This was a nice section of river. There is tannin in the the water with a little over 2’ feet of visibility. We were able to pull off the side of the river for breaks and lunch, and while relaxing on a nice sandy shoreline.
We put in at:
Little Big Econ Canoe Launch
3799 Willingham Rd, Oviedo, FL 32766
Took out at:
Econ Outfitters
2000 Snow Hill Rd, Chuluota, FL 32766
I used the SUP profile versus Kayak, will fix that for the next trip. The distance is a little shorter than shown, given I ended the route from the van while driving home.
This was a late June paddle. We departed close to 9:00 a.m. The weather and gentle breeze was beautiful. Huge live oaks, air ferns and swaying palm trees graced the entire route. The current was steady and easy. It had just enough obstacles to keep the journey interesting.
As the sun rose overheard the temperature rose with it. What a pleasure to travel for four hours through Central Florida without sight or sound of civilization!- minus a few notable exceptions.
At about the midpoint of the trip, we could hear, but not see, a lawnmower to the west. It was accompanied by a government work truck parked on a bluff. Around the next bend there was a trio of fisherman on the same bank. They claimed to have not seen any gators. Neither did it look like they were having much luck with fish.
Several times we spooked a Great Blue Heron who each time would fly further down stream only to be spooked again. We passed under a tidy wooden foot bridge. Several times we saw trail-riding bikes along the East bank. These apparently used the Snow Hill trail head at our very own exit point.
We had a sandy and shallow launch followed by several sandy shore stops. These deepened quicky towards the center of the channel. Our companion tested the depth of the channel several times and we judged it to be greater than 8 ft (the length of her paddle) which did not hit bottom. The very last shore at Snow Hill road was quite rocky and deep but had been graded to make entering and exiting the water easy at this canoe and kayak -only ramp.
