Ichetucknee Springs State Park is a bit of a trek from our Eustis home, but has always been worth the travel. We like to travel the back roads and enjoy the green landscapes, which always look cool even when the temperature is not. On previous trips, we’ve floated down the river in rented innertubes and enjoyed sharing the river with other tubers. On our most recent trip, we met a friend from Gorgeous Ladies on the Water and took our kayaks up to High Springs to see how the trip would be different from our tiny boats.
When we arrived at the park gates, the ranger was very friendly and inquired if we had kayaked there before, making sure we had information about where to launch and where to land. She directed us to the parking area and we happily parked close to the launch. The night before we arrived, there had been an impressive storm that left the park without power for several hours during the night. Debris was apparent at some places in the park, but staff were already at work clearing it, and there was no visible anthropogenic trash (please, oh, please, click that link!). We toted our kayaks down to the launch and hit the restrooms before taking off. We found the restrooms spotless and spoke to another ranger who described the previous night’s storms in a way that made me happy we hadn’t been camping there!
Once we got on the water, we immediately noticed the clarity of the water in spite of the storm, turtles and fish, and the lush green trees that surround Florida springs. The blue sky and bright sun made for an auspicious launch.
A great feature of a trip to Ichetucknee Springs is that there is more than one spring, and on this trip we got a great look at Devil’s Eye spring. That deep turquoise blue is one of my favorite colors! I came eye to eye with a snake while I was paddling through some lily pads, and it startled me so that I forgot to take a picture. We both backed up quickly and lived to tell the tale.
There were many memorable things about this day. As always, a day in a kayak on a spring run is a treat not everyone gets to experience, and this day, because the summer season had not yet begun, the spring run was only open to paddlecraft, so we were really able to enjoy the solitude.
As you leave the State Park in a kayak, you pass under a small bridge that marks the boundary. The channel narrows and the water really speeds up. It was so much fun to race through that spot! On a normal day, this is where we would have noticed a great deal of boat traffic, but we think that the previous night’s storm kept most of the power boaters away due to concerns about downed trees.
We saw less than a dozen powerboats, but the boaters were, for the most part, an arrogant lot. Seamanship and common courtesy require that you pass other vessels in a safe manner, but the majority of boaters neither slowed nor moved from the center of the river. We were able to manage the wake waves they created, but we quickly understood why powered boats are not universally loved on this river.
The wind picked up and the sun went behind the clouds. . .a couple of miles after entering the Santa Fe river, we were cold and beginning to worry about the weather. We were relieved to see the boat ramp at US 129, pull dry towels from the truck and wrap up! We were able to load our boats and get on the road well before the rain started. Lisa, our traveling companion, had to rush back home because she is a diligent realtor and had clients wanting to view a property that evening. Steve and I, on the other hand, stopped at Bev’s Better Burgers in High Springs. I don’t know who Bev is, but her grill turns out amazing hamburgers and I can’t wait to go back. This time, though, we’ll be prepared for the boat traffic outside the state park and we’ll pack long sleeve shirts just in case the temperature is cool.