Kissimmee River Cruise, Central FL

[Roy & Dixie]

I recently cruised the Kissimmee River in central FL covering the full length in both directions (round trip) from the town of Kissimmee waterfront to it's mouth at the NW corner of Lake Okeechobee. I actually began at the loading ramp in the Kissimmee River State Park located on the NW shore of Lake Kissimmee. From the SP I headed south to Lake Okeechobee, back north to the town of Kissimmee, then back south to the SP. We got underway at 1400hr on day 1, anchored out 4 nights, and hauled out 1200hr on day 5. There is a lot of information on the history of the river and recent attempts to restore some of the damage done to the river and Lake Okeechobee due to converting the river into a barge canal from Lake Okeechobee to the south end of Lake Kissimmee that can be found online. Navigational info on the river is hard to come by.

This is a summary of the trip:

1) The length of the river, canals, and lake routes is about 105 mi each way.
2) There are 6 locks. When you arrive at a lock you pull up to a cord located at the end of the approach fender and pull the cord for 2 sec. You will be asked your last name and boat name. The lock closest to Lake Okeechobee wants you to have your last name posted so the lock tender, who has a hearing problem we think, can read it.
3) Water depth is over 15ft in the dredged canals, but can be very shallow in a couple of the small lakes and along most of the restored river section that lies between the 3rd and 4th locks up from Lake Okeechobee. One must hold to the outside of most of the sharp bends in this restored section due to sand bars developing on the inside of the bends.
4) Currents in the restored section are about 1.5 to 2 kts. Currents in the canals are not noticeable due to the locks and depth of the wide canals.
5) We had almost no traffic between Lake Okeechobee and the north end of Lake Kissimmee.
6) There is no fuel between Lake Okeechobee and the south end of Lake Kissimmee, a distance of 66 mi. There is good fuel just before Lake Kissimmee at 'River Ranch' marina that has a restaurant and good docking.
7) There are many places to select an anchorage any where en route, even off the deep canals.
Numbered markers are within the lakes. Red right north bound.
9) There are very good launching ramps at the mouth of the Kissimmee River on either side of SR78. A very large paved parking area is at the ramps north of SR78 and safe for extended parking, I was told. Park well away from the ramps if out several days.
10) Distances from the ramps at the mouth of the river are:
8 mi to lock S65E
8 mi to lock S65D
9 mi to lock S65C
30 mi to lock S65A
11 mi to lock S65 at the south end of Lake Kissimmee.
The last lock, S61, is at the south end of Lake Tohopekaliga. The town of Kissimmee lies on the north end of this lake where one will find a nice floating dock so as to visit the small town.

[bcassal]

thanks for the info.
This a trip we have considered when planning our Florida trips.
What did you encounter along the way as far as points of interest, scenery, etc. I remember having the impression of lots of flat canal-like waterways. Was this the case?

Bruce Cassal
Carpy

[Roy & Dixie]

[jimicliff]

Please send them if you can. If it doesnt work I'd like to visit just because we're neighbors, I'm in Mt Dora, I've run the Ocklawaha for years. Where you left your car and trailer are what I'd like to know as well ok, Thanks Cliff
djjimicliff@yahoo.com

[Simplicity]

It's always been amusing to me that the Army Corp got paid to straighten the Kissimmee and now they're getting paid to try to put it back the way it was. That's a smart government agency!
Fish eating creek is the only natural inflow to the big lake and it's beautiful. Wouldn't be good for a C Dory but nice in a small outboard or kayak.

[Roy & Dixie]

Cliff, I e-mailed 2 attachments to your yahoo e-mail account, and also sent you a PM. Were you able to receive either of these?

Roy

[captstu]

Any chance you can e/mail me pointers to the charts you used to go from Lake Okeechobee to Kissimmee?

Thanks much

stu@shearwater-sailing.com

[Roy & Dixie]