Kayaks for Sale – Florida Kayaker Forum

Nope, nothing special needed. I did that paddle in my cheap Walmart kayak. It was fine, but the way back felt 4x as long and hard, so prepare for that depending on winds and tide. But even with that it was fine. Probably took us like 3-4 hours round trip. Go through the kayak tunnels at caladesi! Well worth it. Bring life vests, snacks and plenty of water. Caladesi has food supplies if you need. On the return trip - look for the flag you see on shore when you take off. That saved us from going way off course.

People do that all the time. The current can be a little tricky. But the biggest headache when crossing either way is dodging power boats and jet skis which have very little regard for kayaks.

Wear bright clothing!!

You will be fine just watch out for boaters going through the channel

Not bad at all have done it a few times in my own pelican. Just watch for the boats Because they don't look for you

Done it many times w our kids....u can do it easily....the other thing I'll say besides the boats is it can get very windy in that channel so be aware of that...that can make it hard

I see people on paddle boards all the time, any kayak should be fine, put in by the kayak rental to your right and stay close to Honeymoon Island before going towards Caladesi, at low tides you see the sand bars , watch for boaters when crossing through the channel. Just follow other kayaks if necessary- it’s a fun trip, check out tides and winds, head wind can get strong on your way back to the Causeway

Nope.. just watch the flag where they rent kayaks, if up & flying, its safe, if they pull it down, haul but back in. Very easy ride in under 1/2 hr

Powerboats.

It's a super fun trip but they're right it's twice as hard on the way back. Since you've got smaller boats I would definitely check the water conditions if it's above 5 knots for wind, pick another day.

That’s a hard paddle. I would definitely rent.

You can do it blind folded naked in freezing weather. It’s super easy, I’ve done it in a canoe. Go with what you got and wear a life jacket

If you can do it on a weekday there will be less boats. Also, if you just paddle to the back of the island, you can avoid the primary area where the current can be strong and not in your favor coming back.

Any kind of yak will be ok. Be careful crossing the boat channel. It’s an easy , short paddle over

You don't need to rent ocean kayaks to cross over to Caladisi. Just be mindful of the boats. There are also some shallow areas, and like you said the tide. It's a short but beautiful trip, and Caladisi is amazing!

I haven't done that section since spring and since it's only about 12 miles from Spruce Dr. to the Dunnellon city boat ramp I've always done it as a day trip. But there IS a primitive campsite on river left at Two Mile Prairie www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/recreation/two-mile-prairie That's about 3 miles downstream from Spruce Dr. Then it's about 8 more miles down to the confluence with the Rainbow. Other than that there there is no legal camping - it's mostly either swamp or obviously private property - homes & cow pastures. There is a nice lunch spot at about 8 miles down called Sandy Point where the private property owners have put in benches and some signs, but at normal water levels there is not enough room for a tent and as high as the water is right now the benches are probably mostly covered.

Thanks for I info do you know if that campsite is first come first serve

I just did that run two weeks ago and it’s all clear. Beautiful run!