Aucilla River, Florida (April 1984)

I join a group of classmates while in graduate school in urban planning at Florida State University to canoe this river. The many twists and turns, rocky shoals, overhanging trees and whitewater make this a relatively challenging Florida canoe trail. In fact, sitting in the front of a canoe with my professor, Bruce Stiftel, I lean over to avoid hitting a low-hanging tree branch, which results in the canoe rudely dumping both of us into the water.

The dark, clear water of the Aucilla passes between high limestone banks and dense hardwood forests, as well as swampy areas of cypress and gums. There are remains of two old rock dams along the way. The trail starts one mile south of Lamont on US Highway 19/27.

The river is largely undeveloped.

The Aucilla is a 13-mile canoe trail. High banks have hardwood forests, and swampy areas contain cypress, magnolia, and titi.

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