I cannot stress this enough, Johnny Molloy’s book, A Paddlers’ Guide to Everglades National Park is essential to any kayaker or canoeist who plans to spend more than a day in the Everglades. The book will provide you excellent and detailed descriptions of all the possible routes available to you as a paddler. The routes are illustrated and details on mileage, level of difficulty and scenic appeal are all there.
If you don’t have Johnny’s book handy, I can give you a good start on planning your routes for a 2-day or more trip, you just need a marine chart of the area. On my website, I have several 2-day, 3-day and 5-day trips described; all of them loop trips beginning and ending at either Everglades City or Chokoloskee Island. Visit the site at: http://www.cmierphotoandfitness.net/everglades.html.
GULF SIDE: With marine chart in hand, you can now plan your paddle route in detail. Within the park, there are 5 channels or passes that connect the gulf and Chokoloskee Bay. These are West Pass, Indian Key Pass, Sandfly Pass, Chokoloskee Pass and Rabbit Key Pass. Indian Key Pass is the largest channel and also the closest to Everglades City. This is the most popular route (but not necessarily the best) to get to Picnic or Tiger Key. It has more motorboat traffic in it compared to the other passes mainly because of the park tour boats (some quite large) that run back and forth throughout the day. The channel is well marked and there are a few convenient sandy locations to get out and take a break. The other passes have markers but not as well identified as the Indian River Pass.
If you are heading to Picnic or Tiger Key and want to get away from the channel and get into a more secluded area of the park, there is a route that deviates from the channel and leads into Gaskin Bay. On your map, notice where the channel gets wider at the point where Russell Pass connects with Indian Key Pass. At that land point is red marker 7. From that marker head in a westerly direction to an opening that separates a small island from a very large land mass. Continue following the right shoreline and go through a narrow creek. This opens up into a small bay and then into another creek. Once out of that creek, you come into the open again and continue into Gaskin Bay. If you are heading to Picnic Key, you can go due southwest toward the Stop Keys and get to the gulf side of Picnic Key. Or you can cross Gaskin Bay and make a left toward Tiger Key where you can continue between Tiger and Picnic Keys.
Another off-the-beaten-path route is to take West Pass from West Pass Bay. From Chokoloskee Bay, head west into Lane Cove and continue past the mouth of the Ferguson River. A westerly direction will lead you to the small opening into West Pass Bay. Make sure you have a compass bearing or GPS waypoint to help you find the opening. This is a good route to take if you have an incoming tide during the initial part of your paddle. Staying in Chokoloskee Bay and Lane Cove spares you from the harsh current of the incoming.
If you are heading to Rabbit or Pavilion Key, leaving from Chokoloskee Island makes the trip 3 miles shorter. But if that is not an issue for you, you’ll leave Everglades City and head over to Chokoloskee Island where you will head into Rabbit Key Pass. You can take Sandfly Pass which is a short distance from Everglades City and get out to the gulf sooner. I like Rabbit Key Pass, but at low tide, Chokoloskee Bay leading into the pass is full of shoals. The good side of this is that you will pass a very large colony of white pelicans living on a shoal in the bay from November through March. A good rest stop along the way is Turtle Key, just before the open gulf. It has a beautiful sandy beach that is quite nice for a break. From there, you are only a short 2 miles to Rabbit Key and I recommend that you approach it from the south end of Lumber Key if the winds in the gulf are against you. Also, at low tide you may not get through the shoal located at the eastern point of Rabbit Key and extends to a nearby mangrove island. To avoid that and westerly winds, go around Lumber Key and head toward Rabbit from the east side. For Pavilion Key, take the same route, paddle between Rock Hole and Lumber Key and continue in a south by southeast direction, staying close to the mangrove islands on your left. For about 1 ½ mile, you have an open gulf paddle to get to Pavilion Key and hopefully the winds are in your favor.
A beautiful route is between Picnic and Rabbit Keys. The wildlife display never disappoints. You’ll see dolphin, manatee, brown pelicans and a group of white pelicans or two. From Picnic Key, head over to Stop Keys and you should be able to paddle between the two small islands. Before the hurricanes of 2005, this was impassable most of the time, but now it seems to be more open. Continue across Indian Key Pass past the northeast tip of Indian Key toward Kingston Key. From there head toward what use to be Comer Key but is now nothing more than a spit of sand and oyster shells. Stop at Jewel Key (which was recently made into a campsite) for a break before crossing Chokoloskee and Rabbit Key Passes.
If you are up for a longer paddle on your first day, Mormon Key is a good destination. Basically, take the same route as you would to get to Pavilion Key, staying close to the land masses near Duck Rock Cove. Continue in a straight route across Chatham Bend to the northwest side of Mormon Key. If you are planning several days and are including backcountry routes as well, Mormon Key and Hog Key are perfect stops for the first 2 nights before heading up Lostmans River into the backcountry. These would be the first nights of a 4- or 5- night paddle trip. Another good combination would be Rabbit or Pavilion Key and then Turkey or New Turkey Key before heading up the Chatham River. Getting from one gulf site to another is straightforward, but extremely wind prone. It’s difficult, if not impossible to hide from the winds when you are on a gulf route. You have only a few opportunities to duck behind an island but you must be mindful of the shoals that can keep you from doing so. As an example, with enough water, you could paddle between Buzzard and North Plover Keys when paddling from New Turkey Key to Hog Key. But notice the large shoals that surround these islands. You may only have one choice and that is to go around the Plover Keys on the gulf side.
BACKCOUNTRY: As I mentioned in a previous blog, heading into the backcountry from Chokoloskee Island is so much more convenient than from Everglades City. To get to Sunday Bay chickee or Lopez River site, I enjoy paddling up the Turner River and heading across the Cross Bays into Sunday Bay or Lopez River. This is a gorgeous route and if you leave from Chokoloskee Island (Outdoor Resorts), it is only about 8 miles to either campsite. A word of caution about this route, from Chokoloskee Bay, you may not have an opportunity to get out of your boat for a break.
To get to Watsons Place, you’ll cross several large bays. Please note; these bays look relatively small on the marine chart compared to the wide open gulf. But in reality, they are very large bodies of water and can be quite wicked with 15+ knot winds. Unlike the deep waters of the gulf, these bays are relatively shallow which causes the waves to break rather than swell. The breaking waves, especially with a side wind, can make paddling quite challenging. Basically, you are following the wilderness waterway all the way from Chokoloskee Bay to Huston Bay. Once in Huston Bay, head in a southerly direction from marker 108 and stay to the right of the island where marker 107 is located. You’ll see an old rickety building with a dock on the island; it’s an old homestead that has survived several hurricanes. You can paddle over there and check it out if you want. Some people have actually used it for emergency stops or to wait out a storm. Stay to the right of the island, veering away from the wilderness waterway, and head into the mouth of a large river that will lead you into the Chatham River. You’ll reach the Chatham approximately ½ mile northeast of Watsons Place.
If you are paddling 5 days or more in the Ten Thousand Islands, make sure to include the Lostmans River in your itinerary. You can include the campsite Willy Willy, but it does not appear on the #41 marine chart, you need #39 to show you the way to Willy Willy from marker 46 near Third Bay. Including the Chatham or the Lostmans River in your trip route means that you will have both backcountry and beach camping experiences. This is the best way to see the Ten Thousand Islands. I have a couple routes on my website as examples.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE: This is more or less aesthetic information, but I highly recommend that if you are planning a 3-day or more loop trip in the Ten Thousand Islands that you include both backcountry and gulf routes (connecting on the Chatham or Lostman River). It’s always a wonderful feeling to come out of the backcountry into the lightness and openness of the gulf; kind of a Dorothy-in-the-land-of-oz experience. It isn’t that the backcountry is dark and cramped; on the contrary, it is quite open with so many large bays to cross. But you can paddle some long narrow creeks, you are always surrounded by land masses, and you may not see a full sunrise or sunset from many of your campsites. Coming into the gulf through the mouth of the Chatham or Lostmans River is always breathtaking with the vastness of the gulf waters. On a calm day, the water and sky blend and are often indistinguishable. I recommend (tides cooperating) that you consider heading first into the backcountry and come out to the gulf islands to finish your trip.
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