Hike to the Drew Mansion Site, the Historic Hillman Bridge across the Suwannee River, Suwannacoochee Spring, and maybe up the Withlacoochee River a bit just to take a look.
When: Gather 9 AM, launch 9:30 AM, end 1 PM, Saturday, February 7, 2026
Put In: Town of Ellaville site, 596 NE Drew Way, Lee, FL 32059
Continue readingHappy New Year! Join us for our first paddle of 2026 on beautiful Banks Lake. We’ll paddle the perimeter of the lake, which is approximately 4 miles around. Once we launch there will be no place to get out of your kayak until we return to the boat ramp. Dress accordingly for the weather, we will cancel if it’s raining.
When: Gather 9:30 AM, launch 10 AM, end 12 PM, Thursday, January 1, 2026
Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).
![[First Day Paddle at Banks Lake, Happy New Year, January 1, 2026]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2026-01-01--banks-lake-day-paddle/fbmany.jpg)
First Day Paddle at Banks Lake, Happy New Year, January 1, 2026
Join us for a leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle on our mini-Okefenokee just west of Lakeland, Georgia. Watch the sun set, the moon rise, and there may be bats. will be leading this paddle.
When: Gather 5 PM, launch 5:30 PM, moonrise 6:07 PM, sunset 5:55 PM, end 7 PM, Saturday, January 3, 2026
Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).
Continue readingSheila Willis and Teresa Aldrich Ammons saw many birds on Banks Lake.
Sheila is the President of the Okefenokee Bird Club and Teresa is a member. Sheila has been very helpful with information about the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge where she used to work.
Plus some feathers at the bat tree, falling from a nest that nobody had noticed before. They might be from a Great Blue Heron.
Continuing southwest towards Moody Air Force Base, we saw a flock of Great Blue Herons. And a flock of White Ibis sitting on the water, then flying, then one perching.
There were more birds, but I was busy going too far into the lily pads and hydrilla with the 25-hp outboard. Although stalks of those plants wrapped around the prop, they weren’t the worst. That was Continue reading
Join us for a leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle on Banks Lake, our mini-Okefenokee. Maybe we will see bats.
Full Moon paddle regulars, Holly Jones and Xiaoai Ren, will be leading this paddle.
When: Gather 4:15 PM, launch 4:45 PM, moonrise 5:07 PM, sunset 5:31 PM, end 6:15 PM, Thursday, December 4, 2025
Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT).
![[Full Cold Moon Paddle, Banks Lake, Lakeland, GA, Sunset, Moonrise, Maybe bats 2025-12-04]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-12-04--full-cold-moon-paddle/fbmany.jpg)
Full Cold Moon Paddle, Banks Lake, Lakeland, GA, Sunset, Moonrise, Maybe bats 2025-12-04
Update 2025-11-19: Bad news from FWC about the Ichetucknee Springs Protection Zone 2025-11-10.
Come see what the Ichetucknee Springs Protection Zone (SPZ) is about. Swim in the itch head spring. Then join us for a leisurely paddle 4 miles downstream in crystal clear waters with the possibility of seeing manatee, several types of gar and bird species.
Thanks to Linda Dicker, who proposed the SPZ, for leading this expedition, and for arranging takeout at the private TREPO Point Park.
Thanks to WWALS water quality tester Christiaan Ard for assisting leading this outing.
The Ichetucknee River is great paddling in the park. From there down to the Santa Fe River, power boats abound, producing wakes, endangering humans and wildlife, and eroding shorelines. The SPZ would require a No Wake Zone and maybe ban personal watercraft.
You can write to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWC), using this handy form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScYFArSQsstOauhRVYTCMoikXYIo0i_gDmkuDlbTC-7OSsgQQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=114012348461689332646
When: Gather 9 AM, launch 11 AM, end 4 PM, Saturday, January 10, 2026
Put In: Dip in Ichetucknee Headspring, then paddle starting at North Launch Ichetucknee Springs State Park, Ichetucknee S.P. North Entrance, 8294 SW Elim Church Rd, Fort White, FL 32038, in Columbia County.
GPS: 29.98292, -82.76053
![[Ichetucknee Polar Plunge and River Paddle 2026-01-10, to see SPZ, Springs Protection Zone]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2026-01-10--ichetucknee-spz/fbmany.jpg)
Ichetucknee Polar Plunge and River Paddle 2026-01-10, to see SPZ, Springs Protection Zone
We saw many species of bats on our leisurely Sunset and Full Beaver Moon Paddle on our mini-Okefenokee just west of Lakeland, Georgia, after the sun set and the moon rose.
Thanks to Chris Adams, aka Turtleman, for leading this paddle. He is a very experienced naturalist and former guide at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. He has often paddled with us at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Thanks to Bat Biologist (and WWALS Board Member) Elizabeth Brunner for identifying many species of bats living in the one bat tree, and probably a couple more flying by.
Thanks to Lanier County and Banks Lake Outdoors for free boat rental for these WWALS Full Moon Paddles.
For bat species reference, see: Continue reading
Update 2025-11-06: Pictures: Alapaha River Rise Hike 2025-11-01.
We climbed over, under, and around much Hurricane Helene deadfall on what Dottie Price called a “Class 5 Meander” from the Dead River Sink to the Dry Alapaha River.
Thanks to 30 people who came, to Practicing Geologist Dennis J. Price for leading this expedition, and to Dottie Price for the additional pictures. See also the facebook video by Christiaan Ard.
There was a false start at Jennings Bluff Cemetery, where Dennis told the lemmings to go back up the bluff, because of too much deadfall. Continue reading
Hahira, Georgia, November 4, 2025 — Join experienced naturalist and swamp guide Chris “Turtleman” Adams for a leisurely Sunset and Full Moon Paddle on our mini-Okefenokee just west of Lakeland, Georgia. There may be bats. That’s at 4:45 PM this Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
Chris Adams, aka Turtleman, is a very experienced naturalist and former guide at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. He has often paddled with us at Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge. He runs the Wiregrass Ecological and Cultural Project, bringing awareness to the heart of the Deep South and showcasing its natural & cultural communities. You’ll enjoy his insights.
This Outing is honoring Veterans, who get free entry.
Gather 4:45 PM, launch 5:15 PM, moonrise 5:39 PM, sunset 5:41 PM, end 6:45 PM, Wednesday, November 5, 2025
We will put in and take out at Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County, on the Alapaha River Water Trail (ARWT). GPS: 31.034824, -83.096725
Continue readingHahira, Georgia, October 30, 2025 — Join us this Saturday, November 1, 2025, on an approximately 3 mile or 4 hour hike on the Dead River and the dry Alapaha River bed, led by Practicing Geologist Dennis James Price of Hamilton County, Florida.
![[Hike with a Geologist to a Spring, the Dead River Sink, and the Dry Alapaha River, November 1, 2025]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-01--hike-dead-river-sink-pr/fbmany.jpg)
![[Ellaville Hike, Withlacoochee River, Drew Mansion 2026-02-07, Historic Hillman Bridge, Suwannacoochee Spring]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2026-02-07--ellaville-hike/fbmany.jpg)
![[Full Wolf Moon Paddle, Banks Lake 5 PM, 2026-01-03, West of Lakeland, GA, Sunset, Moonrise, and maybe bats]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2026-01-03--full-wolf-moon-paddle/fbmany.jpg)
![[Outboard birding, Banks Lake 2025-12-04, Bat tree, feathers, Sand Hill Cranes, White Ibis, hydrilla, Lily pads]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-12-04--banks-lake-outboard-birding/fbmany.jpg)
![[Full Beaver Moon Paddle, Banks Lake, 2025-11-05, Guide: Chris Turtleman Adams, Bat Biologist: Elizabeth Brunner]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-05--full-beaver-moon-paddle-pictures/fbmany.jpg)
![[Dead River Sink Hike, Practicing Geologist Dennis J. Price, Meander to the Dry Alapaha River, 2025-11-01]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-01--hike-dead-river-sink-pictures/fbmany.jpg)
![[Paddle with naturalist and swamp guide Chris Turtleman Adams, Full Beaver Moon Paddle, Sunset, and maybe bats at Banks Lake 2025-11-05]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-05--full-beaver-moon-paddle-pr/fbmany.jpg)