Kayaking Econlockhatchee River

Put-in: CR-419 bridge in Oviedo, FL

I went kayaking on the Little Econ River with my Dad.  We loaded up the kayaks in my truck, and headed to our take-out point on Snow Hill Rd. to drop a car before launching from our put-in site under the 419 bridge in Oviedo, FL
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Little Big Econ Canoe Launch

Putting in here is easy.  There are about 6 parking spots within a 200 foot walk to the bridge.  Overflow parking is on the side of the road further down.

Launch site under the 419 bridge

Today our plan was to paddle the 8 mile downstream stretch of the Little Econ River from the 419 to Snow Hill Rd.

The weather couldn't have been any better.

Not a cloud in the sky today... Not long after I took the above picture, a Bald Eagle flew over.  What a surprise! I have never seen a Bald Eagle in the wild. I was too slow with the camera, and missed the shot.

I did get a picture of this high flying Red Shouldered Hawk that was circling overhead looking for lunch... We saw 2 more Bald Eagles before moving further down the river, but this little point-and-shoot camera takes to long to turn on.

turtle

The turtles were taking advantage of the sunshine today. Most turtles are shy, and hit the water well before I could get a picture, but this guy was posing for my camera.

The river has a lot of downed trees, and submerged logs. We were able to navigate around, over, or under all of them without having to portage. 

 More Birds...

The banks of the Little Econ River are high at some points. Erosion is a big problem here.

This tree tried to kill me!

As we paddled around a bend in the river I heard a noise. I looked over to the bank, and pulled out my camera thinking it was a gator splashing into the water.  Instead, I see a dead palm branch fall from a tree.  It landed on the bank, and a small portion of the bank fell into the river followed by a 30 FOOT PALM TREE!  It was falling right towards me!  I paddled as hard and fast as I could, and the tree crashed into the river less than 10 feet from my kayak!

Just minutes later an underwater log jumped out of the water and flipped my Dad's little kayak over spilling him into the river!  HAHaha!

Big Gator

We saw 4 gators today. The gators in the Little Econ are BIG... and don't like to have their picture taken.

Flagler Trail Bridge

There were not very many paddlers on the river today, but we ran into a few groups of hikers around the Flagler Trail Bridge.  They were all talking about the HUGE 12+ foot gator that was in the area.

WARNING: Once you pass the bridge be prepared to run into large groups of River Rats. White trash holding a beer in one hand, a cigarette in the other while dropping F-bombs in front of their young children who are swimming in the river without a life vest. Most of the River Rats also let their unleashed Pit Bulls roam freely, and chase kayakers passing by. This portion of the river is littered with beer cans. 

another sunning turtle

It's getting late, so I will finish with these pictures... (click to enlarge)

We finished up our 8-mile run at the Snow Hill Rd. Bridge take-out where we had dropped a car before beginning our trip. I forgot to take pictures of the take-out point... From here I drove Dad's car back to the CR-419 bridge to pick up my truck while Dad stayed with our kayaks.

I picked up my truck, and was driving down Snow Hill Rd. when a small white car decided to play a game of "chicken" with my much larger Dodge Ram.  It crossed the solid double yellow line, and was coming at me head on! I flashed my headlights, and laid on the horn... They didn't move! I slowed down, and pulled completely off the road to avoid a head on collision with these idiots... They drove by LAUGHING!  They were probably the same drunken River Rats mentioned above.

Overall, I would rate this trip a 7 out of 10. It loses a point for the tree that almost fell on me, the pit bull that chased my kayak, and the drunken river rats.  I believe kayak camping is allowed on the Econ River with a special-use permit from the Little Big Econ State Forest office, but I will have to look into that... The best part about the Econlockhatchee River is the price. FREE!  So pack a lunch, and grab a paddle. Just keep an eye out for gators the size of your kayak!


EDIT: The 8 mile stretch we paddled was the Econlockhatchee River, not the Little Econ River. Thank you to Dave from Dave's Yak Tales for the correction.