Where can you run and have fun in Florida. (freshwater)

[Capt.Insane-o]

Without the po-po crawling up your arse and endless manitee zones. I like to cover some distance in a day, at high speeds preferably. Decent hotels and eats on the water,fuel, etc. Saltwater need not apply.

[Tom Foley]

St Johns River from just North of Lake George to Jacksonville comes to mind . If you like scenery and pack your own picnic so to speak , Suwannee . No hotels, fuel or eats except for the Suwannee Gables on the river and this is not Miami !

[mickeyjr]

The Apalachicola River in the panhandle is beautiful, a great place to run, and run hard side by side, with very little enforcement of anything most of the time, however, lodging, eats, etc are pretty much nil as its in the middle of nowhere.

[RNM018]

Tom's Right , Palatka , to Silver Glenn , is 80 miles rounds trip , of hard running , on the St . Johns River .
But , The Suwannee , is the place to see Fl. if you haven't been there .
Tom , isn't there fuel , at the park , just around the bend , at Three Rivers ?
And There is fuel , at the Gulf . But it's still a good idea , to carrie , your own .
There have been more then one of us drifting down that place , thinking the same thing ...

Rich Martin 018

[RNM018]

Tom's Right , Palatka , to Silver Glenn , is 80 miles rounds trip , of hard running , on the St . Johns River .
But , The Suwannee , is the place to see Fl. if you haven't been there .
Tom , isn't there fuel , at the park , just around the bend , at Three Rivers ?
And There is fuel , at the Gulf . But it's still a good idea , to carrie , your own .
There have been more then one of us drifting down that place , thinking the same thing ...

Rich Martin 018

[PARKER RABE]

suwanne is the only place to go .........st johns is ok.....but nothung beats the suwannee hands down , u wont be dissapointed....hope this narrows your trip down

[Adam McKeon]

If the wind isn't blowing hard, you cant beat the St Johns from Black Creek and South all the way to Lake George... Plenty of good food, drinks, hotels, ramps , and water!

Dont listen to Parker, he only takes his boat out 3 times a year and doesn't like to drive more than an hour or two from his house!!!!

Places to hit on the St Johns with good docking starting from the furthest being North
The Landing
Hooters ( 2 on the water )
Whitey's Fish Camp
Julington Creek Marina has a wing place behind it now..
Clarks Landing
Outback Crab Shack
Gators
Porkys

Given your criteria , I say the St Johns. No place in FL has the long open runs like the St J... Only place I know of po po being a prob is up in Black Creek due to the number of wake boarders , and south of Lake George.... Aside from that, let er' eat!!! I would be happy to burn some fuel with ya !

I think someone mentioned the Apalachicola River but I have never been there... I liked the Suwannee but it gets small quick and lacks amenities. Personal opinion

[omega_679]

Like Tom and Rich mentioned, the St Johns from Jacksonville to the south end of Lake George has no speed limits. South of Lake George to Sanford there is a 30mph limit and inposed!!!!! From Jacksonville to Palatka the river is wide and if the wind is blowing can be chopy. From Palatka to Lake George no problem. A trip thru Dunns Creek is definatly worth while.
On the other hand The Suawnnee is a great place to run. Scenery is nice and if you catch Tom up there on a weenend I am sure he would show you around.

[omega_679]

Aside from that, let er' eat!!! I would be happy to burn some fuel with ya !

Be careful running with this guy. With that new motor he NEVER stops for fuel!!!! Good seeing you guys yesterday at Corky Bells on the river. Your run from Green Cove in the morning must have been great. How was the ride back?

[brianincc]

If the wind isn't blowing hard, you cant beat the St Johns from Black Creek and South all the way to Lake George... Plenty of good food, drinks, hotels, ramps , and water!

Dont listen to Parker, he only takes his boat out 3 times a year and doesn't like to drive more than an hour or two from his house!!!!

Places to hit on the St Johns with good docking starting from the furthest being North
The Landing
Hooters ( 2 on the water )
Whitey's Fish Camp
Julington Creek Marina has a wing place behind it now..
Clarks Landing
Outback Crab Shack
Gators
Porkys

Given your criteria , I say the St Johns. No place in FL has the long open runs like the St J... Only place I know of po po being a prob is up in Black Creek due to the number of wake boarders , and south of Lake George.... Aside from that, let er' eat!!! I would be happy to burn some fuel with ya !

I think someone mentioned the Apalachicola River but I have never been there... I liked the Suwannee but it gets small quick and lacks amenities. Personal opinion

That must of been your white mirage I saw going under the palatka bridge yesterday. It looked a little bumpy out there.

[scott reierson]

This is great info. Always wanted to know about that area. great map.

In Dec-Feb...

What about further south. Kissimee or south central FL during Xmas?

[Adam McKeon]

The ride back - lol Check out the video below. I was very lucky, wind switched from NW to SW... I use www.windfinder.com on my boating days. With such a small boat and a large river, it helps so much. The only bumps I saw yesterday were from the 35'+ v bottoms and those big Cats. I guess I ran around 125nm yesterday on one tank that I didn,t top off.. Greencove to the far end of Cresent Lake, back to Palatka, a few passes back and forth, then the Toys for Tots Run ( which I ran past Welaka by a mile into lil lake george), back to Gators aka Corky Bells, then back up the river to Greencove... Mostly all at over 100 Good times!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJdSAvR4SXg

[Capt.Insane-o]

Lots of 86 octane...hrm. I hope I have a set of 38 cc'rs left. Thanx for the info guys!

[afr]

you can always come down my way if u bring me a power head to put on ill show ya around the calusahacee no speed limit cept for a few bridges and locks

[Tom Foley]

The ride back - lol Check out the video below. I was very lucky, wind switched from NW to SW... I use www.windfinder.com on my boating days. With such a small boat and a large river, it helps so much. The only bumps I saw yesterday were from the 35'+ v bottoms and those big Cats. I guess I ran around 125nm yesterday on one tank that I didn,t top off.. Greencove to the far end of Cresent Lake, back to Palatka, a few passes back and forth, then the Toys for Tots Run ( which I ran past Welaka by a mile into lil lake george), back to Gators aka Corky Bells, then back up the river to Greencove... Mostly all at over 100 Good times!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJdSAvR4SXg

This damn boat MAKES GAS !!!!! Change your lower unit oil frequently with those miles you're racking up !!