Have you ever heard of Weeki Wachee, Florida? Well if you haven’t, they are known for mermaids. Yes you heard me, real life mermaids live in Weeki Wachee. My little girl dreams came true the first time I went to Weeki Wachee and was able to see the mermaids.
Weeki Wachee is a Florida state park where manatees inhabit, and other wild life live. Mitch and I heard nothing but great things about kayaking in Weeki Wachee, so we decided to make a day of it.
Fair warning: I am a horrible kayaker.
Mitch and I were able to rent a kayak through Weeki Wachee State Park for 4 hours. We packed a ton of snacks, a cooler, and sunscreen for our big 5 1/2 mile adventure down the river. We showed up all excited and ready to go.
One note that we did not know about until we got there – if you rent a kayak through Weeki Wachee State Park, they have a non-disposable rule. That means you are not allowed bring anything that you are able to throw away on the river. So no plastic bags, no paper products, or anything of that kind – not even water bottles. We were slightly upset about this because we were not aware of any of this so we had to bring all of our snacks, and drinks back to the car. So I would highly recommend packing snacks in Tubberware and bringing a reusable water bottle. Also, they were checking people’s water bottles to see if there was any alcohol. They have a strict no alcohol rule.
But besides all the rules- which were completely understandable once we got there- we had so much fun!
It is a self guided 5 1/2 mile kayak ride down the river. I am not exaggerating when I say this water was so clear you could see the bottom no matter how deep it was. It was a gorgeous blue color. We saw tons of fish, birds, turtles, and other wild life. We were hoping to see manatees, but they were all gone already. Manatees stay and live in the river when the ocean is too cold. Manatee enjoy living in 70 degree water. So your best chance to see manatee is the winter. But we enjoyed going in the warm weather to go swimming in the crystal clear water. It was still cold though. Even though we went on a day where it was in the 80’s – the water was very chilly. I think if we went back later in the summer when the temperature was higher, the water temperatures would be warmer as well.
Weeki Wachee limits the amount of people on the river each day, so there is not much traffic while you kayak. We found many times that it was just us on the river. It was very peaceful. There are many banks where you can pull off to the side to go swimming, eat a snack, or just take a break. There’s even a rope swing off of a tree at one point!
I would highly recommend spending a day kayaking in Weeki Wachee as well as exploring all the Weeki Wachee has to offer besides kayaking. I was super disappointed when we were there the mermaid theater was under construction so we weren’t able to see the mermaids. But next year when we are back it should be up and running! If you are visiting Tampa, or anywhere in the area, I think Weeki Wachee is a great day trip option.
Cheers y’all!
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