It seems as though every time Scott and I explore and paddle a new-to-us clear water river in Florida for the first time we declare it our new favorite Florida river. Juniper Creek, formed by the famous Juniper Springs, was no exception, and to date, is our favorite Floridian body of water. We were able to explore it on Sunday November 5, 2023, the day after Alex’s birthday bash. We left Gus and Alex’s and headed to the expansive Ocala National Forest to find the Springs. The Juniper Springs Recreation Area turned out to be less than an hour from their house which was convenient.
The website for Juniper Springs had claimed that no disposable containers are allowed on the river so I was nervous about how to carry along our standard canoe fare (granola bars, crackers, trail mix, string cheese, sandwiches, etc.) that we typically bring. Ever the rule follower, I found one of the employees at the visitor’s center to inquire about this. They looked me up and down and declared that I didn’t look like the type of person that would litter and deemed me trustworthy enough to be able to take our rations along and responsibly pack our trash back out. This made me beam with pride! (Just like the time that I saw a kitten on the side of I-385 and stopped to rescue it and then ended up surrounded by both Greenville County Sheriff deputies and Greenville City police who after doling out some initial grumblings and chastisement about my decision to play Paw Patrol declared that I didn’t look like the typical person that walks down the interstate. Look at me winning at life!)
We loaded up our now-not-illegal snacks into the canoe and set sail for great adventure. Actually we put the canoe and our gear on a little canoe dolly cart that the park provided and wheeled it to the canoe launch which was a little bit of a hike from the parking lot. Then we set sail.
The creek here and the canoe launch made us feel like we were getting into a ride at Disney World. The creek banks were so close that there was just enough room for the canoe to slip between them, the thick subtropical forest made an arching canopy overhead, and the water was impossibly shallow and turquoise colored. It made it feel like we were launching our canoe into the water of It’s a Small World.
Juniper Run has been listed as one of the top 25 canoe runs in the US and is a seven mile run that starts right below the springs which has been turned into a park and popular swimming hole. It was interesting to see mile markers along the waterway as we went. The creek changed several times as we made our way down the waterway. It started off incredibly shallow- so shallow that it seemed like our canoe would scrape the bottom but there was enough depth and current to push us along. The turquoise water eventually turned darker at times and the depth would increase and would then suddenly clear up again and become more shallow. Several times we had to lay down on our backs in the canoe, limbo style, one at a time- me first because I was in the front, and then Scott who was in the rear, to be able to slide underneath fallen or low hanging branches and trees. There was a time or two I wasn’t sure the canoe could fit but it somehow managed to slip underneath them. A few times we encountered trees where we had to make what felt like an Austin Powers style 100 point turn to shoehorn the canoe through but we managed. It was an exercise in team building.
Because of the narrow width of the river, the thick vegetation surrounding the waterway, and the steep banks on either side, there weren’t many spots that made for easy stopping. We finally found one and we ate our lunch and Scott took a quick skinnydip (one of his favorite things in the world to do). We hadn’t passed or encountered that many other paddlers but I was the self-appointed lookout (not that he cared) while he frolicked about in the clear water.
The bird and aquatic life wasn’t as robust as the day before at Silver Springs but we still saw some- mostly trout and turtles. As we got towards the last ⅔ of the run the creek broadened out and we startled some deer that were drinking from the waters edge. We also saw a dead and decaying Gopher tortoise along the shore and that was how we finally knew we weren’t actually on a water ride at a Disney theme park.
Towards the very end of the run, out of nowhere appeared a little rapid. Bull Sluice it was not, but it sure sounded intense as we were paddling up to it and was quite exhilarating in a canoe! (For a good time, look at TripAdvisor reviews of this river… “1 out of 5 stars: The river was too rivery.”)
When we finally arrived at the takeout we were treated to an authentic Florida-man vignette playing out at the landing. A real live Florida man was standing knee deep in the water bathing his pitbull. (One of the reasons this river is so pure and clean is that the spring and most of its run is located in the Ocala National Forest which means it is protected from runoff from fertilizer and livestock that has affected and polluted most of the other clear rivers in Florida.)
Scott left me at the takeout and caught the shuttle back to the put-in to retrieve the car. I was left to guard the canoe and observe Florida men as I waited for him, but as promised, he reappeared with the car about a half hour later and we loaded up and headed back to Gus and Alex’s.
We were exhausted from the last few days but joined the rest of the crew to watch the Torsilieri’s beloved Eagles defeat the Cowboys in a close game that evening. In the afterglow of their win, we all sat out on the screened-in patio enjoying some various libations. The sliding glass door of the house must have been cleaned quite well in preparation for guests because Jon, Alex’s brother, walked right into it, nearly knocking him down and leaving a forehead impression on the glass. We were all supportive and laughed like hell until we were all nearly crying and rolling on the ground, watching poor Jon clutch his head as he saw stars. It wasn’t half an hour later that Scott did the same thing! The next morning they both had sore foreheads.
The following morning we broke down our backyard camp, gave lots of hugs and said our goodbyes and headed out. The last river that we were going to explore was the Suwannee which we would pass on our way back home.
The Suwannee is a swift moving black water river, its water getting its rich dark stain from the tannins released by trees along the riverbanks of the 250+ mile long waterway. We had decided to do an upstream paddle and float back of only a few hours but we quickly abandoned this plan because it was exhausting paddling up the shoals against the current. The black coffee hue of the water was unnerving- especially contrasting it with the clarity of the rivers we had paddled the last few days. We floated back down to the takeout and called it a day, loaded the boat and gear and headed back to South Carolina.
