Adventure Outpost

11/02/2025

The recent hurricanes killed most of the submerged aquatic vegetation in Kings Bay (Crystal River). This is terrible situation for the many manatees that seek winter refuge in Kings Bay to survive the cold months. The manatees are now having to swim out to the river's mouth at the Gulf to find adequate feed and then swim back to the springs when temps get cold. This means they're using much more energy than they should. This dire situation has prompted me to repost my long-running plea for people to stop swimming with manatees in winter months. These amazing animals come here to survive the winter conserve their energy, not be surrounded by swimming humans every day.

Here's the blog post I wrote in 1999, when I called on all my fellow swim-tour operators to join me in rethinking our business models in a way that we could all still run a good, profitable businesses, but would be acting in the manatee's best interests.

With the shortage of vegetation in King's Bay, this issue is more critical than ever. You can read my post here:

It's been nearly 15 years since Adventure Outpost decided to stop allowing our customers to swim with manatees in cold winter months when t...

29/01/2025

On a lighter note...... 😉 my friend Ben Cosgrove is doing a Florida tour in a couple of weeks and will be playing at The Theater Of Memory on Feb 15.

He's a phenominal musician who writes piano music about place and our natural environment, in hopes of creating a reverence that will lead to protection of natural places. (Read more at www.bencosgrove.com)

Here's a sample song:

https://youtu.be/rsBlOmqv4_I?si=IBp2bPKY4goSEwDX

He'll be playing on and around Valentine's day in St Pete, Gainesville, and at Wakulla Springs:

2/14 St. Pete- Roots to Crown: https://www.rootstocrown.space/explore-events/bencosgrove

Or
FB: https://facebook.com/events/s/ben-cosgrove-live-at-roots-to-/1126053878925603/

2/15 Gainesville- Theatre of Memory: https://www.theatreofmemory.org/event-details-registration/ben-cosgrove

2/16 Lodge at Wakulla Springs: https://thelodgeatwakullasprings.com/event/live-music-on-the-terrace-with-ben-cosgrove/ "

Ben Cosgrove is a traveling composer-performer whose music explores themes of landscape, place, and environment. Described by the Boston Globe as “a sonic plein-air painter… [using] his piano as a paintbrush,” Ben has performed in every U.S. state except for Delaware, collaborated with groups...

25/01/2025

22/01/2025

Water is precious https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1GxTogR8QQ/

23/11/2024

We generally are not inclined to post about our personal lives, but since the grapevine has heard (and is already starting to get it wrong 😆 ), we decided we'd better do an intervention. So, here's the latest news from Adventure Outpost:

Lars took a fall off a 3-4 foot high boardwalk several nights ago, landed on his back onto the corner of a pallet, and fractured & displaced 3 lumbar vertebrae (a "spinal fracture and displacement" in doctor-speak). It wasn't a very dramatic fall, but was hard enough to break and displace parts of those vertebrae.

He's doing fine; might need surgery, but won't know until he sees the neurosurgeon. Bottom line, he's oit of commission for the.time being, but expects to be up and leading tours in several weeks.

For those who had plans to do one.of the guided river tour we have scheduled in the coming weeks, please feel free to inquire about what tours we are still hoping and planning to do, and which we're canceling or rescheduling. Those if you already signed on to tours that are being canceled will be notified.

Thank you all for your concern and well-wishes. He is feeling fine (besides pain) and is in good spirits. More than anything, he's anxious to get back on the water. We look forward to seeing you out there....soon!

20/11/2024

In case you haven't heard, this year's drawdown of Rodman Reservoir has been canceled due to high water in the St. Johns River, into which the water released by these drawdown flows.

For those who had planned to join one of the tours we had scheduled to explore the drawndown reservoir and some of its "Lost "Springs" we will be doing some other, intact sections of the Ocklawaha on those dates -- 12/07 and 12/17. To reserve a spot(s), please call us at 386-497-4214.

From FWC:

"Rodman Reservoir Drawdown Cancelled
The Department of Environmental Protection has cancelled the Rodman Reservoir drawdown originally scheduled for winter of 2024/2025 due to persistent high water in the St. Johns River downstream."

Hopefully next year!!

20/10/2024

Looking for a helper for a kayak tour this Thursday 10/24. Everyone on my usual list of helpers is busy that day and i need help.

I'm looking for someone able to carry kayaks (and maybe a canoe or two) from boat trailer to the river, paddle for a few hours, and then carry boats back to trailer after the tour. On the plus side, if you like learning about nature, local.history and wild lore, you'll have an ear piece and can hear me delivering a steady stream of that information the whole time were on the water. This would be an especially good opportunity for a guide or anyone considering being a guide who wants to learn a lot about the river, it's wildlife and it's overall story to add to your own tours. Experienced paddlers and serious inquiries only, please. To reply to this, please DM me as I'd rather not subject my FB "friends" community to a lot of back-and-forth conversations about this. Thank you.

27/08/2024

The hits keep coming! Gov. Desantis has approved a land swap that gives 324 acres of the Withlacoochee State Forest to a golf course developer out of Canada.

According to an article in the Tampa Bay Times, Eric Draper, former director of the Florida Park Service, says this land "is part of a contiguous wildlife corridor and was conserved to compensate for the environmental impacts of the Suncoast Parkway."

"The company, Cabot Citrus OpCo LLC, already owns a luxury golf resort with several rolling emerald courses in Brooksville directly adjacent to the Withlacoochee State Forest parcel. It’s the first American resort run by Cabot, a Canadian luxury golf course developer with courses from Bordeaux, France, to the Scottish Highlands to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. On its website, the company promises players in Brooksville that they’ll be able to tee off among “pristine natural beauty.”

https://edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dynamic_article_popover.aspx?artguid=53d16635-ca9e-4df5-869d-00ba825d5c60&appcode=TAM192&eguid=9e4c9ce4-8ee9-4257-92b8-6ee460be63db&pnum=1 #

The deafening, bipartisan uproar over the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s plans to add golf courses, hotels and more to nine state parks has rocked the state in the past week, causing one group behind the push to withdraw its proposal for Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin Co...

21/08/2024

For those who've asked about the upcoming public hearings about the state,'s propsals to allow developments in nine of our state parks, here are times and locations of those nine meetings:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19l1rswp9L93JnclsEKpbHJ7tyYgzFSPS/view?usp=sharing

I hope you'll consider attending one if these hearings.

Thank you.

21/08/2024

Attention! Nine state parks are under assault. Plans for development in Anastasia, SP, Hillsborough River SP, Honeymoon Island SP, Jonathan Dickinson SP and 5 others are well under way.

Next Tuesday, August 27, DEP is holding public meetings at 9 locationscacriss the state to present their proposed changes to the state park management plans.

21/08/2024

Here's a link to the meeting times and locations (all are this Tuesday, 8/27).

19/08/2024

Howard Odum spoke science with a poet's heart. This quote should be a morning prayer we teach our children (well, maybe trimmed a little 😅):

"With the turning of the Earth, the Sun comes up on the fields, forests and fjords of the biosphere, and everywhere within the light there is a great breath as tons upon tons of oxygen are released from the living photo-chemical surfaces of green plants which are becoming charged with food storages by the onrush of solar photons. Then, when the Sun passes in shadows before the night, there is a great exhalation as the oxygen is burned and carbon dioxide pours out, the net result of the maintenance activity of the living machinery. During the day while the oxygen is generated, a great sheet of new chemical potential in the form of new organic matter lies newborn about the Earth, but as the oxygen is consumed in the darkness, the organic matter disappears like firewood in a bonfire and releases heat through the night”.

Please support Howard T Odum Florida Springs Institute.

The Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute is a science and education based nonprofit organization working to protect Florida springs. Our organization’s main focus is to document and protect Flo…

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.