NEW! Kayak Cortez Village Area

Plan to arrive 30 minutes before 9 AM as we start on time and this gives you time to unload your gear.

The paddle will begin and end with 30 minutes in mangrove tunnels and trails. In the beginning the trail is narrow and requires some ducking and dodging of limbs, but it soon opens up into a wider trail. For this reason, I recommend kayaks and not SUPs, but it's your choice.

From there we enter the bay and will either paddle across the bay to Leffis Key to explore that or stay on the same side of the bay and explore some of the nearby islands. The direction we paddle will depend on tides, winds and boat traffic.

Next, we paddle along the Cortez Fishing Village waterfront which will give you excellent photo opps of the businesses there before returning to the launch area. We can take a short break as we enter the mangrove tunnels on the return.

After the paddle we can go to lunch at Tide Tables Restaurant, 12507 Cortez Rd W., Bradenton, Fl 34210. tidetablescortez.com.

BRING: Kayak, PFD/whistle (mandatory and required by law), Paddle, water, snack, sunscreen, insect repellent. etc. NO RENTALS AVAILABLE.

PARKING: When you turn off Cortez onto 119 St. W., drive past the museum (see photo in trip description) , pass the parking lot to a large grassy area and park near the tiki hut (actually chickee) with the picnic bench. The launch area is just a few feet away.