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The St. Johns. NOAA puts it at 310 miles long; the Department of State's quick facts give 273 miles.
It begins in the marshes south of Melbourne, in Brevard County, flows north, and reaches the Atlantic near Jacksonville, falling less than 30 feet along the way.
Population 1,023,153. Typical home sale price $327,072 in the three months ending June 2026; typical condo $180,000 in May 2026. Median household income $71,277; 15.3% of residents are 65 or older. (Source: Redfin; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, published January 2026)
Open the county guide →Population 632,780. Typical home sale price $368,859 in the three months ending June 2026; typical condo $229,000 in May 2026. Median household income $78,476; 24.5% of residents are 65 or older. (Source: Redfin; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, published January 2026)
Open the county guide →Two meanings, both answered. For a short trip on the water, the river and spring cruises are the ones with something to look at: Wakulla Springs runs a guided river cruise past alligators and wading birds, Silver Springs in Marion County runs glass-bottom boats, and Myakka River State Park in Sarasota County runs what it calls the largest airboat of its kind.
Read the answer →Manatees cannot survive long in water below about sixty-eight degrees, so from November to March they crowd into the springs and the warm-water outflows, and that is when you see them in numbers.
Read the answer →Lake Okeechobee. The South Florida Water Management District gives it 730 square miles, the largest lake in the southeastern United States; the Department of State's quick facts say 700.
The surf is on the Atlantic side. The Gulf is flat most of the year and only breaks in a storm.
You want steady side-on wind and shallow, flat water, which means the sound and bay sides rather than the open ocean.
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