We'll be on the water for about 5 hours. It's all downstream.

** RESERVATIONS REQUIRED! Reservations are required! Call Adventure Outpost at (386) 454-0611

Description

Ichetucknee is one of the most famous rivers in north Florida. When you see it you'll understand why. The entire six mile river is composed of crystal clear water which boils to the surface through nine named springs (in addition to a number of smaller unnamed ones).

On it's southward journey toward the Santa Fe river, the Ichetucknee begins as a narrow stream threading between 15 foot high walls of limestone. Sculpted by quick flowing water for thousands of years, the rock formations along this stretch are a wonderful contrast to much of the scenery we're used to along Florida rivers. Soon, the high banks move further apart and become obscured by a fantastic variety of aquatic plant life and trees. Another mile and several springs bring us into a nice cypress forest which lines the river for the rest of the way.

By the end of the six mile run, the Ichetucknee springs have combined to form a substantial river which adds nearly 233 million gallons of water to the Santa Fe river every day.

Wildlife includes the usual menagerie of water birds, turtles, fish. There are also otters and beavers. The name Ichetucknee means "Pond of the Beavers", which became something of a misnomer after the beavers were wiped out in north Florida in the late 1800's. But in recent decades they have returned and the name Ichetucknee is no longer a sad reminder of a lost age.

History

Over the past 12,000 years, these waters have quenched the thirst of an amazing cast of characters beginning with the Paleo-Indians who left traces of their passing in the river bed and surrounding countryside. For hundreds of years Timucua Indians from the nearby village of Aquacaleyquen enjoyed coming to drink this water after a hard days work, as did Hernando De Soto, in 1539, after a hard day of storming the village and kidnapping the chief and his daughter.

In the 1600's, Franciscan priests from the mission San Martin, which sat alongside the river a short distance below the head spring, baptized Timucuan converts in these waters. In 1704, this same water was used by Georgian soldiers to wash the blood from their hands after raiding and burning San Martin. Seventy years later, Daniel Boone likely filled his canteen with Ichetucknee Spring water as journeyed along the ancient trail that passed near the headspring in search of a Florida homestead.

But, that was the past. All we know of the future is that a small band of nature lovers is going to paddle these same clear waters this weekend. Wanna be one of them?