Wekiva River in Florida

Trip Overview

Rock Springs Run

Super bowl Sunday. A good day to do something super. I figured my two favorite rivers in one epic trip would do the trick.

My fiance and I loaded up the 'yaks and headed out for a long day on the water. The goal was to hit the water in the morning and see how far up river we could get before we got tired and decided to start our float back down river.

The morning was an adventure right from the start. According to our weather man, it was going to be overcast with drizzle on and off. We packed accordingly, rain jackets, gloves, booties, ext.. Also, I noted that my favorite paddle was missing. Could have I left it at the river the day before when I was being chased to the car by lighting? I HURRIED to the river, my paddle was there, laying in the grass. What a relief! While I was doing that Renee went to Albertsons to pick up lunch. We met at the river, and hit the water.

We dropped in at Wilson's Landing park. A great Seminole County Park off of State Route 46 in Sanford. It is free parking and easy river access (200' walk over grass).

We headed up stream in the Wekiva. The Wekiva is an incredible river. We saw turtles and lots of birds on the way up. The weather held off for us, and we had a great trip to the junction of rock springs runs. We averaged a nice clip of 3.6 MPH. At the junction we turned upstream again and headed towards Rock Springs.

Rock Springs run is a very technical paddle. Lots of trees, sharp corners, Lilly pads, and shallow stretches make this a tough paddle. Eventually we made it up to King's Landing. Unfortunately, Rock Springs is not accessible from the river. After King's Landing the river is not cleared and it would take many many portages to get to the head of the springs.

We ate some lunch and jumped back in the boats. It was 15.77 miles from Wilson's Landing Park to King's Landing (we actually picknicked on the beach at Camp Joy) It took us 5 hours, but that included two 10 minute stretches.

The goal at this point was to make it home for the Superbowl. Kickoff was at 6:30. The park is only about ten minutes from the house. So the goal was to trek the 15.77 downriver miles in 3:30. We didn't make kickoff, but we did average 4.6 MPH on the way back and were loading up the boats in darkness listening to the national anthem on the radio. Devin Hester was returning the opening kick off just as we were hitting route 46.

It was an incredible day in the boats. I was pretty tired after all that. Renee was dead! I was impressed at the distance we traveled in a single day. I never though we could go that far. I am lucky to have a girl that can do stuff like that! Can't wait to do it again.

Accommodations:

Park has bathrooms.

Fees:

NONE - But, the gates close at sundown.

Directions:

Wilsons Landing Park is located off of Route 46. From I-4, take the Mt Dora exit (route 46) as you are approaching the river you will see a community on your left called Wekiva Park, this is also the entrance to Wilsons Landing park. Follow park signs once you turn left into Wekiva Park Community.

Resources:

"Paddlers Guide to the Sunshine State" by Sandy Huff