Paddling The Suwannee River (Fargo to Big Shoals, days 1-2)

A RIVER OF TIME

10 Days on the Suwannee River, Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico – 225 miles

The Georgia Suwannee

Paddling the Suwannee River had been on my mind for quite a while; an inkling of a thought growing into a small tilt in that direction and then finally tangible movement. I wanted to paddle the complete river – 225 miles from Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico. Following a creek as it becomes a river would allow a better understanding of the change – with a little time, it all came together.

As I threw out an offer for any to join up I also met-up with a local paddle group whom had planned a weekend ‘social’ trip – a great opportunity to grasp the logistics, shuttling, and intricacies of the Suwannee. The Holton Creek weekend happened in February, I was planning an early April run at it – Gordy, a friend (and brother-in law’s brother) from Delaware quickly signed on for the paddle, awesome.

Gordy drove down from Delaware and we proceeded to The Suwanee River State Park where we camped on Sunday, the next day (Monday) we would take the shuttle from The Suwannee Outpost to Fargo, Ga – at that point it would be 221 river-miles to the Gulf, via the Suwannee. There are other outfitters available but the Suwannee outpost seemed the most convenient, our vehicles would be riverside and secure at the one-third mark, this an advantage I felt if restocking or adjustments were needed.

Dropped Off

Fargo, Ga. – DAY ONE, (Monday) – 221rm to 203 river mile = 18 work miles (10-days planned)

The recommended paddle depth for this section of the river is a 51-foot reading at White Springs, on this date it was 50.4 – a deterrent?, – naaa, too many things in motion, us being the largest factor. It was a late 10 am drop off and start from the Highway-41 bridge in Fargo – a handshake, and Gordy and I were off;

The Suwannee in Georgia

Here the little creek 12 miles out of the Okefenokee Swamp really wasn’t much, but it was full of character – both natural and human which we found naturally stoic. The shorelines were weathered and the ‘line’ of the river randomly altered, everything about the Suwannee was interesting – all the way to the Gulf of Mexico (at Suwannee, Fla), cool.

The Georgia section of the Suwannee shows all the signs of rapid fluctuation, a ravaged and beaten shoreline – yet within it all everything stood placid and seemingly dead-still – several times through the day we each commented about the ‘peaceful nature of it all .

There were the anticipated areas of shoaling (movement of sand creating sand-bars or shallow water), and places between the slow water where stepping-out to cross or a simple hand-shove (low water) was necessary – not bad, just a “part of it.”

The gnarly tree roots were ever-present, the natural rebellion of these trees vs the elements to survive creates a myriad of character, on occasion an aged tree lost the battle and had crashed into the creek. Plus, with Georgia’s nearby highway-41 once a main thoroughfare – there were the occasional reminders of dated tires that had washed down through storms, now half buried they remained a fixture along the way – not so much ‘trash,’ but adjusted within the setting as ‘relic’s.’

ever-dilligent Osprey

There were the kingfishers darting about, the Osprey (which I think remained ahead the entire trip) continually moving out ahead in search of prey that sensed us nearing – much like the Current River trip, I’m believing now that its an effective opportunity that these birds have added to their arsenal of catching prey.

And there was the almighty ‘peace,’ surrounded.

We paddled until about five and set up camp high on river-left near the Fla/Ga State line, finished the last half of our Subway sandwiches and were asleep by seven – only the Owls stirred after that. The first day had been overcast and ‘misty’ – just another part that anyone has to anticipate when making a multi-day paddle – periods of lite rain arrived during the night.

Facebook Post – “Fargo to Ga/Fla line, late start, 16 miles – low water, getting lower, Overcast day with mist, kinda nice – felt like it was 80. Gnarley trees, owls, Osprey’s. Camped on suwannee, day 1 done, using battery power to post – alls good”

DAY 2 (Tuesday)- 203 rm to @180 rm = 23 ‘easier’ river miles

Lite rain passed through during the night so we packed damp gear, ate insta-breakfast meals (not bad), sipped rough coffee (river-jolt) – and then moved out by 8 am.

The creek now started to resemble a larger stream, there were longer and deeper sections of ‘slow-water’ and stepping out for shoaling was much less frequent – now there were occasional areas of rock shoaling where ‘picking a line’ was necessary. For the most part finding the right ‘line’ through these areas at 50.4 ‘ remained possible, the narrowed current was a simple and welcomed ride.

The bubbles (above) showing were from the water flowing over rocks and the tannic acid (natural coloring from the leaves, vegetation) composition of the water – not from any unwanted crap in the water – the Suwannee’s water had a ‘quality’ feel to it all the way to the Gulf.

At around 11 am we made the Hwy-6 bridge, an optional shuttle starting point for many paddlers.

Then around three pm we made the Cone Bridge Landing, interesting thing here is that my GPS indicated the area between Cone Bridge Landing and Hwy-6 was 5 miles, but we had traveled 9 river miles.. still alot less deviated than the Mississippi. Just a note for this section; in between is ‘limp-dick’ bend, no kidding that’s the real name – I think when you see the images the trees project (which are awesome) – its in there somewhere….

Our paddle rate was in the neighborhood of 3 mph, a comfortable rate – this would increase due to current further downriver, but not by much. This was not a trip to simply paddle the Suwannee, it was a trip to enjoy the nature of the Suwannee, while simply paddling it.

Not a bad day on the Suwannee – even though it was overcast with lite rain – the underlying current gave it a ‘soft’ comfortable ride. It was a fine day in ‘the lawn chair’ as our-buddy the Osprey remained diligently working the waters ahead of us.

We passed on a sandbar in the middle a few miles back and regretted it, a few miles further we camped near a private hunting camp and boat ramp (@180 rm) – mosquitoes were present (but not a factor in the tent). Another night of animals moving in the woods and owls courting throughout the night – there were a few flashes of lightning that crossed the sky.

The pollen lines were noticed earlier on the water lines along the shore – and I was suffering a bit with those, sleep was fleeting. Again up to Gordy’s boiling water first thing in the morning, insta-food and coffee – a ‘wet pack and damp start to day-3.

Next Day;

Day 3 Big Shoals to Woods Ferry River Camp (159rm)

More day 1 and 2 pictures

note: even though mentioned and shown on available maps – there are NO physical river mile-markers along the river, – it would be positive to see a marker every couple of miles or on existing landmarks, benchmarks – for safety reference purposes.

Suwannee River Mile References

221.0 Hwy 41 Fargo, Ga ramp

206 Georgia/Fla line

(camp day 1)

202.0 – Roline Ramp

197.7 – Turner Bridge ramp

195.7 Highway-6

186.5 – Cone Bridge ramp

(camp Day 2)

177.1 Big Shoals State Park – PORTAGE N 30 21.19, W 82 41.24

171 Highway-41 White Springs

168.3 Hwy 135 Stephen Foster State Park White Springs (Hub)

Hubs are towns or parks ‘ A wide range of goods and services are provided to meet visitors’ needs. Visitors can enjoy special events, shopping and other activities. River Camps are located a day’s paddle between hubs. Accessible only from the river, the camps provide covered camping platforms, primitive camping and restrooms with hot showers

163.2 – Interstate 75 – Blue Sink Launch/ramp

(camp day 3 – Woods Ferry)

159.3 Woods Ferry River Camp reservations – (800) 868 – 9914

158.0 – Woods Ferry Launch

150.0 – Suwannee Springs launch

148.5 Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park ramp (Hub)

147.3 – Deese-Howard ramp

140.9 Holton Creek River Camp reservations – (800) 868 – 9914

N 30 25.81, W 83 2.17

(camp day 4 – Kelley Run)

135.4 ALAPIA RIVER Gibson Park ramp

130.4 – Road 141 ramp

127.7 Suwannee River State Park Boat Ramp (Hub)

127.8 WITHLACOOCHEE RIVER

115.6 – Boundary Bend ramp

113.4 Advent Christian Village (Hub) N 40 14.88, W 83 14.54

(camp day 5 – Dowling River Camp)

113.0 Dowling Park River Camp N 30 14.81, W 83 14.87

110.2 – Christian Tract Launch

106.5 – Charles Spring ramp

106.4 – Ezell Landing/ramp

103.3 Lafayette Blue Springs State Park (Hub) ramp

98.2 – Hal Adams ramp

97.4 – Telford Springs ramp

95.8 Peacock Slough River Camp reservations – (800) 868 – 9914

N 30 6.09, W 83 8.23

92.9 – Hardenberg ramp

90.4 – Hugh Byron ramp

(camp day 6 – Adams Tract)

85.5 Adams Tract River Camp reservations – (800) 868 – 9914

N 30 2.10, W 83 1.14

86.6 – Ft. Macomb Ramp

83.7 – Walker Track launch/ramp

82.0 – Ruth Springs ramp

LOWER RIVER

79.0 – Patrician Oaks Ramp

76 Highway 247 Branford, Fl

76 Ivey Memorial Park/ramp – Branford (Hub)

N 29 57.23, W 82 55.69

66.7 – Dorothy landing/ramp

65.5 SANTA FE RIVER RIVER

63.2 – Sims Landing/ramp

59.6 – High Landing/ramp

(camp day 7 – riverside)

56.6 Highway 340 /ramp

55 Gornto Spring County Park N 29 46.82, W 82 56.35

52.0 – Log Landing

49.9 – Wanee Ramp

46.0 – Eula Landing/ramp

44.0 – Turner Point ramp

43.1 Hart Spring County Park /ramp N 29 40.46, W 82 57.26

41.0 – Purvis Landing

40.0 – Sapp Landing

35.8 Highway 98 Suwannee Gables Ramp

34.2 Fanning Springs State Park (Hub)

(camp day-eight, at FS State Park)

34.2 – Joe Anderson Ramp

32.0 – Hinton Landing Ramp

30.2 – Old Pine Landing Ramp

28.7 – New Pine Landing Ramp

28.1 – New Clay Landing Ramp

25.1 Manatee Springs State Park N 29 29.34, W 82 58.67

24.6 – Usher Landing Ramp

23.3 – Camp Azalea Ramp

22.7 – Yellow Jacket Ramp

16.8 – Fowlers Bluff Ramp

16.0 – Weeks Landing Launch

7.6 – Munden Creek Ramp

(camp day 9, 10 Anderson Landing)

3.9 Anderson’s Landing River Camp (Hub)

Links to the ten posts of this paddle trip;

Days 1 and 2 Fargo Ga, to riverside camp to just above Big Shoals (178rm)
Day 3 Big Shoals to Woods Ferry River Camp (159rm)
Days 4 and 5 – Woods Ferry to riverside camp (136rm) to Dowling Park River Camp (113 rm)
Day 6 - to Adams Tract River Camp (85 rm)
Day 7 – to riverside (56rm) just above Gornto Springs (56rm)
Day 8 - to Fanning Springs (34 rm)
Day 9 - to Anderson River Camp
Day 10 – Suwannee, Fl (03rm, Gulf)

Life at 60, (mph)