Jump to content

OT: Paddling The Everglades?


FrioGeo

Recommended Posts

Posted

I'm looking for a week long paddle adventure for early spring... anyone familiar with the guided tours of The Everglades and 10,000 Islands? I'm looking for something rustic... as close to a wilderness adventure as possible. It will be necessary to use an outfitter, since I'm 1500 miles away and won't be transporting my kayak, etc.

Any info on the area and / or the outfitters is appreciated.

Thanks!

Posted (edited)

I can recommend paddling out of Chokoloskee, here's a cache in town to give you some idea of the location. From there you can paddle the Everglades paddle trail, there are a couple of virtual caches along the route. I HIGHLY recommend GC32AC, as a true wilderness experience. Getting there, you'll pass by GCF353. I don't know if anyone offers to get out to Pavilion Key as part of a guided group. I would think so. It's the largest of the 10,000 Islands. Both those caches on on the Wilderness paddle trail, and there are designated primitive camps along the way. As a paddle trip with over a week, this would work pretty well. Might be possible to manage this as a loop with that much time, but you'd be exposed for a day - ie, outside the barrier islands, could be dicey in a 'yak. We went out and back the same way, to stay in shallow protected water.

 

If no one responds with specific recommendations on outfitters, try an email to the owner of GCF353. She's local and does a lot of kayak caching in the area, would probably be able to name all 3 or 4 businesses ;-) in Everglades City or Chokoloskee. JunglePete, another local cache owner, used to do tours (not kayak tours) in the area; he has moved, but still would know the local businesses well.

Edited by Isonzo Karst
Posted

Thanks for the tip, but it doesn't look like they do multi-day tours. They look like a good option if we just needed the yaks, but we'll also need the camping gear, etc to be provided. Some of the outfitters do boat assisted paddle tours. That sounds like the way to go.... one can travel light and still have all of the necessities (and a few luxuries) upon arrival to ones "wilderness" destination.

Posted
JunglePete, another local cache owner, used to do tours (not kayak tours) in the area; he has moved, but still would know the local businesses well.

 

I still do tours! www.ecosafari.com

I hope I still do tours.

I better call the boss....

Posted

Thanks for the response...

ecosafari looks awesome, but they don't seem to offer the multi-day camping trip I'm seeking.

www.crystalseas.com and www.evergladesareatours.com seem to be options... might you be familiar with them, or have suggestions for others?

Posted

Thanks for the response...

ecosafari looks awesome, but they don't seem to offer the multi-day camping trip I'm seeking.

www.crystalseas.com and www.evergladesareatours.com seem to be options... might you be familiar with them, or have suggestions for others?

 

I know that Dragonfly does multi-day expeditions in the Everglades - http://www.dragonflyexpeditions.com/

Posted

Camping in the Everglades is best in the Winter, there's the least number of skeeters and other biting bugs. Spring is almost too late. Plus that's the peak of fire season, so it can get smoky or just downright dangerous. We go in January. Even then, we got swarmed around dusk, but that's not nearly as bad as other times of the year.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...