03/05 - 03/07 - Hontoon Island Gathering St. John’s River

I could not make it this year as March is our busy month at work.

I do have a couple of weeks in April and I never done the St John's river. Where would be a good place to put in and where would be a good place to pull out for a two week cruise?

Thanks and I hope very one is have a blast!
 
We have always launched at Ed Stone County park and launching ramp. It is just South of Hwy 44 after your cross the St. Johns River. As I understand, you have to go over the new high bridge and then double back at ground level. The ramps are good. Park as close to Hwy 44 as you can on the grass. A Sheriff Deputy comes by the park every few hours. One of our members left his truck keys sitting on the front seat for a few days, with the truck unlocked. Some have left the trailer and truck for almost. month.

I personally feel the best of the St Johns is to the South (up river) and around the Hontoon area north for many 40 miles. There are lots of side channels to explore. Many have "fish camps" where there is a small restaurant and dock. Some channels depend on a certain height of water in the River.

If you want an adventure, go up the "Econ" River--it is hard to find the mouth due to sand bars and vegetation. We have gone up to the outskirts of Orlando. Get the local charts--there are 3: North, South and middle.
 
Wondering how this year's gathering went. Anyone willing to post? We missed being there, but had other family obligations to take care of. Looking forward to a recap. This has been my favorite gathering over the years. Colby
 
Hi Colby,

Another great Gathering at the Hontoon Hoot!

Tom and Joyce took Lake Effect on a post meet 10 day cruise downriver…likely out of cell coverage, but I think he said 15 boats attended, despite having to anchor out or marina every night since the Ranger residence has not yet been replaced. They graciously sponsored a Belgian Waffle, eggs and bacon Brunch Wed with Pizza lunch Thurs which raised money for the park. We had great weather and no bugs, highs under 80 and lows a pleasant 62 or so with low humidity.

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We’d been at Perry Resort and Marina in Key West since Jan 24, and six weeks is about our personal limit on the boat, so we didn’t take the post-Hoot Cruise.

We cruised the Dead River Loop with Lake Effect and Raven’s Roost, pics below.

Hope you and Rosanne can attend next year and enjoy much cruising in the interim!

Tom invited us to dock next to C-Otter, with only moderate damage.

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Safe Travels!

John
 
Thanks John. I'm envious. Yes, I plan Hontoon to be on my schedule next year. After last summer's travels, my calendar for this summer is pretty light right now. The only thing definite is a cruise on the N. Carolina Loop in May, and Upper half of the Tennessee River in October. Nothing definite in between, but I will be out on C-Traveler. Just maybe a little closer to home. Colby
 
The crew of the C-Otter pulled out of Ed Stone Park after about 2 weeks on the St. John’s river after a wonderful C-Dory gathering. Thanks to all that attended for your generosity to the Hontoon Island State Park. We raised $771 to help with the purchase of a 6 passenger UTV to transport campers and their gear. We will post the receipt from the CSO organization that helps fund projects like this when we receive it.
I guess I say it every year but this was one of the best gatherings ever. We just about “owned” the park. The ferry made a few special trips across the river for us and allowed us to stay at the dock if there was bad weather. With 15 boats it was easy to spend time with everyone. C-Brats are a fantastic group! We had everyone volunteer at one job or another. 100%.
We did miss some of our friends that were not able to make it for various good reasons. Better health next year and see you then.
The dates for next year are March 4th to the 6th 2025. Of course you may arrive early and stay later. Many cruise the St. John’s before or after the gathering.
I will post some photos from the gathering over the next couple days.
 
Tried to make reservations today for Hontoon next year, and reservation website just returns a page saying No Data Available. I did try to make reservations a month ago, and reservations page wouldn't even allow me to pick the dates. I called the phone number for reservations and then learned what I forgot about reading last year; that is out of state residents can not make reservations until 10 months in advance. (Florida residents can start 11 months out). At that time I was also told that the park wasn't accepting reservations, or at least the reservations operator was not able to make reservations either. I suspect that until the state gets their act together and opens Hontoon back up for camping, the reservations system is probably still shut down for this park. The Hontoon website does at least show that the park is open daily, but that there is no ferry service.
Tom, do you have any other information on making reservations at the park? Colby
 
I was told by the president of the CSO that the park HOPED to be fully open in October but who really knows. I tried again today to make a reservation with no luck. I’ll check every month and we will see what happens. Still planning on hosting the gathering one way or another. 😁
 
I’ll know more next week. The St. John’s River should peak on Monday. If the water stays out of the buildings we should be fine. It’s going to be close!
 
Joyce called the park today and the water has not entered the buildings as of this time. Eric at Hontoon said that he thinks the river is stabilized but we will have to see. We will call again next week but so far so good as far as the gathering goes.

I’ll post an official announcement after the St. John’s starts good down.

Tom
 
That sounds like very good news! With the cooler weather in the South, and Gulf of Mexico, the chance of another hurricane with heavy rainfall, is substantially decreased. That means that further flooding is unlikely...We hope.
 
Anything for 2025?



Avidmagnum12":f9i7vm05 said:
Welcome to our 11th Annual Gathering at Hontoon Island on the St. John’s river near DeLand Florida. Always look forward to getting together with our fellow C-Brats here in Florida. Now for the good news….there was no further damage to the park this year from hurricanes. The not so good news is that repairs have not been completed from last year. At this time there will be no overnight docking at Hontoon unless the contractors finish the rangers dwellings. If like us, you have paid for a reservation, you should be getting a refund. The park docks are open in the day time hours, restrooms and showers are operational.


We had a great time last year under the same conditions. Some anchored out and some made reservations at one of the 3 marinas in the area. We will hold our silent auction on Wednesday. Of course we always have speakers and other activities. More details in January.

Devin, the park manager is extremely excited to have us back again. Looking forward to meeting new and returning C-Brats.

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Here’s the news from Hontoon today.
I’ve contacted the NEW park manager this morning. His name is Dustin Allen. He says the water is receding and conditions are improving. The park should be back to the same conditions in March as last year so we will plan on March 4,5,6 2025.

They were lenient on overnight docking last year but with the new park manager there is no guarantee ether way. At this time plan on anchoring out or other marinas. It may be that they will open up slips by then but who knows.

I must for the first time fill out a state form for the gathering. I will do this and will get over to Hontoon as soon as they start opening up ramps.

We always have a great time and will again in 2025. Thanks for being patient and flexible. See you all at Hontoon.

Tom
 
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