If you can do only one paddling trip in Florida, a trip down Fisheating Creek should be your goal. Surrounded by haunting cypress forests, this is primordial Florida, a primeval landscape of water and foliage. "Fisheating Creek opened our eyes to the beauty of Florida," said Niki Butcher, who along with her husband Clyde Butcher, discovered this Florida gem in the early 1980s. "It was the beginning of Clyde's love affair with Florida," she said.
Rising from marshes along the southwestern tip of the Lake Wales Ridge, Fisheating Creek meanders 52 miles, protected for 40 miles by the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area as it flows to Lake Okeechobee. It is the only remaining natural body of water that reaches the lake, a free-flowing blackwater stream.

Multi-day paddling trips start at Ingrham's Crossing, 16 miles north by road, allowing you to make your way downstream on a two-day journey back to the Fisheating Creek campground. Or put in at the campground ($2 day use fee) to paddle upstream or downstream to explore this pristine waterway.

Learn more about Fisheating Creek WMA
Download a map from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission