A Chassahowitzka River kayak trip with a reserved guided paddle
from $255 per person, three nights, two sharing a room and a car; $510 for the two of you; room taxes are added by the inn
- Nights
- three
- Office to the river
- about 2 hours 5 minutes, 87 miles
- Median flow
- 53 cfs
- Per person from
- $255
This Chassahowitzka River kayak trip runs three nights, with the inn in Citrus County. From the Orlando desk to the launch is about 2 hours 5 minutes, 87 miles by a free-flow router. Three dated departures sit on the list.
The water part is one guided paddle of two hours, in a clear kayak. The figure starts at $255 per person for two sharing a room and a car.
The water: a second magnitude run
USGS gauge 02310650 sits on the river below the springs. The river meets the Gulf tide, so the gauge reports tidally filtered daily discharge. Its median for water year 2026 was 53 cubic feet per second.
That puts the Chassahowitzka under 100 cfs, a second magnitude run and the smallest of the six on the list. The figure counts the whole run, not one vent.
Spring water holds at about 72 degrees. The outfitter runs the paddle as a guided two hours in a clear kayak, at $79 per adult.
Three Citrus County nights, 87 miles from Orlando to the launch
- Three nights at an inn in Citrus County.
- The drive to the river: about 2 hours 5 minutes, 87 miles.
- On the water: one guided two-hour paddle in a clear kayak.
- At the launch: parking runs $10 per vehicle.
A ceiling of $113 a room night, split between two
Three nights at a ceiling of $113 a room night, split between two, comes to $169.50 each. Add the paddle at $79 per adult and half of the $10 per vehicle parking charge. Rounded up to the next $5, that gives $255 per person, and all three departures carry it.
The ceiling is the federal GSA lodging per diem for Citrus County in fiscal year 2027, a stand-in for a plain room. The real inn's rate replaces it in the written quote. Room taxes and the county tourist tax come on top. A solo traveler with a room alone pays the whole room.
| Dated departure | Inn ceiling used | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| January 8 to 11, 2027 | $113 a room night | from $255 per person$510 for two sharing |
| February 26 to March 1, 2027 | $113 a room night | from $255 per person$510 for two sharing |
| May 14 to 17, 2027 | $113 a room night | from $255 per person$510 for two sharing |
Room share, clear kayak and parking at $255 per person
- Three nights at an inn in Citrus County, the room shared by two
- Guided two-hour paddle in a clear kayak, $79 per adult, at the outfitter's posted figure
- Half of the parking at the launch, $10 per vehicle as the launch posts it, for two in one car
Paid on top of the figure: room taxes the inn adds
- 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
The water year on the gauge
From October 2025 through January 2026 the monthly medians held at 50 or 51 cfs. February and April dipped to 48, the low point of the year, with March at 49.
From May the flow climbed: 54 in May, 56 in June and July, 62 in August, 60 in September. The single days ranged from 40 cfs at the bottom to 92 at the top.
Inn and outfitter named once both have answered
After you send the form, the office asks the inn and the outfitter whether your nights and a place in the guided paddle are free. A first written answer reaches you before sundown in Orlando; the full quote naming the inn and the outfitter follows once both have replied, which the office does not control.
The quote copies each party's terms, room rate and cancellation rules included. When you say yes in writing, the office asks the inn and the outfitter to hold the nights and the launch. You then pay the inn, the outfitter and the parking at the canal directly, on their own terms.
Rules on the canal and the river
The guided paddle starts from a campground canal, and the $10 per vehicle parking charge is paid there. Outfitters stop launches for lightning, and summer afternoons bring thunderstorms. If a launch is called off for lightning or high water, the office looks for another departure on the list and writes to say so. Whether the inn's nights can then be moved or refunded follows the inn's own terms, which the quote shows before you say yes.
Manatees winter in several of these rivers, roughly mid-November to the end of March. They are protected: watch quietly, from the boat and at a distance, and never chase or feed them. No sighting is promised. Before launch every paddler signs the outfitter's release, and a parent signs for a child.
Jan, Feb or May on the Chassahowitzka
Pick Jan 8 to 11, Feb 26 to Mar 1 or May 14 to 17, 2027 on the request form; it accepts entries any hour of the day. Sending it costs nothing and reserves nothing; the written answer and then the quote follow.
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