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Canoeing & Kayaking
American Heritage River

St. Johns River from Route 192 to Lake Hell N Blazes, Melbourne Florida USA
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Copyright 2001 Alfonso Vazquez-Cuervo - See Terms of Use

Our Route Summary

  • Submitted by: Al Vazquez alvazquez@kayakguide.com with some photos courtesy of Rob Walker scubarob@cfl.rr.com
  • Date Submitted: 1/2002
  • Location: Melbourne Florida USA
  • Class: Typically flat water river with three large lakes that can have wind blown waves
  • Distance Paddled: about 16 miles round trip (7.7 miles each way)
  • Water Level: the main channel is typically navigable even during drought conditions. The day we paddled, the height gage reading was 3.12 feet.

  • Water: fresh
  • Wildlife: many alligators, bass, anhinga,, ibis, vultures, ducks, great blue heron, turtles, saw grass, hyacinth, hydrilla, and other water plants
  • Special Regulations: Because of the impressive population of large alligators, I would avoid this paddle during mating season in the spring and I would not take any small pets along on a paddle here.

Entry and Exit

  • Directions: Exit Interstate 95 at Route 192 westbound. Turn south (left) into Camp holly about 1 mile down the road just after crossing the bridge over the St. Johns River.
  • GPS: N 28 degrees 05.098' W 80 degrees 45.155'
  • Fee: $2 per boat ramp fee
  • Description: dirt beach beside worn cement boat ramps
  • Parking: adjacent unpaved parking
  • Facilities: restroom, informal dining (sign says "No shoes, No shirt, No Problem")
  • Handicap Access: probably OK, though it's muddy

What We Saw

The St. Johns River is a beautiful, northern flowing river that was once the prime tourist destination in Florida. Before railroads or roads, the St. Johns served as a major thoroughfare with numerous paddle wheel boats. And native Americans used it extensively. The river begins in the marshes of Blue Cypress Lake and ends at it's mouth in Jacksonville.

This is the first section of the St. Johns River that sees regular boat traffic. We paddled upstream (southward) from Camp Holly on Route 192 to the south end of Lake Hell N Blazes (that's the correct spelling) at the the very beginning of the navigable river formed by the Three Forks March area. You may also paddle northward (downstream) from Camp Holly to Lake Washington.

Though this is a fantastic, gorgeous paddle, be prepared for some airboat and motorboat traffic. Airboats love the swampy areas along the shores of river. But we found every boaters polite, friendly and careful to steer clear of us paddlers. I suggest placing a bright, tall warning flag on your canoe or kayak to be more visible above the high grasses. And take a loud horn to warn away boats if necessary.
The first two lakes you paddle after about a mile on the river south of Camp Holly is the large Sawgrass Lake and smaller Little Sawgrass Lake shown above. Both lakes have a clear main channel but have a huge bed of hydrilla and hyacinth covering most of the surface. Bass fishing is said to be outstanding throughout this section of the river.

At the southeast corner of Little Sawgrass Lake is a day shelter shown at right, a comfortable stop to get out and stretch. There are no facilities there other than a shelter and dock. Just northeast of the shelter on a short channel off the lake is also a landing that is a popular place for airboaters.
The 2 mile section of river connecting Little Sawgrass to Lake Hell N Blazes had some of the most stunning scenery, such as the Cypress trees and large flock of birds shown below. Ibis were everywhere.

We also found the "secret passage" to the Jane Green Creek shown at left on the west shore about 2/3 of the way down the channel between Little Sawgrass Lake and Hell N Blazes.

I've been told that during high water levels, it's possible to reach Jane Green Creek via this airboat channel.
Hell N Blazes is an impressive, large lake; the first Lake on the navigable portion of the St. Johns River. That's where we found several grassy banks frequented by alligators like the one I found walking into the water above. There are several side channels to explore, and supposedly a couple of primitive campgrounds that we did not find. We finally stopped for lunch on a mushy grass landing pictured at left about 100 yards south of Lake Hell N Blazes on west bank of the the main channel. The day we went, the afternoon wind helped us return northward.

Pay attention to wind forecasts when doing this paddle as it can make a big difference especially on the large, open lakes.