Guided kayak and canoe tours on over 70 North Florida waterways. Every week we lead 3 - 4 tours. Che
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13/03/2024
Another Manatee eating NATIVE water lettuce in Ichetucknee River on Monday, 3/11. Please add your voice to the growing chorus if people trying to get the state to stop treating this plant like an unwelcome exotic species and spraying it in waterways around the state. In Ichetucknee , where spraying is not permitted, the park service dupes hundreds of wonderful, well-meaning volunteers every year, into hand-pulling this important, native plant. So why is the state so dead-set on continuing their assault on this important native plant?? Follow the money!
10/03/2024
Warm weather is bringing out the reptiles. This beautiful red-bellied water snake (Nerodia erythrogaster) was on the bank of Gilchrist Blue Spring Run.
26/12/2023
I'm sorry to report to all my river friends and the greater "Springs Heartland" community that our dear old friend Naked Ed passed away yesterday. His health, while never good, has been declining. His vision had been declining to the point that he was nearly blind and then, just recently, he learned he had stage 4 lung cancer.
Ed was a fixture at Lily Spring (Santa Fe River) for several decades,in which time his status changed from interesting character on the river, to something akin to a local legend. He rarely wore clothes (at least at the spring) and when he did, it was usually some version of a loin cloth that was at once intriguing and unsettling. Even so, he was a popular stopover for people and groups of all types. Church groups, scout groups, field trips from UF, SFC, UNC and many others made a stop at Lily Spring a central feature of their tours in the river. And they did it fully-knowing there was a naked dude involved!!
Besides being a good spokesperson and historian of river lore, Ed was a huge help for my business, Adventure Outpost, when we were still outfitting and shuttling paddlers doing unguided trips down the Santa Fe. If I was doing a pickup and my people weren't at the takeout site on time, I'd call Ed on his cell phone to ask if he'd seen them. More times than not, he'd say that not only had he seen them, they were there hanging out with him and enjoying his stories and maybe a bit of skinny dipping.
Maybe we who loved the man should arrange to gather at the Great Outdoors Restaurant and hoist a couple of "Naked Ed" beers (yes, there is such a thing) in his honor.
You made your mark old friend and have become an integral (and entertaining) part of the river's story. You can rest assured that your story will be told long into the foreseeable future by all who knew you or have simply heard of you. I'll continue telling it whenever we pass Lily on my Santa Fe tours.
Rest well.
18/10/2023
The local bison herd at Paynes Prairie State Preserve may surprise visitors who thought the shaggy beasts were confined to the Great Plains.
26/07/2023
A huge win. Thank you Mr. Gissy, the Florida Springs Council and the community leaders and people of Dunnellon area for working together for the common good of all Floridians.
18/07/2023
Okay all you lovers of our beautiful local waterways (including all you members of the Wanna Go crew--you know who you are ;o) if you're ready to get dirty for the cause and/or just have a beer and meet some of your fellow nature lovers, I hope you'll consider participating in the "Creekend Warriors" event taking place over the next three weeks? Better yet, do it as a member of the Adventure Outpost's team, "Lars' Creek Freaks!" You can participate in as many or few cleanups as you want (or none, if you'd prefer to simply donate to the event to help Current Problems continue their great work!).
This 3-week event will include a handful of creek cleanups in and around Gainesville as well as a couple of opening events at First Magnitude Brewery and ending with a "Water Day Festival" at Cypress and Grove Brewery on August 6, from 2 - 5:00.
Here's Current Problems description of the Creekend Warriors event:
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"From July 18 - Aug 6 come out to Water Trivia, Dipnetting Day, and join us in the creeks to cleanup a beautiful creek across all the watersheds in Alachua County to earn points for your team to win prizes, awards, t-shirts, stickers, and more!
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ATTEND ALL EVENTS!!! Just the ones you - or other members of your crew - can participate in!
Team Registration includes a flag you can customize with your team name and take pictures with at cleanups with your Creek Trash Haul!
Join us for the largest creek cleanup series across Florida to restore up the city's waterways, protect precious habitat, and teambuild at the same time!!"
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To see the full schedule or to join any of these activities, or if you just want to donate some much appreciated $$ to this event, in support of Current Problems, you can do so at: https://givebutter.com/creekendwarriors/lars-creek-freaks
The Creekend Warriors event begins this evening with "Water Trivia Night" from 5:30 - 8:00 at First Magnitude Brewery.
I hope to see some of you there. Even if you're not part of our "Creek Freaks" team, we appreciate your support for this great event and our sister organization, Current Problems.
28/06/2023
Who's ready to get out there!? If you're looking for some fun things to do while learning some stuff along the way (you know, plants, animals, history, geology, that kind of "stuff"), we just updated the Adventure Outpost excursion calendar for July. You can see what's being planned * at: https://adventureoutpost.net/new-calendar/
* Left-click the name of any tour on the calendar and a drop-box with all pertinent information (including description) will open.
Here's a teaser --
First up will be a "Wild Lore and History of Paynes Prairie" hike (more like a stroll) tomorrow (Thursday, 7/29) morning at 9 AM.
Then, this Saturday, 7/01, we'll be exploring "The World of Mangroves" in the waters of the Suncoast keys (only about an hour drive from Gainesville).
On Thursday, 7/06, we'll be doing a one-way (downstream only) paddle on Steinhatchee River.
Saturday, 7/08, we're doing a scenic and wild section of the Ocklawaha River, from Gores's Landing to Eureka.
There are dozens more on the calendar, as well. I hope to see you out there!
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Videos
Another Manatee eating NATIVE water lettuce in Ichetucknee River on Monday, 3/11. Please add your voice to the growing chorus if people trying to get the state to stop treating this plant like an unwelcome exotic species and spraying it in waterways around the state. In Ichetucknee , where spraying is not permitted, the park service dupes hundreds of wonderful, well-meaning volunteers every year, into hand-pulling this important, native plant. So why is the state so dead-set on continuing their assault on this important native plant?? Follow the money!
Warm weather is bringing out the reptiles. This beautiful red-bellied water snake (Nerodia erythrogaster) was on the bank of Gilchrist Blue Spring Run.
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Our Story
We offer guided kayak & canoe tours (2-3 per week) on over 70 waterways throughout North Florida.
Our "Launch Menu" includes a variety of rivers and lakes, giving a full representation of North Florida's rich diversity of habitats - especially wetlands. This includes cypress swamps, hardwood swamps, river hardwood forests, darkwater rivers, marshes and, of course, lots of crystal clear, artesian springs.
Adventure Outpost's tours offer fun, hands-on opportunities to learn about Florida's plants, animals and local lore (a great way to introduce kids to the outdoors). If you're more inclined to go at your own pace and away from the group, that's no problem. Just be sure to let the guide know so he can inform you about any important river notes such as tricky forks where you might get lost. Occasionally we bring in a specialist from a specific field, such as birding, plant identification, history etc., as a guest guide. Keep an eye out for these special trips.
Most of our guided tours are led by Lars Andersen In the summer of 2019, Lars celebrated his 21st year as a full-time river guide for Adventure Outpost, the business he owns with his wife, Patsy. He is a Florida Master Naturalist, historian and author (Paynes Prairie: Pineapple Press, Sarasota FL. 2001, ’03, & ‘09; - and - North Florida Adventure: A Journey Through History [audio tape], (Grinnin' Lizard Productions, Dallas, Tx. 1988). His most recent projects were the Paddlers Guide to the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail, (2009) and a Paddlers Guide to the Gilchrist Blueway. You can read some of his nature writing in, “River Guide’s Journal” - https://riverguidesjournal.blogspot.com/
He has won several awards for his work teaching natural history and advocating for springs and river health, including the “Award of Excellence” (2014) by the Florida Master Naturalist Program, the “Unsung Hero” award (2015) by the Florida Defenders of the Environment, and “Spring Advocate of the Year for 2017” by the Florida Springs Institute. Since January 2016 Lars has been a lead instructor for U.F.’s Florida Master Naturalist Program while continuing to lead 3 – 4 tours per week for Adventure Outpost.
