Summertime

Summer vacation has me at the Rainbow River in Dunnellon.

The Seminole Indians called it the Wekiva. It is actually a spring run and not a river at all. The water is crystal clear and cold and yesterday I took a four hour tube ride down it. My wife was cold but survived. Lots of fish and gators and turtles and birds. We saw a family of otters along the way. Never seen as many wood ducks before and there are nesting boxes everywhere so they can make more. We rented a home on the banks and have kayaked around as well.

Simply beautiful and they want it to stay that way. No disposables anywhere on the water, boats idle speed, everything is controlled by way too many rules. The river is a shallow affair with average depth probably 6 feet. Saw some deeper holes here and there. Eel grass covers the bottom. Cypress the shores. Did not see any trash. None.

Our house is a family home turned AirBnB. Pool with screen covering, three bedrooms, yard, dock, and has everything you need and expect in a home. The cable tv subscription is the minimum so…..we play Uno. The restaurants are kind of limited, talent wise. They try I guess but nothing fabulous. My omelet yesterday looked like a beginner did it up.

Pizza bones off the dock bring in all manner of creature. Bream, bass, turtles, even had a small gator swim up looking to see what the commotion was about. Neighbors feed pelletized stuff.

I miss my pup.

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First time in a kayak…..a bit nervous according to the look. LOL


She is in violation of the rules because she has a water bottle. Later we found that out.

Wifey and I have always wanted to to that float. Will do so at some point I'm sure. Looks like a lot of fun.

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Originally Posted by Slab

Wifey and I have always wanted to to that float. Will do so at some point I'm sure. Looks like a lot of fun.

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Very relaxing. The State Park offers a two hour float, BUT only on weekends during the Summer. Well…. that means loads of people.

K P Park is a Marion County facility and they offer a four hour float during the week. Nobody lets you use your own tube period. We went to this facility and it was like $25 for entrance to the park, tube rental and return shuttle service.

I wanted to use my noodle float but nope. I enjoy it while I am snorkling because you can just float on the surface and spot stuff as you go by. I place mine under my armpits and it’s perfect.

The float takes you past lots of wildlife. We saw a family of river otters, birds, turtles, and of course alligators. The water is crystal clear and averages about 5 feet deep with areas of deep holes and such. Eel grass covers the bottom. One side will be houses and the other side wilderness. Some of those homes are rather nice, which I am sure you could easily afford. What’s $3 million when it comes to providing a home for your savages ?

The float trip is four hours long but goes by pretty quickly actually. Someone posted a sign along the route that said the brige was 15 minutes away. NOT. Easily hour and half later. Must be a joke.

When swimming in the springs you get cold, but with just your butt, feet and hands in the water you stay nice. I mean it is kind of cool but when the Sun shines on you it is nice.

It is all over at the end of September. The shuttle bus driver said that when the kids go back to school attendance falls off dramatically. We were the only tubers we saw. You have to read about the dates and such as they are river nazis when it comes to the rules. I just do not understand why the state park tells you to avoid weekends due to crowds and then says you can only tube on the weekends. Why ?

K P Park has limited parking so you must get there early. They allow for VIP parking by reservation. This is close to you guys and would make a great day trip for you. Be aware almost no one there is dog friendly and we didn’t see anyone walking their dogs. The savages would need to stay home. Monitoring the compound of course.

There are spots where you could get ashore, but snorkling on the float would be a challenge. The water flows at about 3 mph. 72 degrees F. Tastes like, well it tastes like water.

There are not very many good spots to eat. Swampies served us blackened shrimp tacos that were basically a few shrimp with lots and lots and tons of a mayonaise based sauce. Great if you like a mayonaise taco. Their burgers were lousy as well. Lots of fast food available.

There are some hiking trails in the area and we took a fairly long one. I of course got chiggers again. I have been daubing at the bites using Australian Tea Oil in the handy applicator bottle you sell. Thanks !!!!



Next year when the children go back to their government schools, we will traipse back down there for another dip in the river. I liked it at least as much as the Ichetucknee River float trip. Not as wild or visually beautiful, but pretty darn nice. Had a good time.

Good post…thanks for the info.