Circumnavigate Florida On This Breathtaking 1,500 Mile Paddle Trail

Picture yourself paddling into Miami's "concrete canyon," looking forward to a hot Cuban sandwich and a night at a South Beach hotel. You are more than halfway through an epic journey, having paddled your way south from Pensacola, along Florida's Gulf Coast and up through the Keys. Now you're headed north again, on your way to the Georgia border. Along the way, you've communed with manatees and dolphins, snorkeled with parrot fish, and camped on pristine beaches that can only be reached by boat. Welcome to the 1,515-mile Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail (and yes, the name is almost as long as the trail itself). Locals and those who have completed the entire trail since it opened in 2008 affectionately call it the CT, and someday, that acronym may well be as recognizable as the PCT and the AT (that's Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail for you couch potatoes).

The CT is one of the longest National Recreation Trails in the country. Through-paddlers take between two and four months to complete the trail, while section paddlers tackle its 26 distinct segments one at a time. The variety of terrain and conditions is truly staggering. You'll camp in splendid isolation on the white sand beaches of St. George Island in the Florida Panhandle, aka the "Forgotten Coast." You'll spend more than a week navigating a winding maze of mangroves in the popular Everglades segment. Then there is the Ten Thousand Islands archipelago: "The bioluminescent activity was on overdrive," writes one Redditor. "Every paddle would cause an explosion of light in the water. Creepy and beautiful at the same time."

Whether you're planning to paddle the CT a section at a time or all at once, you'll want to pick up a copy of the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail Guide, which details all of the campgrounds, waterfront motels, and public launch points en route, along with suggestions for vacation-sized segments. Some parts of the CT are better suited for beginners, while others call for more experience. The Big Bend Coast section, for example, is considered so dangerous that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission flat out refuses to issue camping permits to solo paddlers.

Your choice of kayak will make a big difference over so many miles. The longer the waterline the better, both for speed and ease of effort. Our advice? Invest in a folding Oru Coast XT. It can handle ocean seas, and it fits into an optional backpack so you can carry it with you in a car, taxi, or public bus, thus greatly extending your options for overnight stays and resupply runs. And if you're flying to Florida (bye-bye winter in Chicago!) you can check it as baggage.

Picking your season is key as well, generally October through April, to avoid both hurricanes and mosquito season. These days, it seems a season doesn't go by when hikers on the PCT are forced off the trail by wildfires or snowstorms, and the CT has its hazards, too, including strong winds, rough seas, freezing rain, and foggy shipping channels. Mary Mangiapia, the first female through-paddler to complete the route in just 95 days, encountered 10-foot seas and had a shark nibble at her rudder. So be prepared for anything. Just don't feed the alligators and you should be fine.

One truly miraculous aspect of the CT experience is the network of "trail angels." These volunteers are on call to paddlers with aid and encouragement, aka "trail magic" ranging from a hot meal and a shower to a free place to camp overnight to a fresh pair of warm socks. Sometimes, they might join you for a day of paddling. Since fewer than 40 individuals have completed the trail as of this writing, everyone who sets out to do so is treated as a celebrity by these friendly cheerleaders and boosters. To gain access to the network, you'll need to join the Florida Paddling Trails Association, which is where you'll register your float plan. And once you've finished the trail, you'll be inducted into the FPTA's Hall of Fame and become a lifetime member — and maybe dispense a little trail magic to future paddlers yourself.

If you have an appetite for more paddle strokes once you've finished the entire trail, Florida has 47 more designated paddle trails for you to explore. Or you can follow in the footsteps of the first man and woman to finish the trail, Matt Keene and Jodi Eller (who became husband and wife during the course of journeying on the CT both separately and together), who followed up their paddle with a thru-hike of the 1,500 mile Florida National Scenic Trail for a surf 'n' turf-style adventure.