Saturday, September 24, 2011

Kayaking Florida Tours & Destinations

Whether you're seeking a challenge and a chance to test your kayaking skills or just looking to see Florida from another perspective, there are tons of opportunities to do so. Engaging in a respected kayak tour is a good way to see what Florida has to supply.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida is a fashionable destination for many prepared kayak tours. A Day Away Outfitters provide several tours based in the refuge.
Manatee Encounter: kayaking with this beloved Florida resident and endangered species can be a fun and enlightening experienced. The tour lasts two hours and manatee sightings are guaranteed from April to October.
Difficulty rating is easy.
Birding Tour: This 90 minute kayaking tour gives paddlers the chance to see some of Florida's migratory and native birds. Spoonbills, herons, egrets and more call the refuge home. Awkwardness rating is easy.
Jet Night/Cold Light Bioluminescent Night Tour: This isn't a refuge tour but it is strongly advised. In the summer, the waters of the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon illuminate thanks to bioluminescence. Every movement produces light. Manatees glow, sting rays look like something out of something out of science fiction movies and fast moving little fish seem as if glow-in-the-dark rockets. The tour lasts 2 1/2 hours. Bioluminescence is guaranteed June through September. Trouble rating is easy. Kayakers can truly see Florida in a whole new light.
Big Bend Saltwater Paddling Trail
This popular sea kayaking destination in Florida is one of the longest and wildest authoritatively owned wetlands in the US. The 105 mile trail features a big variety of marine and bird life. White pelicans, egrets, bald eagles and ospreys inhabit the area. In the water, kayakers are likely to see crabs, fish, sea turtles, manatee, cannonball jelly fish, small sharks and rays.
Six designated camping areas are spread out over the trail. Camping permits are required and guide books are obtainable. The trail is open from September 1 to June 30th.
Blue Cypress Lake
Club kayak details several available Florida kayak routes and tours. Blue Cypress Lake is one of them. Freshwater kayaking at Florida's Blue Cypress Lake needs moderate kayaking skills. Round trip from Middleton's Fish Camp to Moonshine Bay is 7 miles.
The lake incorporates largemouth bass, catfish, crappie and blue gill in addition to other fish species. Cypress trees, often overflowing with osprey, surround the launch area. Available side trips include exploring the cypress swamp, complete with subtropical ferns, mosquitoes and alligators.
Weeki Wachee River
Also detailed by Club kayak is Weeki Wachee, a Florida spring discharging over 64 million gallons of water daily. Kayaking this Florida waterway, paddlers are likely to see manatee, alligators, raccoons, otters and a selection of birds. Often-sighted birds comprise ducks, ibis, pelicans, herons, osprey, wood storks and cormorants. Eight miles along, the Weeki Wachee meets the Gulf of Mexico.
Trouble rating is beginner to advanced and distance ranges from 4 to 16 miles.
Kayaking options in Florida range from freshwater to saltwater and from calm water to rushing water. Kayaking tours are a fantastic way to endeavor out new waterways. State parks and kayaking trails are another alternative.