Paddling the Suwannee

By Peter Clayton

At 235 miles, the Suwannee offers plenty of length, but even better, it’s undeveloped with only a handful of small communities along its route, none over 1,000 population. But the paddler has plenty of access ramps and is treated to a variety of flora and fauna coupled with plentiful springs and alternating banks of limestone rock and white sand along a route that is often winding and relatively narrow. But because much of the river parallels the historically important east-west route between St. Augustine and Pensacola, there are some fascinating ruins of 19th century hotels and spas. Another feature we enjoy is the rural countryside through which we travel, including the dirt roads leading to and from ramps.

Enjoying great weather and ideal water levels, Clyde, Bud, Theo, Steve, Tom, Ellis and I traveled a couple of hours west to Live Oak on Wednesday, the 20th, to explore almost 20 miles of the river. We met at 10:30 at our motel, unloaded gear, picked up lunch from Subways, dropped off our “shuttle car” at the pull-out at Suwannee Springs State Park, then ate lunch at Woods Ferry – our launch site. This 7.9 mile stretch offered some amazing sights, especially tree roots winding in and out of limestone to hold firm. The one thing we don’t see along the Suwannee is a lot of wildlife, although a dozen young wild turkeys ran along the road in front of us as we drove to the ramp. Post-paddle libations in the “cocktail lounge” at the motel (former breakfast room) featured snacks that should have precluded dinner, but being creatures of habit, we drove to All Decked Out in town. We passed 406 Duval (former site of an amazing restaurant) and were pleased to see it had been painted and generally spiffed up. Our meal was acceptable but didn’t rate a return.

Day 2 was an 8.2 mile stretch from the US 41 ramp to the Blue Sink ramp – a portion we’d not paddled before – it was beautiful. We stopped at the ruins of what is billed as the oldest spa/hotel in Florida, the terrace overlooking the river still intact. We met a couple of young ladies taking water samples for the Suwannee River Water Management District – part of the effort to protect this invaluable resource. Occasionally we’d pass cabins alongside the river – the most memorable was a spectacular tree house built on a huge live oak. Since we pulled out fairly early, we drove to Big Shoals and made the 2.5 mile round trip walk to see this Class III rapids – two viewing platforms provided a good vantage point to admire the several hundred yard run of roiling water and rock – not on our agenda. Dinner was a walk across the street to Fusion – a Chinese and country (think fried chicken and collard greens) buffet which we all agreed was worth a return visit.

Day 3 was a short (2.9 mile) run from Suwannee Springs State Park to Deese Howard ramp – the perfect length to end the trip. We enjoyed a strong current all three days, and averaged about 3.3 mph on the water while enjoying light but refreshing breezes. We had a great lunch at Marion Street Bistro in Lake City on the way home – a fitting finale to a phenomenal outing. Thanks to Theo and Tom, our drivers, and to all for their help and input during the trip. Oh Yes – Steve earned an MCK Dunk Club sticker for a “partial tip” vs. a “full dunk” as we launched on Day 2 – welcome to an exclusive club, Steve.