River Styx Kayak Trip
Group size: 1 – 14 people
Trip time: 5.5 – 6.5 hours
Skill level: Intermediate
Cost: $75 per person ($60 for “wanna go” members). If you bring your own boat it’s $60 per person. ($50 for “wanna go” members)
Difficulty: This is a STRENUOUS TRIP. Many tight squeezes between trees, over fallen logs and through overhanging vines and brush make this more of a push, pull and slog than an actual paddle. This is not for the average, casual paddler.
Cost
Most guided tours are $50 per person. (includes boat, paddle, vest, shuttling and your guide)
Using your Own Boat – $40. (many paddlers with their own boats like to join us to learn more about the history, archaeology and natural history of these rivers).
Dates
Join a scheduled tour (see tour calendar ), or suggest one. Find a free date on the calendar and suggest the trip of your choice. If there are no conflicts, we’ll post it!
OR
Schedule a private tour. Use contact form, email us at [email protected] or call (386-454-0611)
Location
Check the River Locator Map or Click the link below for a local map and then use zoom and panning arrows to explore the area. (Note: the marker is NOT our meeting place, but a nearby landmark.
Local Map 
Description
Experience the thrill of going where no one in their right mind has gone before. Actually, a lot of clear-thinking, otherwise normal people, venture into this large swamp, fully aware that it is more of a swamp than a river, and that most people who try to traverse it in one day usually spend the night in their canoe. But, for those of you who are prepared for a down and dirty romp in the swamp, a truly fantastic nature experience awaits you in the river Styx. Cypress swamps, hardwood swamps, and open marshes are home to many wading birds.
Wildlife
At certain times of the year, there’s a good chance of seeing large concentrations and rookeries of species such as Wood storks, Anhingas, and Double Crested Cormorants. Snakes and alligators are here too, but in smaller numbers than one might expect. But there are plenty of chiggers and other biting critters.
These “Congo eels” are among the largest salamanders in the world. We usually see them in very shady, damp conditions. Females lay well over 100 clear, sticky eggs which the mother coils around until they hatch. Amphiuma’s are difficult to handle, not only because they are very slimy, but they also have a wicked bite.
History
In prehistoric times, when water levels were higher, this swamp was an arm of Orange Lake. One of north Florida’s oldest and most impressive mound and earthwork complexes is located here. By 1539, when De Soto led his expedition through here, the nearby village of Potano was the headquarters for the chiefdom of the same name which covered the Orange Lake/Paynes Prairie area. The areas richness of a kind of rock called chert, an excellent material for making tools and weapons, made the Potanos the envy of neighboring tribes.
Experience the thrill of going where no one in their right mind has gone before.
There are still some places, deep in the wild heart of north Florida, which are so difficult to access that few people ever see them. Most of these places have been bypassed by civilization for good reason – they’re hard to access and they’re usually in wetlands. But, once in a while, the hard-core nature lover who is willing and able to endure the hardships of penetrating the “impenetrable” and passing the “impassable,” will find one of these lost worlds. Occasionally, I lead small groups to such places. And, since these are usually wetlands (in Florida, nothing keeps civilization at bay more effectively than wetlands) most of the ‘X-Stream trips are by canoe or kayak.
These are places I really wish everyone could see, but realistically, they can’t. The same thing which has kept these places pristine (i.e. the difficulty in getting to them) makes these trips unsuitable to many. The only consolation I can offer to those who are unable to join us on these excursions. is to take heart in knowing that such places are still out there.