(Sorry if this gets posted twice. I seem to be having a bit of trouble with
my newsreader.)

Can anyone recommend a river or lake in the continental USA for fla****er
kayaking in December? I've already kayaked in the Everglades and on the
Suwannee River in Georgia/Florida, so I am looking for someplace else where
I can paddle and camp for about 5 days. I prefer lush forested scenery,
rather than open beaches or desert type places. And I want someplace warm;
not necessarily tropical, but I'm not a winter camper.

One thought is the Current River in Missouri's Ozark National Park. Any
other suggestions?

Many thanks.

JP

Can anyone recommend a river or lake in the continental USA for fla****er
kayaking in December? I've already kayaked in the Everglades and on the
Suwannee River in Georgia/Florida, so I am looking for someplace else where
I can paddle and camp for about 5 days. I prefer lush forested scenery,

The Okefenokee is a very pretty place. Five days may be stretching it
a little. The Okefenokee is mostly a series of canals so it can have a
little bit of a closed in feeling compared to more wide open places.
Camping is limited to platforms, and reservations are required.

The Edisto River down to Edisto Island in South Carolina is a
beautiful blackwater paddle. It would be easy enough to make a 4 night
5 day trip on the Edisto. Can be pretty tough to arrange a shuttle and
as you get near Edisto Island, you'd probably need a tide chart.

2 trips I've done I almost loved: 70 miles down the Congaree River
from Columbia, South Carolina past the Congaree Swamp National
Monument into the Santee (The Congaree and the Wateree form the
Santee) and then through the big swamps that are the headwaters of
Lake Marion and then on down into Lake Marion and to Santee State
Park. Or 50 miles down the Wateree from the US 378 bridge down to the
confluence w/ the Congaree & so on. Both are great trips, with lots of
wildlife (unfortunately, possibly some of the inebriated 2 legged
variety, so AVOID ALL SAND BAR CAMPSITES SERVED BY 4 WHEEL DRIVE
ROADS!!) and birds, even though bird activity is much, much higher in
the early spring. Paddling out of the river through the cuts in the
swamps is great adventure, but much more suited to canoe traffic than
kayak as some maneuvering through cypress trees is required. It is
possible to get very lost, so a GPS is a good thing to have.

Another great place is Lake Jocassee in the NW corner of South
Carolina. Jocassee is a very beautiful deep mountain lake with a very
beautiful remote trail following its northern shore, so it's
especially good for dayhikes up to falls, etc. Whitewater Falls,
supposedly the highest falls (in 2 stages) east of the Mississippi and
south of Niagra is an excellent side trip and Laurel Fork Falls drops
into a right angle box canyon on one of the lake's eastern tips. You
can paddle almost up into the pourover and it is really something to
see. Jocassee is small for a 5 day trip and campsites are limited, but
if you did a side trip or 2 on the Foothills Trail you could easily
fill the time. Pool elevation is only about 1100 feet, and December is
usually very nice in that part of the world, but it can occasionally
be cold and wet.

I've also heard about trips on Fontana Lake in Smoky Mountain National
Park, but I also hear that the banks are quite steep and if the water
is down some it can be hard to find good places to get of the boat and
camp.....

(Nace) wrote in message . com...
Can anyone recommend a river or lake in the continental USA for fla****er
kayaking in December? I've already kayaked in the Everglades and on the
Suwannee River in Georgia/Florida, so I am looking for someplace else where
I can paddle and camp for about 5 days. I prefer lush forested scenery,

The Okefenokee is a very pretty place. Five days may be stretching it
a little. The Okefenokee is mostly a series of canals so it can have a
little bit of a closed in feeling compared to more wide open places.
Camping is limited to platforms, and reservations are required.

The Edisto River down to Edisto Island in South Carolina is a
beautiful blackwater paddle. It would be easy enough to make a 4 night
5 day trip on the Edisto. Can be pretty tough to arrange a shuttle and
as you get near Edisto Island, you'd probably need a tide chart.

2 trips I've done I almost loved: 70 miles down the Congaree River
from Columbia, South Carolina past the Congaree Swamp National
Monument into the Santee (The Congaree and the Wateree form the
Santee) and then through the big swamps that are the headwaters of
Lake Marion and then on down into Lake Marion and to Santee State
Park. Or 50 miles down the Wateree from the US 378 bridge down to the
confluence w/ the Congaree & so on. Both are great trips, with lots of
wildlife (unfortunately, possibly some of the inebriated 2 legged
variety, so AVOID ALL SAND BAR CAMPSITES SERVED BY 4 WHEEL DRIVE
ROADS!!) and birds, even though bird activity is much, much higher in
the early spring. Paddling out of the river through the cuts in the
swamps is great adventure, but much more suited to canoe traffic than
kayak as some maneuvering through cypress trees is required. It is
possible to get very lost, so a GPS is a good thing to have.

Another great place is Lake Jocassee in the NW corner of South
Carolina. Jocassee is a very beautiful deep mountain lake with a very
beautiful remote trail following its northern shore, so it's
especially good for dayhikes up to falls, etc. Whitewater Falls,
supposedly the highest falls (in 2 stages) east of the Mississippi and
south of Niagra is an excellent side trip and Laurel Fork Falls drops
into a right angle box canyon on one of the lake's eastern tips. You
can paddle almost up into the pourover and it is really something to
see. Jocassee is small for a 5 day trip and campsites are limited, but
if you did a side trip or 2 on the Foothills Trail you could easily
fill the time. Pool elevation is only about 1100 feet, and December is
usually very nice in that part of the world, but it can occasionally
be cold and wet.

I've also heard about trips on Fontana Lake in Smoky Mountain National
Park, but I also hear that the banks are quite steep and if the water
is down some it can be hard to find good places to get of the boat and
camp.....


The Tallapoosa River in Alabama is nice. We put in below the Thurlow
dam in Tallassee and paddle about 30 miles to Montgomery. You can
camp on the sandbars where there has always been plenty of wood for a
campsite.

Most all os the Tallapoosa is fla****er and is very pleasant.

For the Congaree trip, did you use a commercial outfitter for the
shuttle? What time of year did you do it?

I've done the Edisto, it was very nice, although in March/April I
still got freezing temps at night.