Crystal River Kayaking

Crystal River has natural springs throughout the river, making the water clear, especially when the tide is outgoing or heading toward low tide. You can rent a kayak or canoe and explore the canals, rowing past houses with big Southern porches and trees with Spanish moss. Stop at Paradise Point, a river beach with bent palm trees straight out of a calendar photo! A resident with blond dreadlocks and a little dog peddles her pirate kayak, shooting water at people from a cannon! In winter you can't paddle into Three Sisters Spring, as the manatees that seek shelter there are protected. You can jump out of your kayak and swim in, but that is quite hard- you would be swimming from a canal that has larger boats and you must have a float with a flag. Some tour companies offer scuba or snorkeling tours where you swim into the spring from the canal. In summer, you can paddle into the spring, but it's quite a small space for so many people. Overall, it's more fun to just paddle around the canals of Crystal River town and see what you find! We rented a three-person canoe from Crystal River Kayak Company and Dive Center. It was very easy. They lifted the canoe into the water for us. We began at a picturesque canal shaded with dense tropical foliage (we did get some mosquito bites). It was fun to paddle through a tunnel under the road. I prefer canoes because they are far more ergonomic than kayaks- you are sitting up straight. We paddled two miles total, from the rental place to Paradise Point and back.
The day we watched a mermaid show at Weeki Wachee Spring, ate lunch at Tipsy Tarpon on the water in Crystal River town, rented a kayak and paddled two miles, and then drove over to Hunter Springs Park Beach for a swim, was the best day of our vacation! This part of Florida is very magical to me, with its old Florida vibe.

Crystal River Kayaking

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