I know what you are thinking….exploring the Mosquito Lagoon… break out the industrial strength DEET insect repellent and grab your paddle for this kayaking adventure! Perhaps in the midst of a Florida summer this could be the case, but eight months of the year, fall through spring the Mosquito Lagoon is a pleasant place to paddle. A good base for exploring this beautiful area is just a short drive south of New Smyrna Beach on the barrier island, where in a seven-mile paddle loop you can investigate an Indian midden, a deserted pioneer settlement, a “shipyard” with civil war connections and have lunch at an authentic fish camp!
A good starting point for your adventure is J&B Fish Camp, located a few hundred yards shy of the entrance to the Canaveral National Seashore. J&B’s is a great place for lunch, either on the shaded deck or in the eclectically decorated rustic dining room. A bowl of their Bethume gumbo, a fish sandwich, shrimp basket or a plate of raw oysters is a great way to fuel up before a paddle or to celebrate afterwards. J&B allows customers to launch their kayaks from a small sandy beach on the edge of their parking lot, just move your car close to the road while you are on the water so as not to interfere with the flow of customers parking. Once in the water, paddle 1½ miles south to Turtle Mound, a shell midden constructed by the Timucan Indians between 800 AD and 1400 AD. At 35 feet in elevation, Turtle Mound is the tallest shell midden in Florida. The observation deck at the top of the mound offers a great panoramic view of the ocean and the Mosquito Lagoon. It is difficult to comprehend the volume of shellfish the Timucan’s must have consumed while creating their own Mount Trashmore a millennium ago!
Follow the shoreline south another 1½ miles and you will arrive at Eldora, a once thriving community on the Mosquito Lagoon in the late 1800’s. Eldora was a hub of commerce when the lagoon was the major transportation route along the coast before the railroad. After Eldora’s last resident died in 1980, the town’s buildings became part of the Canaveral National Seashore and today they are open to the public as a museum. Leaving Eldora, backtrack north past Turtle Mound and look for the entrance to the Shipyard Island kayak trail on your left . The name “Shipyard” has a Civil War connection; confederate troops used the island as a safe harbor in which to make repairs on their ships at low tide. Today the island is a marked paddle trail that meanders its way through a maze of backwater bays, mangroves and canals for three miles before reappearing into the Mosquito Lagoon just a short distance from J&B’s Fish Camp. As we returned to the sandy launch at J&B’s a fisherman was just preparing to fillet his impressive catch of redfish and trout.
Enjoy Florida’s beautiful waterways…“Get out and paddle”!
To reach John Wakeman, please email treasurecoast@coastalanglermagazine.com.