The River Ranch Event Returns This April!

Starting in 2006, a twice-yearly event at the Westgate River Ranch was held as a central gathering for performance boaters. What made the River Ranch event such a success was that everything was located on the same property - hotel, restaurant, launch ramp, and parking. Everybody is together and the result was awesome boating during the day and crazy partying all night. It's incredible fun.

The River Ranch is a giant 'dude ranch' located in central Florida which makes it an ideal location for any boater in Florida, but this event is big enough for people that are out of state to consider attending. Usually over 100 boats are in attendance and many times we host a small photo shoot for anybody that was a photo of their boat posted on the site, or a print.


This year Jeff Girardi from Freeze Frame Video will be attending the River Ranch event with his mobile photo printing lab. Event goers will have the option of having any photo I shoot printed and framed right on-site. There is a restaurant on the property which most of us eat at and is actually very good. It's located right at the boat ramp so you can just dock your boat after a run and go right in. The room cost includes the launch ramp and docking fee so there are no extra costs no matter how much you use it. There is also an old-style saloon that looks like something out of Bonanza, and usually has live music on Saturday nights.

The ranch is also very large and many people rent golf carts that are available right near the hotel. I'm sure you can imagine that this results in some pretty interesting party antics at night. At least everybody gets to party at the hotel, so there are no worries about people driving when they shouldn't be.

The River Ranch event is planned for April 20-22, and make sure you book your rooms early since the hotel fills up fast. To book you room, call 863-692-1321 and be sure to mention you are booking for the Scream and Fly group, which is source code 14-156. There are three types of rooms available : inn rooms ($99.00 per night), courtyard Rooms ($119.00per night) , and the efficiency rooms ($99.00 per night). I prefer the efficiency rooms since they are more like small apartments rather than rooms, and they have a back door to access the small back yard. There is a full thread with details and discussion about the upcoming event right here.


If you have not yet been to the River Ranch event, this is your chance and I highly recommend attending. This is one of the very best boating events to attend. Even if you do not bring a boat, there is so much partying and fun that it won't matter. If you would like to get a better idea of what the River Ranch event is about, head over to one of the River Ranch galleries.