it looks nice! The Hornbeck seat is pretty basic, but it gets the job done for me. No complaints, but I also am still young and have no back or joint ailments yet!
55 feet or 55 inches (4 foot 8 inches)?
Really enjoyed the video, thanks for putting it together. Got a like and a sub from me. I'm in Sarasota and I'm looking to do a trip like this. I'm new to Florida and I'm trying to figure out the laws on camping and camp fires. Are you in a designated camping area, or does the Suwannee River area allow for free camping? I've noticed that most state parks have designated primitive camp sites that must be reserved. Does this mean that camping elsewhere in the park is not allowed? Appreciate any and all help.
Hey, thanks for the comment and welcome to Florida. Unfortunately, Florida is not as primitive camping friendly as other states. National forest lands (Ocala Natl Forest for example) are usually the most primitive and unregulated places to camp in FL. Not all state parks allow camping, and those that do cater to mostly RV or car camping. Only a small few have real primitive tent camping. Yes you must only camp in designated spots. The vast majority of FL "campsites" will be for RV's whether private or public. Federal, state, and local wildlife refuges are mostly no camping.
Some state parks have a few walk in only campsites that cannot be reserved. If you plan on camping in the winter at a national or state park, you may have to reserve a site 11mo in advance.
The Florida section of the Suwannee river allows people to camp on dry sand above the water line and below the tree or grass line without permits or reservations. The border between private property and the public sand area is not always clear and changes from year to year. I believe Georgia allows private property to extend into the river so camping is mostly not allowed on the sandbars.
Check out Rock Springs Run (near wekiwa springs in Orlando), Ginnie Springs (in Gainesville), the Peace River (closer to Sarasota), and Juniper Springs (Ocala).
How did you do the rocking chair mod?
Helinox sells the rocking chair style feet, they don't fit on all the chair models though
Im doing the Suwannee 230 Race down the entire river - what was your average moving speed while on the river?
Wow! Hope you have fun, I would've loved to do the whole river. I cannot be 100% as this is from memory, but I think it was 3.5-4mph. Sometimes it was closer to 3 as I wanted to relax and sometimes I pushed my tempo up. I do not have the GPS log, so I cannot verify this is accurate so please don't rely on my memory for your race pace planning!!
No gator 😉😉
Man that reddish colored water, what is that called Brackish? That stuff makes me nervous. In the keys its great fishing for young Tarpon though. Do you get scared of big gators?
I do enjoy clear water and seeing what's below. Brackish is technically a mix of salt and fresh.... This is 100% freshwater but stained with tannin from decaying leaves. I grew up paddling around big gators so I am pretty familiar with their behavior which is mostly lazy and then terrified of us.
The Suwannee is a blackwater river and that type of water is common in North Florida. Im from then area of Florida that he is paddling.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_river
Also, if you wanna hear some great music, look up JJ Grey and MOFRO’s album named after that water, titled “Blackwater.”
JJ Grey is from North Florida and sings about life there.
Couldn't have taken 5 days to go 60 miles
It was more like 3 days and 2 half days with plenty of stops along the way more "sit back and float" sections than I could count!
Can you just camp anywhere off the river ? Or do you have to be at one of the designated parks. Like you did the first night ? Awesome video. Is there a way around those rapids ? You didn't conoe through them right ? I haven't watched the whole video. I'm at the rapid part.
You can camp on any exposed sand below the water line, including the river banks and sandbars but use common sense around the houses... I would not try to camp on the beaches in front of or near the homes and private docks. In the Georgia section, I think private property lines extend into the water so camping up there is more problematic. There is short portage trail around the rapids.