The Silver River

Class: 1, 1-3 mph

Put-in: Ray's Wayside Park
Take-Out: Same as put-in.

Directions: Ray's Wayside Park is located approximately 7 miles east of Ocala on the west side of the Ocklawaha Bridge. It is on the right hand side of the road where you see the road turning into a "Y"....Map of Area
Parking: Paved parking.
Facilities: Restrooms, picnic tables, boat launch.

Park Fee: $3.00 per car up to 8 people

Trip Time: 5-6 hours paddling round trip

As you can see from the aerial photo above, the Silver River snakes its' way from the Silver Springs headwaters, where the attraction is located, to the Ocklawaha River. Its' length is approximatly 7 miles to where is joins with the Ocklawaha River, and the several artesian springs pump out up to 550 million gallons of almost pure water a day.
After you put in you travel south in a channel until you come to the river about a few hundred feet down. At the end of the channel go right and you will be heading up river to the Silver Springs. It is one of the most beautiful rivers to kayak. It has a slight current of about 1-3 knots going upstream, but it is not difficult to paddle. It takes about 3.5 hours to reach the Silver River Attraction area, and about 2 hours to float back to the takeout. Coming back you can just sit back and relax as the current moves you along.

What makes this river so enjoyable is that it has undeveloped land on both sides of the river so you can see nature as it was many years ago. The ideal time to go is during the week. On the weekends it can get a little busy with the motor boats, but can still be fun. There is an idle speed restriction. In my opion, the best way to enjoy this river is by kayak. You can move slowly and get a good view of what is there.

The Cypress knees can make unusual patterns. Some of them looking almost like a bridge.

There is plenty of flora and fauna to visualize. Such as flowers blooming or this aligator lazily sunning himself on an old log. This seems to be his favorite hangout, every time we pass he is there playing a ham for all the cameras.

There is always a turtle or two drying themselves off.