on site activities
Whatever your outdoor pleasure, you can find it at our Suwannee River Retreat. Fishing, swimming, canoeing, hiking and biking along clearly-marked nature trails with bird watching, sunbathing on white sugar sand beaches (depending on the river’s elevation), meditating on a riverside Zen deck or toasting marshmallows while telling ghost stories around a roaring campfire, you can do it all without having to leave our grounds. Go on eco adventures, dine alfresco at the riverside gazebo or just spend the day lazing on the Zen deck watching the river float by. Throughout the year Folk and music festivals at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park and the Florida Music Festival at Stephen Foster State Park are within a 10 minute drive.
Exclusivity, privacy and seclusion are guaranteed by the single group accommodation, expansive grounds and no internet connection so you can truly get away from it all. It is Self catering, so bring your own supplies as the nearest Walmart is 20 minutes away in Live Oak, and if you don't bring them, you can use our board games, regulation Horseshoe pit, and a croquet set.
No motorized vehicles are allowed in the Conservation Areas, so no ATV's or dirt bikes.
Canoeing, Tubing and Kayaking
swimming
We have our own canoe launch on site, so you can put your canoes, tubes or kayaks in the water here and enjoy a gentle 2-3 hour float downriver and put out at either Suwannee Springs (2 hours), Spirit of the Suwannee (2 1/2 hours) or Deese-Howard Boat Ramp (4-5 hours). If you don't have your own gear, inflatable kayaks and river tubes can be rented on site from Jerry Pierre who can also arrange to take you upriver to the Big Beach, inflate your kayaks and help you put out at our place. Canoes and kayaks can be also rented from American Canoe Outfitters in White Springs and they can arrange to pick you up and bring you back when your trip is over.
Waterfall you can walk to, Hiking and Fat Tire Bike trails.
We offer miles of clearly-marked orange-blazed hiking trails along the bluffs overlooking the Suwannee river with a variety of interesting natural features along the way. A 20 minute hike upriver hides Disappearing Creek - a blue-blazed half mile loop that leads to a creek dominated by a hundred-year old Cypress tree and a waterfall. The paths are leaf-lined and easy to navigate on a mountain bike and gentle in slope to hike. We are located 156 miles from the mouth of the river at the Gulf of Mexico and right on the Florida National Scenic Trail, one of only 11 national scenic trails in the United States. National scenic trails (designated as such by congressional statute) are continuous, primarily nonmotorized routes that are a hundred miles or longer and offer outstanding recreational opportunities.
We offer 4 different easy access points to the river for swimming. The Zen Deck and Canoe launch offer a shallow easy entrance to the river. 600 feet downriver is the Beach, a white sugar sand beach around a bend in the river. A little further down river is the Community Center, with another canoe launch and a covered pavilion for picnics that you can drive to from our property. For an additional fee, Jerry Pierre can arrange to take you upriver to a huge sugar sand white beach where you can picnic and play in the river, then get in inner tube and float about an hour back to our place when your day is done.
BIRD WATCHING
Birding enthusiasts will find a large variety of species at the Suwannee River, including cardinals, titmouse, herons, egrets, wood ducks, red-tailed hawks and red-shouldered hawks, woodpeckers, barred owls, warblers, vireos, wrens, swallows and thrashers. We are on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail.
rock climbing
The limestone walls rising up from the river offer a variety of handholds and grips for rock climbing. This is a seasonal activity based upon the height of the river and is unavailable during high water times. Rock climbing is an inherently dangerous activity and you do this at your own risk and fully assume all liability for any injury you might sustain.