Places to Paddle tm
Canoeing - Kayaking - Rafting
Blue Cypress Lake at Middleton's Fish Camp west of Vero Beach, FL
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This page Copyright 2000 Alfonso Vazquez-Cuervo - See Terms of Use

Our Route Summary

  • Submitted by: Al Vazquez
  • Date Submitted: 5/2000
  • Email: alvazquez@kayakguide.com
  • Location: Middleton's Fish Camp 22 miles west of I-95 Vero Exit
  • Class: Typically flat water with wind driven waves
  • Distance Paddled: 6 miles round trip
  • Water: fresh
  • Wildlife: More Ospreys than I've seen anywhere else, Cypress trees, Large Mouth Bass, huge spiders in Cypress knees, alligators, grasses, raccoons

Entry and Exit

  • Directions: Take I-95 to the Vero Exit. Exit and take Route 60 west 17.7 miles to Blue Cypress Lake Road on the right hand side (north). (You'll pass Route 512 after about 7 miles.) Take Blue Cypress Lake Road north 4.5 miles to Middleton's fish camp. Blue Cypress Lake Road is a well maintained dirt road leading 4.5 miles to the fish camp. Please enter the fish camp slowly and observe the 10 mph speed limit as there are many folks walking the camp in tight quarters.
  • Telephone: 904-517-2084
  • GPS: N 27 deg 43.622' W 080 deg 46.563'
  • Fee: none
  • Description: dirt banks off the parking areas (paved ramp also available)
  • Parking: Adjacent, unpaved
  • Facilities: Restrooms, picnic tables, bait shop with drinks and snacks, camping areas, and best of all, SHOWERS!

What We Saw

Launching from Middleton's Fish Camp on the eastern shore of the lake through the channel shown at left, we turned left to paddle northward.
Bent Cypress trees extend out into the lake along this eastern shore and provide very interesting paddling through grasses and Cypress knees as shown at right. This lake is an excellent choice even when water levels are low in this part of Florida as they were when we went. We could tell from the marks on the Cypress trunks that water levels were often 2 or 3 feet higher than when we paddled.

Even with low water, however, we had no problem paddling. Watch out for old tree stumps just under the surface however, or you may have to do some back paddling.

We immediately saw many Ospreys flying and many nests as well. We also saw a couple of small alligators and huge spiders hiding in the hollowed out recesses of the old Cypress trees.
About 0.8 miles north of Middleton's, we came to the mouth of Trum Creek shown at left.

GPS: N 27 deg 44.445' W 080 deg 46.475'

Even with the low water, we were able to paddle up the creek for a quick side trip under a lush, shady canopy.
Trum Creek shown at right is full of large Bromeliads nestled in the tall trees along both banks. We are looking forward to returning when the water level is higher to explore the creek much further.

We were unable to find an easy landing for lunch, but we did manage to stop along a fallen tree trunk extending out into the lake north of the mouth of Trum Creek to get out and stretch for lunch.

We ran into some fisherman that had caught some of the biggest large mouth bass I've ever seen. They said the fishing was excellent for bass.