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What water sports can you do in Florida?

Florida has water for every sport: Atlantic surf, flat bays and sounds, spring-fed rivers and the coral reef off the Keys.

Each sport below has its own answer on this site, with the places.

By sport

  • Surfing: the surf is on the Atlantic side. Sebastian Inlet, on the line between Brevard and Indian River counties, has the reputation, and Cocoa Beach is where most Florida surfers learn.
  • Kiteboarding and windsurfing: shallow, flat water on the sound and bay sides, such as Crandon Park on Key Biscayne and Fort De Soto in Pinellas County.
  • Paddleboarding and kayaking: the clear springs and spring runs, such as Weeki Wachee and Rainbow Springs, and sheltered mangrove water such as Lovers Key in Lee County.
  • Snorkeling and diving: the coral reef off the Keys, starting at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park off Key Largo, and the freshwater springs and caves of North Florida.
  • Sailing: protected bays, among them Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor and Biscayne Bay.
  • Jet skis: you must be at least 14 to drive one and at least 18 to rent one.
  • Tubing: spring-fed rivers at about seventy degrees all year, such as Ichetucknee Springs in Columbia County and the Rainbow River at Dunnellon.

Water skiing has a long history here. Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, which the State Archives of Florida calls the birthplace of performance water skiing, opened in 1936 and closed in 2009. LEGOLAND Florida opened on the same ground in 2011, and the original Cypress Gardens ski shows are no longer performed. The USA Water Ski and Wake Sports Hall of Fame is in the Central Florida Visitor Information Center at 101 Adventure Court in Davenport, and admission is free.

Where to go from here.

A surfer riding a curling wave at Blockhouse Beach on Patrick Air Force Base, now Patrick Space Force Base, in Brevard County.01

Where is the surfing in Florida?

The surf is on the Atlantic side. The Gulf is flat most of the year and only breaks in a storm.

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A kitesurfer on the Atlantic off Boca Raton under an orange kite.02

Where can you kiteboard or windsurf in Florida?

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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Paddleboarders on the clear water of Alexander Springs in the Ocala National Forest.03

Where can you paddleboard in Florida?

Flat water and something to look at. The springs and spring runs are the clearest paddling in the state - Weeki Wachee in Hernando County, Rainbow Springs in Marion, and the Wekiva at Wekiva Island in Seminole County.

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Two kayakers paddling a narrow channel through marsh grass and mangroves in Everglades National Park.04

Where is the kayaking in Florida?

Three kinds of kayaking, and Florida has all three. Mangrove backwater: Ten Thousand Islands and the Gulf Coast side of Everglades National Park in Collier County, Lovers Key in Lee, Weedon Island Preserve in Pinellas, Robinson Preserve in Manatee County.

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A snorkeler swimming over coral in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.05

Where is the snorkeling in Florida?

The only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States runs down the Keys, and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park off Key Largo in Monroe County is where most people meet it.

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A diver beside a U.S. flag on the wreck of the Spiegel Grove, sunk as an artificial reef off Key Largo.06

Where is the scuba diving in Florida?

Saltwater diving means the Keys and the reef: John Pennekamp in Monroe County, and Biscayne National Park in Miami-Dade, which is mostly water rather than land.

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Small sailboats racing on Charlotte Harbor in the Charlotte Harbor Regatta, February 2014.07

Where is the sailing in Florida?

Florida sailing is mostly protected bay rather than open ocean, which is what makes it good for learning and for cruising in company.

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Generated image of two riders in life jackets on personal watercraft crossing blue-green water off a Florida mangrove shore.08

What are Florida's rules for jet skis?

You must be at least 14 to operate a personal watercraft, often called a jet ski, and at least 18 to rent one.

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The calm, clear Rainbow River at Dunnellon, Florida, framed by palm fronds, seen from a kayak.09

Where can you go tubing in Florida?

Florida's tubing runs are spring-fed, so the water is clear and cool, around seventy degrees, in August as much as in March.

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Boats on the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale, seen from the 17th Street Bridge.10

Where is the boating in Florida?

Florida registers more boats than any other state and the sheltered water is why.

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Where this comes from.

More questions like this.

When is high tide in Florida?

It depends on where you are and what day it is: the times differ from one beach, inlet and bay to the next, and high tide comes about 50 minutes later each day.

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