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Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

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Canoeing the Rainbow River wide

Best Paddling in Florida

Our top destinations for paddling in Florida, based on personal experience

Alexander Springs

Alexander Springs

Ocala National Forest  |  Astor
( 29.079006, -81.577921 )      

Surrounding one of Florida’s most picturesque first magnitude springs, Alexander Springs is a prime destination for a summer swim or snorkel

Bairs Cove

Manatees in Bairs Cove

Merritt Island NWR  |  Titusville
( 28.733150, -80.756378 )      

A go-to location for spotting manatees at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Bairs Cove off Haulover Canal is also a launch point for bioluminescence

Big Shoals State Park

Big Shoals of the Suwannee River

White Springs      ( 30.352426,-82.690457 )      

At Big Shoals State Park, see Florida’s largest series of rapids, churning the Suwannee River with hydraulics in Class III whitewater at certain times of year.

Blackwater River State Park

Blackwater River State Park

Milton      ( 30.704266,-86.880892 )      

Blackwater River State Park is the gateway to thousands of acres of public lands stretching northward to the Alabama border.

Blue Spring State Park

Manatees in clear spring water

Orange City      ( 28.9516, -81.3337 )      

Blue Spring State Park is well acclaimed for being the best place in Florida to see manatees in the wild, and we don’t mean a dozen or two. Think hundreds.

Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park

Bulow Plantation Ruins museum exhibit

Flagler Beach      ( 29.434253,-81.138069 )      

History and natural beauty meet under a dense oak canopy at the ruins of one of Florida’s oldest sugar mills

Faver-Dykes State Park

Faver-Dykes State Park

St. Augustine      ( 29.669345,-81.266734 )      

From Faver-Dykes State Park, you can easily explore the estuaries of the Matanzas River. Shaded by oak hammocks along Pellicer Creek, this peaceful park offers camping, hiking and biking trails, and some of the best paddling along this coast.

Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park

Turquoise waterway flowing through forest in fall colors

High Springs      ( 29.829341, -82.683477 )      1.8 miles

Cradling a collection of spectacular springs in a forested glen along the Santa Fe River, Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park is one of the finest places to experience springs up close

Grayton Beach State Park

Grayton Beach Western Lake view

Santa Rosa Beach      ( 30.334009,-86.157986 )      

Cradled in a cocoon of coastal dunes, Western Lake shimmers in the sun. At Grayton Beach State Park, it’s the focus of both passive and active recreation

Hillsborough River State Park

Hillsborough River State Park

Thonotosassa      ( 28.144716,-82.224621 )      

Water in motion: the Hillsborough rapids foam and froth over limestone boulders beneath grand cypress trees in Class II rapids. One of Florida’s oldest state parks, Hillsborough River State Park showcases this masterpiece of nature from an overlook and trail system built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Ichetucknee Springs State Park

Ichetucknee Springs

Branford      ( 29.986089,-82.760099 )      3.4 miles

A swimming hole as a work of natural art, the deep gash in the earth that is Ichetucknee Spring glows an unearthly robin’s-egg blue, cradled in a limestone bowl within a leafy glen

Indian Key Historic State Park

Agave plants

Islamorada      ( 24.877161,-80.677355 )      

The original seat of Dade County, settled in 1836, lies in limestone ruins swaddled in a tropical forest within sight of US 1, but offshore. Indian Key takes a little planning to visit, but is well worth the journey.

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