Update 2026-01-08: The Park has gotten much more strict about food. You can’t carry any, only one non-breakable water container. Unless you’re diabetic and you ask, then you get one snack. You can, however, take food and any other legal refreshments on the WWALS shuttle to TREPO Point Park and leave them there for after the paddle.
Don’t take the Park shuttle: come on the WWALS Point Park shuttle. Be at North Launch Ichetucknee Springs State Park by 10 AM to drop off your boats, then we take most of our vehicles to Point Park, leave them there, and drive back in as few vehicles as possible.
If you do not have a boat, you can rent one right there at the Launch.
Florida FWC decided against the SPZ on November 10, 2025. But there may be further proposals. Come see what we are all trying to conserve.
Plus this paddle is now free to everyone, due to a newly-discovered park rule.
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, shuttle 10 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
![[Lakeland Boat Ramp, Alapaha River 2025-11-12, Water very low, Lower than recommended]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-12--lakeland-boat-ramp-alapaha-river/fbmany.jpg)