An Ichetucknee River paddling trip out of Fort White, reserved around a two hour guided run
from $230 per person, three nights, two sharing a room and a car; $460 for the two of you; room taxes are added by the inn
- Nights
- three
- Office to the river
- about 2 hours 55 minutes, 148 miles
- Median flow
- 260 cfs
- Per person from
- $230
This Ichetucknee River paddling trip runs three nights in Fort White, in Columbia County. The drive from the Orlando office to the river is about 2 hours 55 minutes, some 148 miles, and the water part is a guided paddle of about two hours in a single kayak.
The office holds inn nights in Fort White and a place with the local outfitter, writes the plan for one of three dated departures, and sends one written quote. Travelers pay the inn, the outfitter and the park themselves.
The Ichetucknee as a river
USGS gauge 02322700 sits on the river below the springs, so its reading is the flow of the whole run. Across water year 2026, October 2025 through September 2026, the median day carried 260 cubic feet per second.
That puts the Ichetucknee among the first-magnitude runs, the group at 100 cfs or more. In the catalog it ranks third of six by median flow, behind Rainbow and Silver.
The spring water holds near 72 degrees in every month, as the park notes. On this run the water part is the outfitter's guided paddle of about two hours, one person to a single kayak, at $55 per person.
From the Orlando drive to the last Fort White morning
- Day one: the drive north from Orlando, roughly 2 hours 55 minutes to the river, and the first night at the inn in Fort White.
- Day two: the guided paddle at the park, about two hours with the outfitter, one person to a single kayak at $55 per person, after park entry at $6 per vehicle; then the second night at the inn. Weather calls on the water are the outfitter's. If lightning or high water stops the paddle, the inn's own terms, set out in the quote before you say yes, decide whether those nights can move or be refunded; if no other departure suits, the office says so in writing and holds nothing further.
- Day three: a free day near the river, with nothing held for it, and the third night in Fort White.
- Day four: the last morning at the inn, then the drive home.
Rooms at $169.50, kayak at $55 and park entry at $3, each per person
All three departures carry the same figure, $230 per person: January 29 to February 1, 2027; March 26 to 29, 2027; and April 30 to May 3, 2027. It assumes two travelers in one room and one car, each in a single kayak. Three nights at $113 a room night, split by two, come to $169.50; the outfitter's $55 per person goes on top, then half of the $6 per vehicle park entry, and the sum rounds up to the next $5.
The $113 a room night is the federal lodging per diem for Columbia County in fiscal year 2027, used as a gauge of a plain inn room; the real inn in the quote replaces it. Room taxes and the county tourist tax come from the inn and sit outside the figure. A solo traveler with a room alone carries the whole room charge.
| Dated departure | Inn ceiling used | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| January 29 to February 1, 2027 | $113 a room night | from $230 per person$460 for two sharing |
| March 26 to 29, 2027 | $113 a room night | from $230 per person$460 for two sharing |
| April 30 to May 3, 2027 | $113 a room night | from $230 per person$460 for two sharing |
Inn nights, the guided kayak and half the per-vehicle park entry
- Three nights at an inn in or near Fort White, the room shared by two
- Guided paddle of about two hours, single kayak, $55 per person, at the outfitter's posted figure
- Half of the park entry, $6 per vehicle as the park posts it, for two in one car
Columbia County room taxes, billed by the inn
- Room taxes and the county's tourist tax, which the inn adds to its bill
- Your drive to the river and back, and fuel
- Meals, snacks and drinks, and anything you buy at the launch
- A tip for a guide, if the paddle has one and you choose to leave it
- Extra time on the water beyond what the outfitter's posted figure covers
How the water ran in 2026
The monthly medians held between 261 and 268 cfs from October 2025 through March 2026, with October and December the high marks at 268 cfs. April 2026 came in at 240 cfs, the first clear step down.
From there the river eased each month to 218 cfs in September 2026, 50 cfs under the October peak. The single days of the year ranged from 215 cfs at the bottom to 276 cfs at the top, a spread of 61 cfs across twelve months.
The Fort White inn and the outfitter, each named in writing
The quote names the Fort White inn that answered for those exact nights, with its rate and its own cancellation and refund terms. It also names the outfitter and quotes that outfitter's cancellation and refund terms. It arrives once both have answered, and their timing is theirs, not the office's.
The park charges entry at $6 per vehicle. Nothing is held until you say yes in writing; only then does the office ask the inn and the outfitter to hold the nights and the launch, and you pay each of them and the park directly, on their own terms.
100 boats a day at the north launch, and a signed release
The park's north launch takes 100 boats a day and stops launching at 3 p.m. Summer weekends fill early there, and the three departures on this run sit in January, March and the turn of April into May, all ahead of summer. Manatees winter in several Florida spring rivers from about mid-November to the end of March; they are watched quietly from the boat at a distance, and no trip promises one.
Before launching, every paddler signs the outfitter's release or risk acknowledgment, and a parent signs for a child. The signed paper stays with the outfitter.
Which Ichetucknee departure to name on the form: Jan 29, Mar 26 or Apr 30
Pick January 29 to February 1, March 26 to 29 or April 30 to May 3 on the request form, which works 24/7, and say how many paddlers and rooms. Sending it is free, reserves nothing and asks for no payment. The office then asks the inn and the outfitter whether those nights and a place on the water are free; a first written answer reaches you before sundown in Orlando, the same day if you write by noon Eastern, Monday to Saturday, and the full quote follows.
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