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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 24, 2008

Yellow Jacket Campground: A large, wooded riverfront campground, Yellow Jacket has a bath house, laundry facilities and heated swimming pool, and picnic tables and fire rings at each site and cabin. It's about 140 miles north of Tampa.

RV and tent sites range from $32 to $49 a night; the RV sites include cable TV and 50-amp service. One-bedroom cottages are $120 a night for guests staying more than one night. (All rates are for two adults; additional guests and visitors more than 1 year old pay $6 per night.)

Boat rentals range from canoes ($40 for eight hours) to a large pontoon boat ($255 for eight hours.) The campground has six powerboats of various sizes, and a johnboat. Guests who bring their boats can tie up at the dock and use the boat ramp for no additional charge.

On holiday weekends, the campground fills up months in advance. In the winter, the RV sites are often filled by snowbirds, but cottages are available.

From U.S. 19/98, head south on County Highway 349 nine miles and watch for the Yellow Jacket sign on the right and the driveway on the left. Call (352) 542-8365 or go to www.yellow jacketcampground.com.

Manatee Springs State Park: Accessible by car or boat - dock on the river and walk in - just north of Yellow Jacket Campground, the centerpiece is a first magnitude spring ringed by cypress trees. The water is 72 degrees year-round and clear as glass; no beach, no lifeguard. A snack shack offers $3 burgers and snorkel-mask-fin rentals for $3.50 (rent canoes and kayaks here, too). You'll find a playground, picnic tables and plenty of big shade trees. Admission is $1 on the honor system.

Fanning Springs State Park: Also accessible by car or boat, Fanning Springs is larger and more developed than Manatee, about 12 miles from Old Town. The swimming area is partially surrounded by a floating dock; boaters can pull right up and dive in. There's a diving platform and, when we visited, a lifeguard. The park has a snack shack, fishing spots, a playground, and boardwalks and trails through hilly, wooded terrain. Two-bedroom cabins with porch and gas fireplace rent for $98 a night. (Call 1-800-326-3521) Park admission is $4 per vehicle.

Suwannee River: From Yellow Jacket south to the town of Suwannee, most of the river corridor is part of the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. We puttered down to the Gulf in less than two hours. Along the way, Jack's Sandbar provides a gathering spot for boaters, who throw anchor and while away the day swimming and socializing. At Suwannee, pull up to the dock outside the Salt Creek Shellfish Co. and have lunch. They'll prepare your catch and serve it with two sides and hush puppies for $8.95. Since we weren't having fishing luck, we ordered fried blue crab fingers ($14.95 for 17 shelled claws) and shrimp stuffed with crabmeat ($15.95). The crab fingers were bland, but Ben was still craving the fried, crab-packed shrimp weeks later.

Gulf sturgeon: The big leaping fish migrate from the Gulf into the coastal rivers of North Florida during the spring and summer to lay eggs. The Suwannee River gets the most, about 3,000. The fish don't feed while they're in the river, so you likely won't hook one. You may, however, catch one in your boat. Collisions have caused serious injuries, which can be avoided if boaters don't speed. Boaters also are advised to wear life jackets and avoid riding in the bow.

Cedar Key: This fishing hamlet caters to tourists with rentals of golf carts (to get around), kayaks and fishing poles. The island is about two hours north of Tampa; take U.S. 19/98 north and hang a left at Otter Key (State Road 24).

Farm-raised clams are big here, and inexpensive. At the waterfront Seabreeze restaurant, we enjoyed homemade clam-rich chowder; an entree of clams roasted with Old Bay-dill butter seasoning; perfectly cooked fried oysters, and fat scallops. Entrees, which include two sides, average about $13. The 39th annual Seafood Festival is Oct. 18 and 19; you'll want to plan your trip around it - whether to enjoy the events, or to avoid the crowds.

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