twonights

Recommended 3- to 4-day kayak or canoe trips in the Everglades

Two nights (3 days), see photos below for more description. Also, for a detailed story and photo journal on this trip (with a small detour added in), read here.

Chokoloskee Island or Everglades City to Picnic or Tiger Key to Rabbit Key, 23-24 miles round trip

Day 1 (10 miles from Chokoloskee Island, 7 miles from Everglades City)

prefer to leave from Chokoloskee Island and have my shortest day of paddling on the last day. But, either way is fine. The first part of the trip is

crossing Chokoloskee Bay to the Ranger Station in Everglade City. From there,

ou have

hoice of a few

different

routes, the most well-known is

Indian

Key pass, which has channel markers

all the way to Indian Key

in the open gulf

. Once out of the bay

and into the narrower channel, it's about

mile paddle to the gulf. Indian Key sits in

the middle of the pass and

the

farthest

land point before entering the wide-open gulf.

Instead of

paddling to Indian Key,

I take a deto

that leads into the

southeastern side

Gaskin Bay.

The route is beautiful, you'll get close to birds and there

an osprey nest near an oyster

bar where I usually

stop for a quick break.

While taking a

break one day, we witnessed 3

dolphins feeding in the creek.

They came up on us as

we sat and watched them go by within hand's

reach. When

feeding,

dolphins are like torpedoes in

the water and you can

spot them easily in the bays and creeks from their violent splashing

and

intense

movements through

the water. Incredible

scene! It's also quiet

through this creek route,

you'll rarely run into

other paddlers. It's usually too

shallow

for powerboats,

so it is a nice reprieve from the motorists. From

Gaskin Bay

you can

head out toward the south tip

of Picnic Key or head

across the

bay and then toward Tiger or Picnic Keys.

Day 2 (7-8 miles

)

This is an open gulf paddle day and if the weather conditions are favorable, can be one of the highlights of an

Everglades trip. You'll see manatee

and dolphin and I've even seen loggerhead turtles sticking their heads out of

the water.

And you'll see numerous brown pelicans diving for fish.

occasion, I've spotted

uge

sting rays flying out

of the

water.

You're going to cross some very

ig, open

bays and

will pass the entrances to

Chokoloskee and Rabbit Key passes.

you cannot make a

direct beeline to Rabbit Key, you can

skirt around Comer

Key (which is nothing more than

a long oyster bar) to J

ewel Key if the water gets too rough

Jewel Key is a nice rest stop too.

No matter

what,

a calm day will make

this trip more

attractive.

When approaching Rabbit Key, you're best bet is to go to the inside (east side),

ut at full or new moon

low tide

may not be

passable

even for

kayak

canoe.

The next best way to get there is to go around Lumber Key.

The gulf side of Rabbit Key is a very long shoal that juts out

quite a distance

, so that would be an even longer route

. Either way, you'll end up on

the east

side of the island, where

you'll find a port-a-john. This is

the most used camp area on Rabbit Key, but I have seen

others

camping on the west side, since the hurricanes of

2005 cleared it out.

The

last time I

camped there, I was able to walk

to the west side even at high tide and get some sunset shots of an active

osprey nest.

At low enough tide, you can

walk around the entire island.

Day 3 (6 miles to Chokoloskee Island, 9 miles to Everglades City)

From Rabbit Key, you'll head back to Chokoloskee Island or Everglades City.

With enough water, you can get out on the east side of Rabbit

Key and head directly to the western point of Lumber Key. Otherwise,

I head out toward the end of the long point

of Lumber Key

(northeasterly

direction) and then between Lumber and Rock Hole Keys. You'll spot Turtle Key

early on,

which is a nice

rest

stop for those coming in from

farther-

out Pavilion Key. I usually don't go into Rabbit Key pass where you'll find the

channel

markers; rather I stay to the south of it and stay to the

right of

the island that is on the south side of the channel.

There's a very

large shoal on the northeast side of this island, so avoid that. But while

doing so,

enjoy the bird action. As

you clear the shoal

and come up on the next land mass, beware of power boaters who get off the channel and

wind through

this bay to get out to the

gulf via Lumber Key. Once back in the channel, head over to the north side of the channel and enter

the

smaller

channel on

the left. Stay

close to the right side and follow the shoreline and round the corner continuing on through the

channel into Chokoloskee

Bay.

Here, be

mindful of the channel markers especially at low tide. You'll site Ted Smallwood's

store (museum) on Chokoloskee

Island, so head

toward it. Watch

for an oyster bar on your left, near the entrance of

Chokoloskee pass. In the winter, white

pelicans roost there and it's quite a site to

see. Continue on

through the bay if you're

heading to Everglades City.

Three nights (4 days), see photos below for more description:

Chokoloskee Island to Watsons Place to Turkey Key to Pavilion Key (41 miles round trip)

Day 1 (16 miles to Watsons Place)

I love this first day's route, it takes you on the beautiful Lopez River and three incredibly awesome backcountry bays.

When out here, I realize

how vast the Everglades is (I cannot imagine what it was like before most of it was destroyed). We

put in on the east side of Chokoloskee Island at

utdoor

Resorts marina (the starting point for the wilderness waterway). As

you head toward to the mouth of Lopez River, beware of shoals

and

follow the channel markers. The Lopez River is gorgeous

and I can see why Gregorio Lopez made his homestead here. Stop at the Lopez River

campsite for a break and check out the

old water cistern he built over 100 years ago. It's about a 5-mile paddle to this campsite, so it makes for a nice

break.

Following crooked creek will lead you to Sunday Bay, where you'll follow the wilderness waterway markers that lead you

into Oyster and

Huston Bays. On a map, these 3 bays look small in comparison to the gulf of Mexico, but in a kayak or

canoe, they are not. I've been caught on

these bays in 25-30 knot winds and it is mind blowing. You may have to hug the

shoreline and which shoreline you hug will depend on the direction of

the winds. Once you get into Huston Bay and

can see

marker

108 , head in a more southerly direction toward the right, away from the markers.

You'll see the island where marker

107 is

situated, the island has an old house still standing that you'll spot easily from a distance. Stay right of that

island

and once

along side it, follow the right shoreline into the passage that will lead you to the Watsons Place. Watsons Place is

rich in

history and if

you can, read Peter Matth

sson's book "

Killing Mister Watson

" before you camp there. Once you know

the

story, it makes your stay more interesting

and you'll actually believe you've seen ghosts.

Day 2 (8.5 miles)

You could stay at New Turkey Key, which was split in half by hurricane Wilma, but Turkey Key just seems so much

prettier. And it's less

populated with powerboat campers. Fishing this area is awesome as well; my kayak companion

caught a 27" redfish right off the shore of Turkey Key

just as we were paddling in. It's a quiet key that sits back

unassumingly. I spotted an eagle on the southern point one day when I was paddling from

Mormon Key to Hog Key, so if you

are camping there, you may get lucky and come across an eagle's nest.

The 20-ft wall of water that surged

across the 10,000

Islands and Flamingo area left so many trees barren and half standing. Turkey Key is one of the keys that got hit hard.

After one

year, you can see new life being breathed into the islands and you sigh relief that nature is so resilient. Just one

word of caution, there is no port-a-

john on Turkey Key.

Day 3 (7.5 miles)

From Turkey Key we head toward Pavilion Key. The one time I did this route the weather was not in our favor. Winds up

to 25 knots were

expected on that day, so we left Turkey Key before daylight when the winds are most calm. With our head

lamps, we skirted around the east side of

New Turkey Key, avoiding the shoals with the high tide

and paddled as the crow

flies toward the middle of the two islands that are situated directly

east of Pavilion Key. We weren't sure if we could get

through the middle of the shoally islands, but that was our compass bearing. To paddle in the

dark, a

ross one of the largest

bays in the 10,000 Islands is a thrill. Very few powerboats are out yet (commercial shrimpers get out on the gulf well

before

dawn) and it is as silent as can be. That's why I was taken aback when I heard a familiar sound from my days in Northern

Michigan. It

couldn't be, was it really? Yes, it was a loon,

nmistakably.

The sun had started to

peek over the horizon so I

was able to spot the bird. There he

was, all alone in the middle of this bay. I never saw a loon in

Florida and later learned

that loons to make it down to south Florida but it's not a very

common site. On this morning, it was

a gift.

Camping on Pavilion Key is like no other site in the park. First, it is the largest campsite in the gulf and the hurricane

cleared out even more of the

island. There are 2 port-a-johns on this island. The most popular areas to camp on Pavilion Key

are on the northern end, the tip and the west side.

But, in March 2006, while camping on Hog Key, a ranger paid us a visit.

He informed us that we could camp on the south point now thanks to the

hurricane clearing out many trees. This area of

Pavilion Key is also a bird rookery, but the hurricane took care of that too, which is why camping is not

discouraged (it's not

encouraged either). I camped on the south end, my companion and I were the only humans there. At night, we could see the

campfires and night lights of the campers on the north end, and felt calm to not be in the middle of all that.

Day 4 (10 miles)

Back to Chokoloskee Bay via a 10-mile route that really doesn't feel like 10 miles, it feels shorter. Once you cross the bay

and are heading east

of Crate Key, it's smooth all the way. Turtle Key offers a nice rest stop. Basically from Lumber Key,

you take the same route back as I described

above for the 2-night trip from Rabbit Key. One thing I will mention about this

route, I see more osprey nests on this route than most others, and it's

rare not to see dolphins feeding as they move with the

tide.

Chokoloskee Island to Lopez River to Watsons Place to Pavilion Key

Day 1 (5 miles directly to Lopez River, or 8 miles via Turner River and Cross Bays)

I discuss this route on one of my recommended overnight trips to Lopez River campsite, but basically you have a choice.

You can add 3 miles

and head up the Turner River from Chokoloskee Island (we put in on the east side at

utdoor

Resorts

marina) and then over to Cross Bays which

lead you into the Lopez River. Or you can take the more direct route from

Chokoloskee Bay into the mouth of Lopez River. I love staying on Lopez

River, especially at sundown. You'll get some boat

traffic as the fishermen return to Chokoloskee in the evening, but you'll also see (and hear) the

dolphins passing by. If you get

there before anyone else, I find the campsite on the left side of the cistern (looking at the site from the water) to be the

best.

Day 2 (11 miles)

It's the same route as described above for day 1. If you want to do a bit more exploring on this day, you could venture

into House Hammock

Bay from Sunday Bay. Just before you get to the southeastern exit of House Hammock Bay, you'll find

an opening on the right that leads you on a

small creek opening up into a small hidden bay. Once in the bay, follow the right

shore line and you'll come to a corner of the bay where you'll find

some wooden planks. Get out and follow the planks into

the mangrove forest for about 75 feet or so. You come up on an old moonshine still, built in

the 1920s. Loren "Totch" Brown's

father built that still and while the foundation and few pieces of equipment are still there, the copper still itself has

been

replaced by an aluminum replica. It's still pretty cool to find!

Day 3 (8 miles)

You'll leave the Watsons Place and hopefully be riding the tide out on the Chatham River into the gulf. Avoid going

against the tide! As you

come into the gulf, there are some sand bars that make it very difficult to pass through toward

Mormon Key at low tide. If you stay to the right, you

should be fine. Mormon Key is always a nice place to stop, get out and

walk around so if you can swing over there, do so. From there, it's a

relatively short 4 miles to Pavilion Key, but you'll likely

have to go around the north end of the islands that run along the east side of Pavilion Key due

to the nurmerous shoals

surrounding these islands.

Day 4 (10 miles)

Same description as Day 4 of previous trip described above.

Sunrise on Chokoloskee Island; this is the view from the
wilderness waterway put-in at Chokoloskee Island Resorts
marina. Once you put in, you head to the right around that
point and take Chokoloskee Bay to Lopez River. Or you can
head straight across (to the left of the photo) into the
Turner River.

Campsite on Rabbit Key during the early morning. This is the
east side of the key and on a clear night, its a great place to
catch a full moon rising.

In Rabbit Key pass, heading
toward the gulf with Turtle Key
in the distance.

Kayaking through the creek detour from Indian Key pass to
Gaskin Bay.

Constance Mier, 2007

Constance Mier, 2007

Constance Mier, 2007

Lopez River in the early morning, near Lopez River
campsite.

Camping on Watsons Place, on the Chatham River. No
ghosts can be spotted in this photo.

Constance Mier, 2007

Constance Mier, 2005

Marker 125, one of the wilderness waterway markers.
This one is located near crooked creek, which connects
Lopez River to Sunday Bay.

Constance Mier, 2006

The old homestead on an island in Huston Bay. Marker 107
is on the other side of the building. To head directly to
Watsons Place, from Oyster Bay, you want to be here, on
this side of the building.

Constance Mier, 2006

Walking on water. At the mouth of the Chatham River,
leading into the gulf, low tide can present a problem.
Here, a kayaker is trying to overcome that problem.

Camping on the southern end of Pavilion Key, on the
lagoon side. In the distance to the left is the north point of
Pavilion Key where every other camper was located. Here,
we had hundreds of shore birds as well as mating horseshoe
crabs sharing the camp with us.

Constance Mier, 2006

Constance Mier, 2005

It is helpful to have a marine chart of the area to better understand these routes. You may purchase marine charts of the Everglades at
waterproofcharts .com. The chart for the Ten Thousand Islands area is #41 (north of Lostmans's River) and for the Flamingo/Whitewater Bay/Hells Bay
area, you'll need chart #39).