Entering the Mouth of the Ocklawaha by Canoe

On this trip, we canoed up the Ocklawaha River from the mouth which empties into the St. John's River. We saw many alligators ranging from adolescent 4 foot to adult 8 to10-foot alligators. There was a variety of winged foul present which included great blue heron, great white egret, little green heron, pileated woodpecker, and osprey. The temperature was pleasant in the mid-'80s and the sky was clear. This area of the Ocklawaha is part of the Ocala National Forest's Little Lake George Wilderness and across the lake is Welaka State Forest. This river---as many of Florida's rivers---flows north. It flows from Lake Griffin to the St. John's River. Part of this river has been canalized and Lake Apopka has a canal that feeds the river.