Iketuchnee River Tubing Trip

In the early 70's, I passed by what looked like a fun adventure, tubing down the Ichetucknee River in inner tubes.



Things were basic then and the land and river were open to anyone with a spirit of adventure. Now the area surrounding this wonderful spot is "Iketuchnee State Park". Thats a good thing, as now it's protected and kept pristine. A huge number of daily visitors would have eventually really screwed up this place.



The river is slow moving, but crystal clear and it can be done in a bathing suit or an inner tube.
Water temps year round is 72 degrees. Back then, I was on my way to a space shot at Cape Canaveral and could not take the time, but made a mental not to do this river some day.


Well, about 38 years later, I did.



Without hordes of tubers, the quiet surroundings were just wonderful. Turtles stayed put, while you drifted by. Ducks, deer, and wild boar are numerous in the area.

The Underwater enclosure for our camera did not do justice to the water clarity issue. The water was as clear as air, but it seems the plastic enclosure effected the exposures or picked up the mineral content or SOMETHING!

We were lucky to be just out of prime season of summer and most families with kids were not playing in mid-week, so we almost had the park to ourselves.




Otherwise it is common for up to 750 people per day to be floating down river. This day, there seemed to be maybe a dozen and we made sure they were not within earshot.



Great relaxing fun!