Where IS The Water?

During the recent cold spell, we explored some of the local parks by land. I had read that they have kayak launches, but you have to portage your boat to get to the water. The first park was Delaplane Preserve. 

It was a nice walk that meandered through the scrub pine and palm tree woods, complete with air ferns.

We knew we were getting close to the St. Lucie River when we saw this marsh.

Arriving at the launching area, it was quite picturesque. However, even though it was a short quarter mile walk, it would be quite a ways to carry or drag the yaks.

Off we went to the next park in Stuart, called the Kiplinger Preserve. 

This trail ended up being a mile hike over very muddy and swampy terrain. Some of it had walkways and bridges, but we had to walk through or around some black muck at several points. 

This is a popular spot, but we couldn't figure out why there is a kayak launch and dock that far out, unless you were already on the river, and wanted to stop to rest (yes, that is a girl with very pink hair 😉). 

The river is wide here and that is the I 95 bridge. A short distance in the opposite direction, is the St. Lucie Lock to enter the Okeechobee Waterway.

Although we didn't find any good places to kayak on this section, it was well worth the exploration. Below is the kayak trail and supposed launching sites...