Did you know the Ocklawaha River once connected Silver Springs to the St. Johns River, creating a vital pathway for fish, manatees, and other wildlife to migrate freely? 💧 For far too long, the Rodman Dam has blocked that historic waterway, but right now, we’re getting a look at what a restored river could look like. As of October 10, a 90-day drawdown of the Rodman Pool began, lowering water levels and revealing the Ocklawaha’s natural flow. Springs re-emerge, ancient cypress trees rise above

Kayaking to the forgotten Eureka West Lock and Dam on the Ocklawaha River feels like drifting into a lost chapter of Florida history. Massive concrete walls rise from the tannin-dark water, relics of the abandoned Cross-Florida Barge Canal. Silent, unfinished, and slowly reclaimed by the swamp, the lock stands as a monument to a plan that never came to be. Gliding past it in a kayak feels like brushing against a ghost of American engineering. #EurekaWestLock #OcklawahaRiver #CrossFloridaBargeCan

Airboat ride on the Ocklawaha River | Anthony Penney