Peace River (Bartow, Florida) - March 2018

The Peace River is a very long waterway. It begins where Peace Creek and Saddle Creek join together near Bartow, Florida, (in Polk County), and runs all the way to Charlotte Harbor, Florida (in Charlotte County).

 We launched our canoe at the boat ramp beside the E Van Fleet Dr. bridge in Bartow, Florida (not too far from where the Peace River branches off into Peace Creek and Saddle Creek), and began paddling southward.

 Back in October of the previous year, hurricane Irma came churning through Florida. Even though that was quite a while back in history from the time we went paddling in March 2018, there were still fallen trees laying across sections of the narrow Peace River. We soon found that out, after coming across a huge tree that was completely blocking the river. Thankfully, though, we discovered that other people had apparently encountered this same blockage, as there was a beaten trail in the brush beside the river, and it lead around the fallen tree. So, we pulled out canoe out of the water and carried it to the other side of the tree. This was not the only tree blockage we came across, though – there were many more scattered throughout the river. On one occasion, we had to climb out of the canoe and onto a fallen tree limb, where we then had to maneuver the canoe through a tiny gap between the fallen tree and the shore with our hands!

No getting around this "road block!"

Soon, we were back paddling once again. The Peace River was beautiful. The weather was perfect, and as always, it was great to be back out on the water once again. Green shrubs and tall cypress trees lined the muddy banks of the murky, narrow, and very shallow Peace River. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t long before we discovered that lots of mosquitoes were out that day as well! Nevertheless, it was still a beautiful sight. Take a moment to enjoy the beauty of the Peace River…

Water levels were quite low that day on the Peace River. We could see past “waterlines” left on trees and other objects on the shore that indicated the river used to be much higher. The water was so shallow that as we paddled our canoe, the paddles would usually hit the bottom on each stroke. We even ran aground on the river bottom several times, because the water grew so shallow.

Shallow water!

We paddled quite a ways downstream, heading south of the boat ramp. Finally, we decided to turn around, probably somewhere just before reaching the next bridge south of the E Van Fleet Dr. bridge. Of course, paddling upstream was harder than drifting with the current downstream, but the current was mild, and it wasn’t that difficult. The best part of our trip was when we spotted several otters on the river bank as we were heading back upstream toward the boat ramp. I took several photos, but unfortunately, as I write, I’m not at home, and I don’t have the photos with me, but I’ll include them in this article as soon as I get home. Finally, we reached the boat ramp and pulled our canoe back out of the water. What a wonderful day it had been!

Be sure to check out my website, ExploreFloridaWaters.com, for more great stories!