Canoes have carried people and materials on Florida's rivers, lakes, and streams for thousands of years. They offered the native peoples an easy way to move loads long before overland transportation was developed. Now, with highways crisscrossing the landscape, Florida's quiet waterways offer a chance to escape backward in time to the undeveloped Florida of centuries ago.

Two of the three national forests in Florida -- Apalachicola and the Ocala -- contain more than 700 lakes and ponds and four major rivers. The third, Osceola, has much less open water and is not a major canoeing destination. Neither the Ocala nor the Apalachicola have whitewater such as you'll find in the mountains, but both have a variety of terrific streams. Each stream has its own characteristics that make it unlike any other. Some, like Alexander Spring Creek, begin broad with slow moving water and then become narrow and deep downstream. Others, like Juniper Creek, start scarcely wider than the canoe and end up more than a hundred feet wide.

You can usually cover about 2-1/2 miles per hour in open streams, assuming you stop now and then to enjoy the scenery. In streams with obstructing logs you will move at about 1-1/2 miles per hour. You won't find roads running parallel alongside the stream. You may have to duck under low-hanging branches or lift the canoe over partly submerged logs. The streams are left in these primitive conditions to provide a challenge and a sense of achievement, and to let visitors experience the quiet beauty of the unspoiled environment. Because there's no whitewater, safety considerations tend toward submerged logs and to a lesser extent, alligators and snakes. The greatest stress will be keeping from getting lost, or finding a place to camp. So before you head out on your trip, order the maps you need from the USGS.

Of course you don't have to take your own canoe on the jet. Both the Ocala and the Apalachicola forests have canoe rental consessions. Check with the rangers stations about where to rent. It would be a good idea to make a reservation.

Enjoy! And please carry out your trash and leave those wildflowers and cypress knees be.

Safety

Don't panic if you suddenly find yourself in the water. Usually you can touch bottom. Hang on to the canoe, which will float. Guide it to a shallow spot and empty it by rolling it over on the bank. Equipment such as cameras, camping gear. or lunches can be kept dry and safe if placed in plastic bags and tied to a thwart.

State law requires a Coast Guard-approved flotation device for everyone. Life jackets should be worn by all nonswimmers or elderly people; a flotation cushion will do for others.

Snakes may be seen resting on limbs. Most are nonpoisonous, all will leave you alone if you don't bother them. Alligators won't bother you in a canoe as long as you keep at least 10 feet away. Don't permit your dog to swim in creeks or ponds or it may become a meal for a 'gator.

Perhaps the greatest danger is from sunburn. A large hat, long sleeves, or suntan lotion help prevent overexposure.

Guide Maps

Oklockonee River - Lake Talquin, Smith Creek, Thousand Yard Bay, Sanborn, Mcintyre, St. Teresa

Bradford Brook - Tallahassee

Lost Creek - Arran

Lower Oklawaha River - Lake Delancy, Welaka

Upper Oklawaha River - Lynne, Ft. McCoy

Eaton Creek - Lake Kerr, Fort McCoy

Juniper Creek - Juniper Springs

Farles Prairie- Sellers Lake - Farles Lake, Juniper Springs, Alexander Springs

Alexander Creek - Alexander Springs, Lake Woodruff

Upper Sopchoppy River - Bradwell Bay, Crawfordville West

Owl Creek - Forbes

River Styx - Kennedy Creek

Kennedy Creek - Kennedy Creek

New River- Sumatra, Owens Bridge