Fort Island Trail Park

Class: 1, open water, affected by wind and tides

Put-in: Fort Island Trail Park boat ramp.
Take-Out: Same as put-in.

Directions: From US 19 turn west onto Fort Island Trail (Plantation Inn) and travel 5 miles. The park is located on the right....Map of Area

Parking: Paved parking.

Facilities: Restrooms, Boat launch, picnic area.

Park Fee: none

Trip Time: 5-6 hours

Fort Island Trail Park is located in Citrus County Florida. It is a beautiful park and has a boat ramp to launch from. You can follow the Crystal River west out into the Gulf of Mexico. The whole surrounding areas are part of the Crystal River State Buffer Preserve. A little NE of it is the Crystal River Archaelogical State Park. The one main thing you have to watch out for is the boats. Once they leave the mandatory no wake zone they take off. From the boat ramp to Shell Island is about 3.8 miles. Along the way are several channels or inlets that lead back into the preserve area. The first one is only about a mile from where you put in at. These can be a nice peaceful paddle because the boats can't really go down them. On this one the depth of the water can range from 6" to about 5' deep. There are many twists and turns. You can sometimes end up in a small channel that you have to back out of. But that is part of the adventure.

About 3/4 of a mile in you come across a large pond. It is filled with grasses of all types. When you continue a little further on the channel that leads out of the NW of this pond you will come to the end of the channel. There is lots to see when you are off the beaten track. The birds are plentiful here. Even though sometimes you have to really stare to tell them apart from their surroundings.

Also you will find Lilies growing on the edges of the banks. When they are blooming they can be a spectacular site. They are very wide spread. When you finally paddle down to the where the channel meets the Gulf, you will start seeing the islands. One is Shell Island where many people camp. There is plenty of fish waiting to get caught here. Especially if you venture out a little farther from the islands into Crystal Reefs. This is not a coral reef, but an oyster reef. The fish like to feed around them. There are also a few other small islands that are used for camping and others stretch out further into the Gulf.

Now if you don't want to paddle all the way out the channel you can cheat by putting in at Fort Island Gulf Beach. It is located at the end of the road. It is about a mile paddle to Shell Island from there. But you will be missing out on alot of sightseeing if you take this route.
Now if you would like to learn more about this area, here are a few useful links to help you along the way.