For those of you that remember my other posts, I've recently gotten into canoe camping and have had a few nice trips with my son. I've been trying to convince my daughter to go, but she would only agree if we stayed somewhere with a bathroom. I figured that gave me a perfect chance to try out one of the River Camps the state has on the Suwannee River. Our trip started at the Suwannee Canoe Outpost this past Saturday morning. They are really nice to work with and shuttled us and our canoes up river for a reasonable rate. This trip also gave me a chance to try out the racks I've put on my new truck, they worked really well.



My daughter was really excited about our first trip, we were joined by a friend of mine, along with his wife and two sons...



We unloaded our gear and started our trip at White Springs, 22 miles up river from the canoe outpost. My daughter was proud of her new life jacket and Hello Kitty boots..



We headed down river towards the river camp, the weather and the scenery was beautiful.







We stopped along the way to stretch our legs and have a snack..





After a few hours paddling, we came to the river camp..




There are five camps, starting with Woods Ferry just below I75 and ending at the Gulf. They are free and only accessible from the river. Each has 5 sleeping platforms and a primitive camping area. There is also a restroom and shower. You can reserve a platform or take your chances and just show up. We actually had the whole place to ourselves. There is a camp "host" who lives at the camp and takes care of it. He said they were completely full the previous weekend. I really enjoy doing the whole primitive camping thing, but this was a nice change of pace, and allowed for lighter packing.







We got in a little fishing at the camp landing. We managed to catch quite a few catfish. Most were small, but a few were big enough to provide a nice late night snack. I have to thank my friend Johnny for being the one to take me on my first trip last year and get me hooked.



My daughter insisted on hot chocolate and smores that night to make her experience complete..



We packed up the next morning and headed down river..



We stopped at Suwannee Springs on the way out to check out the old spring house. It was built around the time of the Civil War and was a big tourist destination at the time, as was White Springs. People believed the sulfur spring water cured all kinds of medical problems. There was a huge hotel and several other building there at one time.









From the springs, it was just a short paddle down to the canoe outpost, where we loaded up and headed home. It was a great first trip with my daughter and she is already asking about going again.

Looks like a good time. Good on you for taking your kids. Those are the making of Memories that

will last a lifetime for them.

That's a nice part of the river. I ran the upper portion (starting just below the Ga border then down to White Springs) about 20 years ago. Especially in the early morning hours it was very peaceful, scenic and serene. Most of my Suwannee time was spent further downstream, which was still cool.

Great job dad!  I'll be looking to do this trip soon.