In late January of this year, Dan D. and I paddled the Suwannee River from its start in the Okefenokee NWR to the Gulf Coast. We launched on January 24, 2009 at the Stephen C. Foster State Park (western entrance to the Okefenokee NWR). The trip took 11 days to cover the 240 miles to the coast. We did the same trip last year, but in March rather than January. Last year, we also added a 20 mile leg down the Gulf Coast to Cedar Key. We had a great time this year despite some cold temps and two rainy days. The water levels were much lower this year, 14+ feet lower in the upper half of the river, with little current for most of the trip. Without a current assist, the paddling was more difficult (an 11 day trip this year vs. a 10 day trip last year), but the exposed shoreline was more interesting. The links below lead to pictures and more detail on the 2008 and 2009 trips.
http://picasaweb.google.com/traendj/Suwannee20090123#
http://picasaweb.google.com/traendj/SuwanneeRiverTripMarch2008#
For more info, you can contact us through the Georgia Sea Kayakers web site at www.georgiakayakers.com.
John T.
Thanks for posting
Nice pictures and thanks for posting them! I recognized some spots of the upper part of the river where I’ve paddled before. It’s amazing how low the water was this year.