Looking for Island camping access near Cedar Key. Appears to be several small islands just off Cedar Key–does anyone know if they are open for camping? They look uninhabited and open via google maps.
IIRC, Cedar Key had a Chamber of Commerce. If it was not a C of C, it was some other org that would answer questions or mail out brochures. Worth calling them.
Do not rely solely on Google Maps. They have lots of errors AND they do not indicate whether property is private. The islands might be privately owned.
@pikabike said:
IIRC, Cedar Key had a Chamber of Commerce. If it was not a C of C, it was some other org that would answer questions or mail out brochures. Worth calling them.Do not rely solely on Google Maps. They have lots of errors AND they do not indicate whether property is private. The islands might be privately owned.
Truth. I found that out at Ossabow Island, Georgia.
We used camp on Seahorse and North Key back in the early 90’s but it’s now illegal. The islands are part of the Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge run by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.
You can camp at Shell Mound which is a county park 9 miles outside of Cedar Key. It’s a small campground with water and electricity at each site for around $16 per night. It’s next to a airboat ramp and can be pretty noisy byt 5 AM on the weekends. Take plenty of bug dope as the gnats and mosquitos can be a real challenge in warm weather. We limit our visits to late fall to early spring.
Here is info on the Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge :
https://www.fws.gov/southeast/pdf/tearsheet/cedar-keys-lower-suwanne-national-wildlife-refuge.pdf
Here is a slideshow of our last trip to the area - it shows the campground and the islands off the coast: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lN88K9SkP1a2YdigOgyv2EqFGpqz4_MeLtqMmAhgvQs/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000&slide=id.p
Been paddling every year around Cedar Key for a few years. now though I am but a visitor. No island camping alas… Seahorse has had its light restored this year.
We camp at Shell Mound and find it fine though we tend to stay up the hill… Down by the ramp its a bug party. The airboats can be annoying but for the most part the operators try not to be yahoos… They do go out early.
http://cedarkey.org/
I can’t think of islands that allow camping though I do know people who have launched and gone down the Waccasassa River and camped on islands… Also Halls Creek Campsite is not too far from Bridge 4 in Cedar Key to the SE. I have not tried to get to it. Seems a navigational challenge…
Be aware that what looks to be water in six hours is mud…
However the ramp at Shell Mound and also Bridge 4 are all tide ramps… This is very important.
While the airboat ramp at the campground is muddy and a challenge at even a high tide, there is a good launch at Shell Mound Boat Ramp just a half mile down the road from the campground. It’s always been deep enough to launch and paddle out to the islands off Cedar Key regardless of the tide.
There is also a boat ramp in Cedar Key as well as a beach you can launch from.
The beach is a long slog at low tide and when we were there two years ago they were prohibiting paddlecraft from launching even at the launch that is shallower and goes under the bridge. The Harbormaster shagged us away… Seems some one in a kayak had gotten run over by a power boater using the other steeper ramp and government mentality came into play… Sheesh . Powerboaters dont usually use the lower ramp and its pretty obvious that you won’t be seen disembarking from your yak on the steep ramp. Common sense did not rule on either side. We gave up and drove a bit north to a turnout and launched on a low tide friendly beach. Last year the same reasoning seemed to prevail and the beach we had pulled out on was no longer available.
There are some real challenges for paddlers in this area. There is a relatively new launch at Anchor Hole Boat ramp but its not all tide. It has its own parking lot… yay.