Clyde Outside

Clyde Outside: Kayaking Through the Karst – Manatee Springs and the Suwannee River

Waking up in the Hondaminium, sipping coffee with one hand and gripping a paddle with the other, I launched into another day of discovery. By noon, I was skimming across the glassy waters of Manatee Springs, a hidden Florida gem where ecology and geology dance just beneath the surface.

The air hung heavy with humidity and history. Spanish moss draped like lace from the towering bald cypress, guardians of the swamp. Beneath their silent watch, a flash of gold darted past. It was the elusive prothonotary warbler, slipping into the hollow of a tree like it was guarding secrets from another world. Two bird watchers’ excitement was infective., Before long, I shared their excitement.
It’s moments like these that make paddling more than just recreation. It’s immersion in wild truth that keeps me coming back for more.

Below my kayak, Florida’s limestone bedrock revealed its story. This is karst country, where ancient marine deposits became porous rock riddled with caverns, conduits, and springs. Water doesn’t just run over the land here. It flows through it. Rain seeps into the ground, filters through aquitards (low-permeability layers like clay or dense limestone), and emerges again in spectacular clarity as first-magnitude springs.

Manatee Springs is one of more than 1,000 such springs in Florida, fed by the Floridan Aquifer, one of the most productive aquifers on Earth. Near the source, the water is crystal clear. I felt as if I were floating over polished glass. But farther out, as tannins from leaf litter mix in, the water darkens to a rich brown, staining the Suwannee River with a color reminiscent of sweet iced tea.

And just when the day seemed like it couldn’t get wilder, two American alligators, each longer than my kayak, hurled themselves into the swamp from their sun-drenched perch. They vanished in an instant, leaving only ripples and a stark reminder: I’m a visitor here. This is their domain.

Later that evening, safe again on land and hunched over my campstove, I savored the quiet. Swamps hum at night with life you can’t always see. It’s not just a place, it’s a feeling, an energy, a rhythm of nature that city dwellers rarely get to hear.

Back inside my Hondaminium, I fell asleep wondering what tomorrow’s water would bring.

Bonus: What Makes Florida’s Karst So Special?

• Florida is 90% limestone beneath the surface, much of it deposited during the Eocene and Miocene epochs when the area was covered by warm, shallow seas.
• The Floridan Aquifer supplies drinking water to over 10 million people.
• Karst terrain is responsible for Florida’s many sinkholes, springs, and submerged caves making it a haven for hydrologists and cave divers alike.

Test Your Knowledge?

Take the Clyde Outside: Manatee Springs Quiz and see what you’ve learned about Florida’s geology, wildlife, and waterways!