Last week I joined the Space Coast Paddlers Club on the Silver River. It was a beautiful day to paddle filled with wildlife and natural beauty. The Silver River is fed by Silver Springs which is the largest artesian spring in the world and famous for their glass bottoms boats. The Silver’s crystal blue waters flow with a decent current for six miles from the head spring to where it empties into the Ocklawaha River. The forrest surrounding the Silver is also one of the only places in North America where you can view wild monkeys living in the jungle. The water levels were high that day so we did not see any monkeys, but we saw lots of other wildlife that made the trip a wonderful day.
We launched at Ray Wayside Park and paddled upstream to the spring head.
Wild birds were everywhere.
As well as turtles.
And sometimes birds with turtles.
With beautiful wildflowers popping up along the shore.
Of course it would not be Florida without alligators.
This one swam past my boat and I did not even notice him until he was about 10 feet away.
Then there is the fish at the head spring. They swim up to your boat.
We reached the head spring then turned around and paddled back. The Park Rangers do not allow you to dock at the spring and unfortunately, the Fort King Paddle trail was blocked.
It does not matter how many times I see it, the blue crystal clear water always amazes me.
I hope you have enjoyed this paddle trip with me up the Silver River. If you have been there, let us know in the comment section. If you would like to join us on future trips, contact us, or the Space Coast Paddlers.
Find your headwaters,
Dave
The Casual Outdoorsman 