I could not agree with Captains Flint and Lelie any more if I tried. A cruise of the beautiful St. Johns River is really the best that the eastern shores of the Sunshine State, north of Miami, has to offer. And, if you are one of those cruisers like ourselves, who really enjoys throwing out the hook about as far removed from civilization as you are likely to get this day and time, then the St. Johns south of Palatka is nothing short of cruising paradise!

We would encourage all [cruisers] who are heading up the East Coast of Florida to include the St. Johns River in their travels. We have just completed the cruise from Jacksonville to Sanford and back and have enjoyed it very much. The scenery is beautiful and the wildlife abundant. We are not dinghy explorers, but we enjoyed all the little towns along the way. If you do love exploring little creeks with your dinghy, you will have a wonderful time on the river. Don’t miss it!!
Flint and Leslie Firestone aboard Grace Full at the Outback Crab Shack on Six Mile Creek

We just finished a week on the St Johns, started at Outback Crabshack to Hontoon Island, 04 APR through 10 APR. Stayed at Hontoon Island State Park ($20.00 a night with 30 AMP power, water and excellent facilities!!!)
Outstanding time with one exception; We anchored one evening at the Croaker Hole in Little Lake George.
After dinner, at sunset there was a huge swarming of blind mosquitoes. It completely covered our bimini and flybridge and sundeck area (we estimate over 2.5 million after measuring the bugs and the bimini area) They don’t bite, they just make noise and a mess. We noticed that they stayed away from the open areas of our boat, the bugs seemed to prefer being in covered/closed in areas. The slightest breeze sent them away from our foredeck and top of the sundeck. Little Lake George was the only place we experienced these annoyances, we did not notice any near Hontoon Island.
Take the trip South of Palatka! Totally worth it.
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