Blog: Everyday Adventures at the Homosassa Springs River

HOMOSASSA, Fla. - In a new segment, ABC Action News teams up with Terry Tomalin of the St. Petersburg Times to showcase some of the best places in Tampa Bay.

Our first adventure took us to the Homosassa River in Citrus County, where Terry and his crew introduced us to paddleboarding.

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ABC Action News chief photographer Eric Moore brought along several underwater GoPro cameras as well as a standard news camera, so that we were really able to capture the feeling of paddling down the river.

Terry and his crew only took a few minutes to unload a double kayak, single kayak and several paddleboards. The paddleboards are very similar to surf boards, but are surprisingly light.

With one GoPro mounted on the front of Terry’s paddleboard, and Eric and I followed along in kayaks, and embarked on the adventure.

When we ventured out on the water, the very first thing we saw directly behind Riverside Resort was Monkey Island. It’s a small island with several wild monkeys. You can read all about them on the Riverside Resorts website.

We paddled two and half miles up the river, and although that may sound long, it really didn't feel long, because of all the beauty we were surrounded by.

Both sides of the river are lined with nice homes and a ton of wildlife. We saw mullet leaping out of the water and sheephead fish.

But the best encounter of the day was a mother manatee and her calf. They are truly gentle giants, and didn’t mind us paddling by them and even putting our camera underwater for a few moments to capture their grace.

The springs themselves are very shallow and cool, unlike gulf waters.

The resort doesn’t rent paddleboards and they are pretty expensive to buy, so if you are new to outdoor adventures then I suggest a kayak. You can rent the kayaks and with some veteran advice you probably won’t have any trouble learning how to maneuver it.

Tune in soon for the next everyday adventure.