The 53 designated paddling routes -- including the renowned Wilderness Waterway, the spine of the paddlers' pathways -- provide access to Florida's endangered natural paradise, the wide sheet of water that includes pristine beaches, sun-drenched keys, and the world's largest mangrove forest. The routes include day trips, week-long excursions, and many not-so-frequented passages.

A Paddler's Guide presents a rating system for each route that includes possible hazards, navigational challenges, potential wind and tidal influences, overall mileage and paddling time, and a running description of both physical and cultural landmarks along the way. It presents descriptions of every back-country campsite in the park, from unusual chickees to old Calusa Indian mounds, to beachfront islands in the Gulf of Mexico. The book includes 22 trail maps, adapted from nautical charts and U.S. Geological Survey topography maps of the park.

Johnny Molloy, an experienced outdoorsman, also tells you how to execute a paddling trip -- what supplies and equipment to take, where to get them, and how to obtain permits. Once on the water, you'll get tips on navigation, coping with insects, and other situations paddlers face in the park. It's realistic and instructive information for serious paddlers, casual vacationers, bird watchers, and fishermen.

Molloy has years of paddling experience in the Everglades, logging trips oftwo hours and up to two weeks. In the course of writing this book, he paddled over 500 miles in one season.