If you live in Hernando County, chances are you love the Weeki Wachee River. It is certainly one of the most beautiful natural features in our county.
One way to enjoy the river is to rent a house on the river for the weekend. This also allows you to take a short vacation without having to go very far.
Renting a house on the river is easy with the numerous vacation rental websites available such as vrbo.com, homeaway.com and airbnb.com.
The rentals often offer kayaks and life vests, so you just need to pack up some bathing suits, sunscreen, your toothbrush and food to stock the fridge.
We rented a house that was on a canal a short paddle away from the river. For waterfront accommodations that sleeps 7, it was very affordable at $92 per night.
A mother manatee and her baby grazing by the dock greeted us the evening we arrived. We enjoyed passing through the friendly canalside community made up of an eclectic mix of homes, campers and trailers. Many people had their dogs out on the river outfitted in special canine life vests.
We paddled upriver about a half mile against a strong current and enjoyed the lazy trip back. We saw plenty of wildlife including turtles, hawks, herons and anhingas. The mullet were jumping as well, taunting the fishermen onshore.
The Weeki Wachee is a clear sandy bottom river, so you can see the wildlife swimming near you.
There are many shallow areas of the river that are excellent places to stop and take a swim or you can go to Roger’s Park where there is a designated swimming area. The water is clear because the springs near the mermaids put out an average of 170 million gallons per day.
This water flows down the 7.4 mile long river and out into the Gulf of Mexico. This is a beautiful natural wonder of areas and should be enjoyed by all that live here.
A weekend vacation on the river is an excellent way to enjoy the river.