Enjoy abundant flora while paddling down Boiling creek
Located off of Hwy. 87, south of Milton and north of Navarre, Boiling Creek is lined with towering old-growth cypress trees, and an abundance of flora, including water lilies, pitcher plants, and spatterdocks. The water is clear, and colorful underwater grasses rippling below can be easily viewed as you meander down the seepage spring creek.
Boiling Creek is approximately 25 feet wide for most of the paddle, and common sights are turtles, ospreys, hawks and other birds, such as woodpeckers, great blue herons, and kingfishers. There are a few sloughs you can explore that offer a closer look at the blooming wildflowers.
There are only one or two places to stop along the 6.6-mile paddle. The first one you will find will be a cleared area on the left as you paddle down and is called “Rope Drop,” as the area was originally an old home place and now used by Army and Navy survival teams for training. The second is just a bit further down and also on the left.
The last portion of the trip is where the creek meets with the Yellow River. Much wider than the creek, the Yellow River does not offer the clarity of the creek, making the first part of the paddle the most picturesque.
The entire paddle is located on western side of the Eglin AFB Reservation. You need an Eglin Pass acquired at Jackson Guard Natural Resources Facility to enter the base property. Jackson Guard is located in Niceville, on Highway 85 just north of Highway 20. For more information, call (850) 882-4164 or (850) 882-4165.
How to get there:
The put in is at Boiling Creek Bridge, located on Eglin Reservation Road 211 off Hwy. 87. The take out is at the off of Hwy 87 under the Yellow River Bridge.
Take Hwy 87 south from I-10. Cross the Yellow River bridge – takeout is on the left. To put in, continue south on 87. After the second curve in the road, you will see Eglin Road 211 on your left. (This is the 1st dirt road with a stop sign.) Stay on 211 to the bridge.
For more information on upcoming group paddles, go to: West Florida Canoe and Kayak Club and the Florida Panhandle Canoe & Kayak Connection.