wekiva island

There is no better place in the area to leave your worries behind for a few hours and just relax! Canoe down the river, experience The Tooting Otter Wine Bar or just chill around the fire with friends. A family experience with the kids, without the long drive to a beach or a team building meeting would be great at this place. Pair people up in canoes to take a run down river or set them up on the volleyball court. Two meeting places both with a view of the beautiful Wekiva River. You can't get any better than this! They will work with you to set up whatever you need, a bridal tea was just held there and it was fabulous. Use your imagination or let them help you decide. Either way you should visit and discover the possibilities.

Go early! Popular place and it reaches capacity fast. Rented a SUP board for the day. Bring your friendly leashed dogs for a swim.

This place is a great for the nature lover who is looking for friendly people and cold beer or wine. Their outside bar area is awesome! The fire pit will warm your tush on those cold nights. Hot summer days are perfect to take out a tube and float down the river. For those who worry about gators, a canoe will do just fine.

This is definitely a great place for some outdoor adventure and fun. If you are a local, you really feel as if your on vacation. It costs roughly $20.00 to rent canoes/kayaks and we were not limited to just two hours. I got to canoe for about three hours, enjoying the amazing scenic wildlife view. I did see people paddle boarding but I am not sure they were rented there. There is a bar serving wine and beer and a very good food truck with delicious choices. The price is decent not exceeding more than $12.00/meal. There are places to sit, relax and enjoy your surroundings. The bathrooms are available and clean. There is also a section people can rent out for a good price if they want to bbq. I did see out door games that were provided. This is a very laid back atmosphere so come relaxed. There is live music from time to time. A must place to see when in Florida! Highly recommended

Big, big thank you to Fred and crew. Great time canoeing the river and checking out the wildlife. Great eats and awesome beer. Learned so much about the wildlife from Fred. Almost got your scale fixed wish we lived closer do that we could come back and finish the repair ourselves.

Went here for a birthday party and right when you get there it cost a dollar to get on the property and they dont even give you anything to let them know that you already have paid. You cant bring your own beverages because they expect you to pay their outstanding prices. The canoe rentals were 20 bucks for two hours. By the time my friends and I got to our destination by canoe, we had 30 minutes before we had to pack up and paddle back upstream. Other than that the place is beautiful. The wildlife is amazing. Gators, otters, turtles, monkeys, and beautiful colored birds. Water to Wekiva River stays 70 degrees allvyear long. If you are not on a budget I highly recommend this place to anyone.

This place is really something you have to experience if you are in Florida. Outdoor food, live music at times, outdoor games, canoeing, private BBQ pits, and it feels just like you are at the lake house with family! I highly recommend trying the Gyro's! It is a beautiful environment and not at all commercial. Wear jeans, wear a swim suit, even slacks and you wouldn't feel out of place. Would be a great place for a reception, family gathering, or any event.

This is a great place to go enjoy the outdoors. It has been remodeled and looks awesome! You have to get here early on the weekends because once they reach capacity you cannot get in. They have a beer/wine/soda bar. A great place to eat with real good food. Launch your boat for a ride down the river. Kayak, paddle board or just swim and float. Just a great fun relaxing place to go.

We were told by a friend that Wekiva Island was the place to go for a day canoe trip, and it was easy to find with iPhone directions. When you pull in, you see a parking lot, but then you see another parking lot and aren't sure where you're supposed to go. There are no signs directing you anywhere. It turns out you can park anywhere you find a spot. There is a restaurant/bar with people scattered at tables drinking and having a good time. Lots of tiny bikinis, young people drinking, dogs jumping in the water, a few families with kids. Would be a great place for locals who are familiar with the place. But for those of us who have never been there before, it's confusing because there are no signs directing you anywhere. You can bring in a cooler, even though some info says you can't. We walked around the property until we found where the canoes launch, but at the dock no one acknowledged us or asked if we needed any help. We saw another customer hand the canoe guy a slip of paper, so went to find the rental counter (which was next to the bar). The guy behind the counter was extremely nice and answered a question without a problem. Back to the dock...the canoe guy took our ticket and another guy, who had a personality, got our canoe off the rack and put it in the water. That was IT. No helpful tips on where to go, how to paddle, help getting in the canoe...nothing. Not a deal breaker, but I suggest you study the map next to the canoe stand, or take a picture of it with your phone before you leave. There were several choices of length of trips outlined on the map, which was helpful. Once we were on the water, the natural beauty of the river is stunning. Lots of turtles! Not sure what you encounter if you start out going downriver, but if you go upriver you will end up at the natural springs at Wekiva State Park. It's an amazing natural pool where you can tie up your canoe and swim. There's also a bathroom up the boardwalk. The atmosphere on the river is friendly. We saw people of all ages having a good time. But when you get back to the Wekiva Island area, it's a huge party. Apparently more people come there just to drink the later it gets on a Saturday. There were no staff at the dock when we returned, so we just tied up our canoe and left. In a nutshell - if you want to come here and party, you can. If you want a nice relaxing canoe or kayak ride on a beautiful river, you can have that too. Just don't expect any help!

We may be too old for this place. We used to go here in the 80s and watch the raccoons on the river. Now, it is way hip, with volleyball, river swimming and live music. Everything is outdoors; it is hard to find a table or a seat on weekends. My adult kids love it, but I miss the raccoons and the air conditioning.

Its' a great location right on the Wekiva River. There are canoes for rent and refreshments, however, it attracts a loud and obnoxious crowd. The weekends are particularly bad. Given, I write from a family oriented perspective. The natural beauty of the locale is diminished by what feels like a redneck fraternity party gone awry. If you enjoy drinking and smoking excessively and open exposure to obscenity laced conversations - you may enjoy it.

I have been coming to this area since I was a teenager. First it was a restaurant , a marina, and now Wekiva Island. We've been celebrating Easter at Wekiva Island for 4 years now and every year it seems to get worse. The manager/owner lady is RUDE. Every year they would change a rule/policy and not inform customers renting the cabanas till the day you show up The overall atmosphere is relaxing. It seems to be the miscommunication and staff that make unpleasant from time to time. Unfortunately we decided to stop celebrating Easter at Wekiva Island with family and to find another location.

I'm from orlando, and anytime people ask "what should I do when I'm in orlando?" I say obviously all the touristy stuff but also make time for the local retreat wekiva springs state park and wekiva island. It's beautiful and stunning and relaxing. A true Florida gem and an experience to experience before heading home. This is one of my favorite spots to visit during out 9 month summers. Affordable and pleasant. You can't go wrong:)

Their parking lot can fill up really fast on an nice weekend day, so get there early as there's no overflow parking. Ended up renting a kayak to go up to Wekiva Springs and it was a great experience!

My family has been relaxing in the refuge of Wekiva Island for 10 years. It is located on a River bend. The cabanas, bar, and entail area for canoes and kayaks are setup to blend into the landscape. Options for activities include volley ball (beach volleyball courts), canoeing and kayaking on the historic Wekiva River, grilling, sitting or lying out in the cabanas or deck and beach along the river. We often hang out for the whole day in the cabana and canoe and kayak on the river. The staff and other visitors are calm, cool, and collected...a great place to be...breath in, breath out...life is good.Some important tips:Parking: Get there early. Parking is is capped off once island reaches capacity. Cars are not admitted after capacity until someone leaves. You could be sitting in your car or on the street in a line of cars for hours.Alcohol: Alcohol from the outside is not permitted. Nor are glass bottles.Food: Gas grills are provided along with built-in cabinets and shelving tables and chairs for serving and eating. Khiva Island bar also serves food from a small menu.Cabanas: Cabanas cost money and require a reservation. Reserve early and far ahead of scheduled visit to avoid getting locked out, especially in the warmer months. Canoes and Kayaks: Canoes and kayaks are available for rental for a nominal fee per hour or the day. You can also bring your own small boat, canoe, or kayak.Have fun!!!