• Trails
  • Parks
  • Beaches
  • Gardens
  • Springs
  • Attractions
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Google+

Florida Hikes!

Your guide to Florida's outdoors, by Sandra Friend, Florida's hiking expert, and her co-author John Keatley, covering the Florida Trail and other trails throughout Florida.

  • Hike
  • Camp
  • Bike
  • Paddle
  • Florida Trail
  • Travels
  • Gear
  • How-to
  • Blog

Paddling in the New Year

January 5, 2017 by John Keatley Leave a Comment

Tight turn on Juniper Run

Tight turn on Juniper Run

What were you doing a few days after Christmas? Some of us in Florida were paddling the Juniper Springs run.

My friend Bob, myself, and several other of our friends attending the 33rd Annual FTA New Years Gathering at Doe Lake were wearing shorts and bathing suits, enjoying the warm weather and beautiful blue skies.

Blue skies and big cypresses

Blue skies and big cypresses

We weren’t alone. With a group of nineteen folks from a Deland church, and another twenty-some-odd group from Tennessee, plus dozens of others out on the water as well, it felt kind of crowded on the narrow waterway. Asking around as we passed other paddlers, we met people from Alabama, South Florida, and Brazil.

Juniper Creek

A line of paddlers up the creek

The water level was a little low, requiring me to get out of my loaner kayak and pull it along through several shallows near the beginning of the run. Several large logs below the water line added some excitement, as many of us got stuck halfway over a couple of them. There were several tight spots along the way requiring a bit more paddling skill, and the rapids – which sometimes can’t even be seen – threw a wave of water right into my lap.

Juniper Creek

One of the tight spots

As a couple of novice paddlers didn’t quite make it through a tight spot so smoothly, their boats began to jam tighter and tighter together by the quick moving current. The rest of our conga line of kayaks and canoes began to back up, with around a dozen of us backpaddling or holding on to branches to wait for them to break free. I heard someone say “Hey, it’s just like I-4!”

Getting back in the kayak

Getting back in the kayak

By the time we safely reached the pick up point, we all had big smiles. Only one of us ended up on an unplanned swim, those sneaky hidden logs to blame.

Filed Under: Blog, Canoe & kayak rentals, Get Outdoors, Launch points, Paddling, Waterways Tagged With: Juniper Springs, Ocala, Ocala National Forest, Silver Springs

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ocala National Forest

The Florida Trail


Celebrating 50 years of Florida's favorite hiking destination. 228 pages, full color.

Order Now

Hiking Guidebooks for Florida

Five Star Trails Gainesville & Ocala 5 Star Trails Orlando 50 Hikes in Central Florida Exploring Florida's Botanical Wonders Hiker's Guide to the Sunshine State 50 Hikes in South Florida 50 Hikes in North Florida

Our Florida Apps

FLORIDA TRAIL GUIDE. Offline maps and logistical details for hiking our favorite trail, Florida's own National Scenic Trail.

FIELD TRIP. Florida Hikes! is now part of Google's location-aware app with audio to discover what's around you.

Updates on Florida’s outdoors

Find your way

NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola . Apalachicola National Forest . Apalachicola River . Blackwater River State Forest . Blountstown . Crawfordville. Crestview . DeFuniak Springs . Destin . Fort Walton Beach . Ebro . Freeport . Gulf Islands National Seashore . Madison . Marianna . Milton . Navarre . Niceville . Panama City Beach . Pensacola . Ponce De Leon . Port St. Joe . Sopchoppy . St. Marks . St. Marks NWR . Tallahassee

NORTH FLORIDA
Amelia Island . Cedar Key . Chiefland . Fernandina Beach . Flagler Beach . Gainesville .High Springs . Jacksonville . Lake City . Live Oak . Mayo . Micanopy . Osceola National Forest . Palatka . Perry . Salt Springs . St. Augustine . Steinhatchee . Suwannee River Wilderness Trail . Trenton . White Springs

CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka . Belleview . Brandon . Brooksville . Bushnell . Canaveral National Seashore . Christmas . Clearwater Beach . Clermont . Cocoa Beach . Cross Florida Greenway . Crystal River . Dade City . Daytona Beach . Deland . Deltona . Dunnellon . Frostproof . Geneva . Inverness . Kissimmee . Lakeland . Lake Wales . Leesburg . Melbourne . Merritt Island NWR . Mount Dora . New Port Richey . New Smyrna Beach . Ocala . Ocala National Forest .Orlando . Ormond Beach . Oviedo . Sanford . Silver Springs . St. Cloud . St. Petersburg . Tampa . Tarpon Springs . Titusville . Walt Disney World . Withlacoochee State Forest . Withlacoochee State Trail . Yeehaw Junction

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Bradenton . Charlotte Harbor . Ding Darling NWR . Englewood . Estero . Fort Myers . Naples . Pine Island . Punta Gorda . Sanibel Island . Sarasota . Venice

SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia . Big Cypress . Big Cypress National Preserve . Clewiston . Everglades City . Everglades National Park . Fisheating Creek . Lake Okeechobee . Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail . Lake Placid . Moore Haven . Okeechobee . Sebring

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Biscayne Bay . Biscayne National Park . Boca Raton . Coral Gables . Everglades National Park . Florida Keys . Fort Lauderdale . Fort Pierce . Hobe Sound . Homestead . Jupiter . Key Biscayne . Miami . Ocean to Lake . Palm Beach . Port St. Lucie . Sebastian . Stuart . Vero Beach . West Palm Beach

©2006-2017, Sandra Friend & John Keatley | Disclosure | Site Index | Work with Us
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy | Florida Hikes! PO Box 10046 Cocoa FL 32927 | Contact