Tampa Corporate Housing - Tampa Area Canoeing/Kayaking

Saturday, 25 June 2011

Tampa Area Canoeing/Kayaking

If you enjoy being out on the water, there are a lot of great places to do so in the Tampa Bay area. Aside from the obvious places you can find all along the Gulf of Mexico in the Clearwater and St. Pete areas, there area also a few rivers that run through the Tampa area. Most notably are the Alafia, Little Manatee, and Hillsborough Rivers. All three are a relatively short drive for a full day of fun. Just pack up a cooler with lunch and your favorite beverages and your ready to go. There are companies on each river that will rent you a canoe or kayak and take you up river for around 25-40 dollars depending on the place and what you’re renting. There are a lot of different trips you can take down each river that can take anywhere from an hour to a full day. For the longer trips, there are plenty of places to stop along the banks of the river that have picnic tables for a lunch break and maybe even do some fishing.

If you’re looking to do more than a day trip and enjoy camping, there is a great option about 1-2 hours away on the Peace River. They do some very fun and easy overnight trips. The way it works is you show up bright and early with all your camping gear and whatever else you find necessary for the canoe trip. Everything you don’t want in the canoe with you will then be loaded up onto a trailer. They will transport you and the rest of the gear, with the canoes, up river and send you on your way. After a few hours of canoeing and taking on a few random rope swings you will eventually come to a sign with your name on it. Pull the canoes over and you will find an open area with a picnic table, fire pit, and the trailer you loaded all your gear into earlier. Other than that it will usually be primitive (usually no “neighbors” or bathrooms). Wake up the next morning and load the trailer back up and head down river for a few more hours to the pick up point where all your gear will be waiting for you to take it home.

If you decide to take any of these trips just make sure to call ahead and check on the water levels and see how busy they are. For the overnight trips down the Crystal River, make sure to book early because the primitive sites get reserved well in advance. Now would be a great time to plan something for September-October when it starts cooling off at night.

Alafia River

Alafia River Canoe Rentals Inc

4419 River Drive, Valrico, FL

(813) 689-8645

Hillsborough River

Canoe Escape Inc

9335 East Fowler Avenue, Thonotosassa, FL

(813) 986-2067 ‎ · canoeescape.com

Little Manatee River

Canoe Outpost-Little Manatee

18001 US Highway 301 S, Wimauma, FL

(813) 634-2228 ‎ · canoeoutpost.com