Canoeing - Kayaking - Rafting - Fishing

 

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Al V
Blue Cypress Lake, west of Vero, Florida USA
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Our Route Summary

  • Submitted by: Al Vazquez
  • Date Submitted: 5/2000
  • Location: About 22 miles west of Vero, Florida, USA
  • Class: Typically flat water river on a large lakes that can have substantial wind-driven waves. Pay attention to wind forecasts as it can make a big difference on large open lakes.
  • Distance Paddled: We paddled about 6 miles round trip, but you can do as much as you like.
  • Water: fresh
  • Wildlife: More Ospreys than I've seen anywhere else, Cypress trees, Large Mouth Bass, huge spiders in Cypress knees, alligators, grasses, raccoons
  • Special Regulations: For the sake of safety, please drive slowly through the fish camp.

Entry and Exit

Middleton's Fish Camp
21704 73rd Manor
Vero Beach, Florida 32966
800-258-5002

  • Directions:
    • Interstate 95
    • Exit onto Route 60 westbound.
      • Travel about 17.7 miles west on Route 60. (You'll pass Route 512 after the first 7 miles.)
    • Turn right (north) onto Blue Cypress Lake Road
      • Take Blue Cypress Lake Road north 4.5 miles to Middleton's fish camp. Please enter the fish camp slowly and observe the 10 mph speed limit as there are many people walking the camp in tight quarters.
  • GPS: N 27 deg 43.622' W 080 deg 46.563'
  • Fee: Check with Middleton's
  • 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!
  • Handicap Access: nothing special

What We Saw

Launching from Middleton's Fish Camp on the western shore of the lake through the channel shown at left, we turned left to paddle northward.

Blue Cypress Lake is actually the beginning of the St. Johns River, a river of national importance that flows north to it's mouth in Jacksonville, Florida. But it's not easy to paddle from here to the first contiguous navigable section to the north; Lake Hell N Blazes and Sawgrass Lake.

Majestic bent Cypress trees extend out into the lake along this western shore and provide very scenic 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.