The Weeki Wachee
3 Rivers in 3 Days - Part 3
Florida Spring Hopping, Florida State Parks
Hey there wild Florida friends! Welcome back for day three of our “3 Rivers in 3 Days'' series. This post is a continuation of our series we started a few of weeks ago about our recent EPIC three day adventure out to the Springs Coast of Florida to paddle three of the most popular, manatee-filled, spring-fed rivers in the area. We paddled The Chaz, the Crystal River, and the Weeki Wachee with our kids and some of our friends. If you missed the first two posts, be sure to catch up by reading about the Chassahowitzka River and the The Crystal River. Now let's move on to epic day number three and talk about one of our favorite experiences in Florida yet.
Day Three: The Weeki Wachee
While we have visited Weeki Wachee Springs State Park and Buccaneer Bay several times now (post to come!), this was the first time we’ve paddled the Weeki Wachee River. Good golly Miss Molly, one paddle and I’m officially in love! I knew I would be just from the pictures we’d seen and stories we’d heard, but for real… this is a river you have to see in person to appreciate fully.
You’d think that if we’d visited two other rivers in the same general area in the two days before, we’d be able to say that this third river was similar to at least one of the other two. Not so. These three rivers have distinct personalities all their own. They are incredibly unique and so spectacular, each for their own specific reasons.
We launched from Roger’s Park, in the Weeki Wachee Gardens area, and paddled east towards Weeki Wachee State Park. This meant that for the first leg of our journey, we were paddling upstream against the current. We knew this would be a bit more challenging at the start, but would allow us to go with the current on our return leg of the journey, when everyone would be a bit more tired. Later in the post I’ll talk about what we’ll do differently next time we go.
Roger’s Park
Swimming area at Roger's Park.
Roger’s Park is a PERFECT launch point! There is ample parking, restrooms to get changed, and a beautiful sandy beach and swimming area, as well as a playground to keep the kids busy while we pumped up paddleboards and kayaks and prepared for the day. Bookmark it for your next trip to the area. It’s a lovely park just to visit and swim, even if you’re not planning to paddle the river.
While the small canal to the boat launch was tannin-stained and slightly murky, it was just a short 100 yards or so to the main Weeki Wachee and suddenly we were in crystal clear turquoise waters for most of the remainder of the day. I’m talking breathtakingly clear, beautiful, blue green. The kind of water that makes you think you’re dreaming.
Admittedly, it doesn’t take much to get me excited, but glory be!!! We couldn’t shut up for the first several minutes on the river. It was a constant flow of “Can you guys believe this water???” “Look at all the fish!” “Oh my goodness it's so beautiful.” “It doesn’t even feel real!” ” and so on and so on.
The Weeki Wachee (I'll call it Weeki, for short) is a narrow, winding, tropical paradise of a spring run. The mature cypress, oak, hickory, sweet gum, tupelo, and other canopy of trees that arch over many parts of the river give it ample shade along the sides, and provide a stunning backdrop for the river. Have you ever been on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disney? Imagine that feeling, but 100x prettier water and more beautiful vegetation, without the fake animals, for free.
The Weeki east of Roger’s park flows through a mixed residential/natural area, with homes along the north side of the river, and the Weeki Wachee Swamp wilderness area on the south side. Once again, in a departure from my usual gravitation towards “the wilder the better” the Weeki, in this small area, was a perfect mix of wild and natural, and nostalgic boho-river-bum-vacation-bungalow chic. (Say that 3 times fast!) And it was pretty fun to look at.
Unlike the mini-mansions on the Crystal River, the cottages along the Weeki are small and funky, with a vintage, relaxed vibe, reminiscent of older Florida, which matches the slow rambling way of the river so perfectly. There are an abundance of rope swings, slides, jumping platforms and all sorts of other fun things bridging the gap from land to water, beckoning residents and visitors to slow down and play for a while.
Small, cute cottages, right on the water.
An absolutely adorable mermaid themed rental on the water.
Many of the cottages along the water are VRBO and AirBnB rentals, so keep that in mind if you're coming to the area from out of town, and you're not necessarily wanting to camp.
Surrounded by nature
Once you pass the neighborhoods, it’s wilderness on all sides, and a stunning, peaceful paddle as long as you don’t run into large groups. (One of the reasons we went on a Monday). At lower tides, there are numerous sandy beach areas and sandbars that people tend to congregate at to get out of their paddlecraft to cool off in the water.
Protecting the Weeki
Something to remember: The Weeki Wachee, like many of our beautiful spring runs in Florida, is at risk of being “OVERloved” by visitors who get out of their kayaks, climb on fragile riverbanks, and disturb seagrasses that the manatees depend on for food. So just be mindful of how your time in the river could be impacting it. We stopped for lunch at a sandbar exposed by low tide in the entrance to a man-made canal and let the kids splash around a bit. We also caved and let the kids jump from an established jumping tree (that didn't require walking on a riverbank or disturbing the bottom to get to), into a deep pool on a riverbend, but otherwise we remained on our paddleboards and kayaks for the most part. They key is to find a balance, between enjoying what these incredible places have to offer, and protecting and preserving them for future generations and for and the irreplaceable roles they play in their respective ecosystems.
Reusable items only
Back in 2019 the state park banned all disposable items on the river. That means you are not allowed to bring ANYTHING that is not reusable. We brought refillable water bottles, packed our picnics in sandwich containers instead of plastic bags (which we do anyway), and so on. This is wonderful because we saw so much less trash on this river than we’ve seen on others!! Still, we found a couple cans we picked up and hauled out, but overall we were so impressed with the cleanliness of the river.
While the entire river is a no-wake zone, (partially because it can be quite narrow and shallow and partially because the river is a manatee sanctuary), be prepared to see boats with motors navigating the narrow channels with you. Keep in mind that the Weeki flows to the ocean, so while having a motor in this portion seems a bit ridiculous, there are portions of the river and beyond that it makes sense.
While we had originally hoped to paddle as close to the springs as possible, we only got a few hundred yards inside the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park property boundary before deciding it was time to turn around and head back to Roger’s Park. We had paddled upstream for a few hours at that point and, boy, were we ready for the current to whisk us easily back! Unfortunately, about halfway through our return paddle, the tide began coming back in, which basically cancelled out the river current, and we were left paddling back also. No biggie, it was an easy paddle, and we enjoyed every moment. Still, you probably want to factor in the tide schedule when planning your own trip if you'll be paddling upstream.
Manatees!
The entire Weeki Wachee River is known as a manatee hotspot, so we were hopeful we'd see a lot during our paddle. We went the majority of our day without seeing any of these gentle giants, but in the very last stretch of our journey, right near Hospital Hole, a popular dive site and manatee hangout near Roger's Park, we suddenly started seeing them one after another! And, be still my heart, we came upon a family with a newborn… it’s the smallest baby manatee I’ve ever seen, ever, and the experience just took our breath away. We stayed relatively still, not wanting to spook the family... But they swam in and around our group, under my SUP and toward the seawall as a little pod.
Momma was so observant, allowing the baby to swim and explore, and then pushing it up to the surface for a breath. It was an experience we will treasure for a long time.
Map of our paddle route, starting and ending at Roger's Park.
Things we’ll do differently next time:
While we will most definitely paddle this river again, we will do some things differently next time, for sure. This time, we did a round trip paddle, launching from and returning to Roger’s Park. The paddle took us east (upstream) towards Weeki Wachee Springs State Park, and then downstream with the river on the way back. We made the decision to go this direction because our friends had a little puppy along for the ride, and no pets, other than service animals, are allowed inside Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. We also had missed our opportunity to reserve a launch reservation at the state park. Launch slots fill up quickly, so this is one area of wild Florida exploration where it pays to plan ahead a bit. Reserve a launch slot here.
Next time we paddle the Weeki, we will definitely reserve a launch slot inside the state park and paddle the 5.5 miles downstream to Roger’s Park. The state park offers a shuttle service for paddlers wanting to take this route, so after our day on the water, we’d just get a ride on the shuttle back to our truck at the state park launch area.
All in all, the Weeki was one of our most favorite paddles yet. We’re impressed with the efforts of the park service to protect the waters for future generations, and for the most part, the other paddlers we encountered on the water were respectful of the river as well. You should 100% plan a day to get your family out to the Weeki. Maybe a whole weekend! One day soaking up the nostalgia of the Mermaids and the thrill of Buccaneer Bay, and one day soaking up all of the natural beauty and delight that the Weeki Wachee River has to offer.
Thank you for following along with our Wild Florida Family adventures. We hope you're inspired to go out and adventure in wild Florida with your own family and friends. Leave us your thoughts in the comments!
More of our favorite pictures from our paddle on the Weeki Wachee River.
