Topwater Kayak Outpost

This place is AWESOME! The guys here are incredibly friendly and helpful. They have a nice selection of yaks for rent. They have fishing kayaks, but were out by the time I got there. This was not an issue because the one they got for me was plenty big enough for me, my gear, and I had a BLAST! The rental process is easy, quick, and I feel I got a great value for my money. The area is gorgeous and they give you a map with points to help you navigate. I was told approximately how long I could expect it would take me to paddle the area, which helped in my planning. This stand is located across the street from the bay pier, which is after making a right turn off the main entrance road when entering the park. My 1 person kayak for about 3 hours came to $ 31. I will most definitely be back to rent a kayak and fish here again.

So friendly! Cute little mom and pop shop just wanting to see people have a good time in their area. Friendly, WAY cheaper than the competition, and super accommodating. Questions? First time? Just ask! They also sell sunscreen and such which you will definitely need. We rented stand up paddle boards (it seemed like they had about 5 – 10 boards, not nearly as big of a supply as kayaks) and went on our way after a quick lesson from Eric. They weren’t strict at all with the time. Who knows how long we were out– we were definitely respectful of their equipment and business but if we had come back a few minutes late, I doubt we would have been charged extra; they know that it can be hard to estimate how long it will take with factors like the wind and having to navigate around other people. I came back and fell trying to park the paddle board and it must have been hilarious but instead of laughing, employee Aaron made sure I was ok. We came back just in time, a storm was on the way. I overhead them telling someone else it wasn’t safe to go out instead of accepting their money and setting them up for, at the very least, a windy and bad time on the water. If you are looking for a nice ride, SUP, kayak, or canoe, I highly recommend these gentlemen.

We went kayaking at Open kayaks, located at Ft Desoto Park. It’s $ 5 to get into the park and $ 23 per single kayak per hour. They also have $ 30 per hour for a 2 person kayak for 1 hour or $ 40 for 2 hours. 1 hour was more than enough time for us to get through the trail but we were paddling at a vigorous pace. The Guy there was pretty friendly and took a couple pictures for us and explained the route pretty well and where the manatees like to hang out. The water was a bit murky and hard to see through. Overall I’d say that wikee watchee springs in Crystal river is a far better experience with clear water and the ability to jump off swings built into the trees. However that is almost an hour drive from Tampa. My kayak seat didn’t have enough back support and was uncomfortable for my back to rest on which really detracted from my experience. I just paddled as fast as I could through the course to be done with it because I wasn’t really able to rest my back ever. Won’t be coming back. It’s kind of a boring trail but I did see a manatee. The trail doesn’t loop around so once you get to the end, you have to paddle back the same way you came. Equipment condition 5/​10, Service Friendliness 8/​10, Trail Rating 6/​10, Parking ¹⁰⁄₁₀ Free and plentiful.

Awesome place to kayak, it’s so quiet that you can float right up to the egrets before they fly away. At times manatees and dolphins will swim into this little bay area, and luck would have it, a pair of dolphins swam right up to my kayak, smiled and hopped in front of me. I’ve never seen real dolphins before and kayaking next to them beats Sea World any day.
Go there early like 9am — 10am, beat the crowd, don’t wait for a kayak, and you can enjoy the quiet of nature as you row out to the bay…
Around mile marker 8, on the East Side, there is a mangrove cave, really spooky but surreal, you enter on one side and leave the other, just keep paddling, and duck when you see the low branches, if it’s low tide, you may need to turn around and go back to the entry way.
Sit on top kayaks are super comfy and easy to navigate. We paddled for 8 hours and had a great time. Enjoy!