Canoe Escape

Thonotosassa, Florida: Beginning in the Green Swamp and flowing 59 miles south into Tampa Bay, the Hillsborough is one of the many scenic rivers within the state of Florida. A large section of the river is a designated canoe trail and there is no better way to explore it than with Canoe Escape.

Canoe Escape is based out of John Sargeant Park, one of the many parks that line the river. Here you can embark on one of several self-guided trips on the river or just rent a boat by the hour. The self-guided trips are from one park to another with a return back to Sargeant Park provided by the tour operator. The offer three legs that combined cover almost 14 miles of the river from Sargeant Park to Rotary Park.

We decided to take a trip with Canoe Escape on New Year’s Day as a way to usher in 2016. We embarked on the Trip 4 which combined the first two legs of the tours, starting at Sargeant Park and heading south on the river for about 8 ½ miles until we reached Trout Creek Park.

We arrived at Canoe Escape at 9 am and were the first group on the water for them that day. After a brief tutorial and issuance of maps, we boarded our two tandem kayaks and headed out the water. The trip started down a small waterway for a short paddle before we hit the Hillsborough River.

Once we reached the river, the wildlife was everywhere. It didn’t take long for us to encounter our first of many alligators we would pass on the trip. There were birds everywhere. Ibis, different species of herons and egrets, vultures, limpkins and much more. There were so many things to look at, you almost went dizzy scanning bank to bank, up the trees, in the water. It was overwhelming!

Then the river began to tighten up and we got probably the biggest scare we ever got on the water. As we passed the little island, we noticed a large gator on the bank. By the look, I would have guessed about 10 foot. My adrenaline started rushing when seeing him. Up until this point, the gators were smaller and farther away. But in order to transition on our trip, we had to pass within 10-15 feet of him. As we got closer to the gator, he caught a glimpse of us and dove into the water, thus in the direction of him. The wake created by him jumping in the water rocked the boat and scared the crap out of me, I don’t think I ever paddled as fast as I did there!

When we cleared the near death experience, we continued further south on our journey and back into enjoying the trip. After realizing we came head to head with a big gator and lived to continue our trip, suddenly my uneasiness was gone. I was finally able to enjoy the trip without any anxiety. Suddenly the gators didn’t bother us and we moved through the waters with ease, just snapping photos and enjoying the scenery.

Things got a little hairy for us a little further down the river when we approached a little fork in the river. I remember being told during our briefing that when you come across an island or a fork, keep right. Well we went right and my dad and son went left. Well in this case, right was wrong. I don’t know if I missed a marker or what, but we ended at a dead end. The only bad part is, it was tough getting down and next to impossible getting back. We got stuck a bunch of times and trying to work against the river current didn’t make it any easier. We were stuck trying to work our way out of that for what felt like a half hour.

The first leg of the trip was an adventure. When reading about the trip on the Canoe Escape website, their description was dead on accurate. Gators, limpkin, turtles, otters and on our trip we traded the pigs for about 4 white-tailed deer. All this seen and we weren’t even at the halfway point.

About three hours into the journey, we reached Morris Bridge Park, the end of the first leg and the halfway point in our trip. We pulled our boats ashore and we ate some snacks and took a break at the park. This was the second Hillsborough County park we were in today and they both were amazing facilities. I plan on coming back to these parks and explore their trails sometime in the future.

After taking a brief break, we launched our kayaks and continued our trip down the Hillsborough River. The second leg of the trip was a little more strenuous than the first half. Not sure if it was the challenge of the river or just the fatigue setting in, but the second half was much more of a work out. Even though we were still travelling downstream, it felt like we were working against current and later wind for much of the second half. We also had to work around a lot of obstructions on this trip. We found ourselves stuck on partially submersed trees on several occasions. There was even one part where both of our boats got stuck on a tree that we almost had to disembark and carry the boat over the downed tree.

The amount of wildlife we encountered on the second half was not near as abundant as the first half but we did see a bunch of gators and a water moccasin I would rather have not seen.

Towards the end of the trip, the river opened up a lot wider and for the first time all day we began to experience other kayakers. Up until this point, we were the only ones we saw on the water. From this point on, it was wide open paddling until we arrived at Trout Creek Park to conclude our trip.

The only thing that I wish they would improve upon is the return trip back to Sargaent Park. We finished our trip and were tired and wanting to get back to our vehicle and start hour and a half drive home. When the pick-up bus arrived, the bus was already full and those of us getting on at Trout Creek had to stand for the 15 minute drive back to Sargeant Park. While that’s really a minor gripe, it would be nice to wrap up a long trip like this with a seat for the ride back. Not knowing the area that well or the logistics of their operations, I am sure there is a reason for this pattern. But it would have been nice if that pickup pattern was reversed.

This trip was the first time we had ever been freshwater kayaking. Up until this point, we had struck to saltwater and coastal kayaking. This by far was our best kayaking experience and far exceeded our expectations. One of our favorite things to do is observe and photograph wildlife and this trip provided us with a great opportunity for that. On this trip we saw:

• American Alligator 
• Anhinga 
• Belted Kingfisher 
• Black-crown Night Heron 
• Black Vulture 
• Florida Cottonmouth 
• Great Blue Heron 
• Great Egret 
• Green Heron
•  Limpkin 
• Pileated Woodpecker 
• Red-shouldered Hawk 
• River Cooter 
• River Otter
• Roseate Spoonbill 
• Tri-Colored Heron 
• Turkey Vulture 
• White Ibis 
• White Tail Deer 
• Wood Stork 

We will certainly be going back to Canoe Escape again in the future. While we may not do both legs of the trip again anytime soon, the first half of the trip will happen again sometime soon.

Canoe Escape is located at 12702 US 301 in Thonotosassa, Florida. You can find out more about their tours on their website at www.canoeescape.com or by calling them at (813) 986-2067.

Click on any of the photos above to view my Canoe Escape photo gallery.