Homosassa River in Florida

Trip Overview

Another outstanding day on the Homosassa river. This was our third trip to the area but our first trip in January. We had heard that the temperatures are usually in the 70's, water is typically clear and the Manatee's and Dolphins are abundantly enjoying the warmer spring water. Glad that our information was right.

My wife and I stayed at a vacation rental home right on the river and watched countless Manatee and Dolphins swim within a few feet of the deck and later in our kayak trips when we were out paddling on the water. We knew that the main spring gets a few tour boats for a few hours each day, so we opted for a quieter paddles up the Hall's river and into a few smaller creeks and marsh areas. There are so many options to explore in the area, it's best to just look on Google Earth and choose your own adventure. It's hard to explain to people that haven't been there.

It's called the Nature Coast of Florida. Thousands and thousands of acres of coastal wildlife areas with this tiny town in the middle. We watched at least 30? different species of birds, dozens of different species of fish, dozens of Dolphins chasing many of those same fish leaping into the air, and Manatee herds just swimming alongside us.

Compared to most places we paddle around at home: MD,PA,WV, etc. that are nice and scenic, Homosassa takes scenery and fills it with a seemingly magical nature show.

Accommodations:

We stayed in a vacation rental home right on the Homosassa River. Very nice place with kayak and canoe parking outside of our back door.

Fees:

No - Fishing only.

Directions:

One hour North of Tampa, turn left onto Hall's River Road.

Resources:

There are plenty of books describing Florida rivers, I haven't found any that go into much detail about the Homosassa river yet, probably a good thing. Most describe the Crystal River (15-20 minutes North) in detail as it is the main manatee tourist destination in the area. The river, town and population there is much larger in comparison and it gets many more boaters of all types.