This launch site is Southeast of Brandon (Tampa Bay area) on the Alafia River. The entry fee is $2.00 and there is an additional launch fee of $ 2.00 The facilities are good with restrooms and a water fountain. The launch area has a unloading drive that dips down to the pathway that leads to the dock. Ordinary courtesy should be observed in quickly unloading your canoes or kayaks out of the way and moving the vehicle to the parking area. The same goes for the docks, people should launch their vessels quickly and move away from the docking area so that others can launch. This courtesy was not observed by some canoes that were taking up all the dock space while their owners dawdled. We ended up just pushing our way through after patiently waiting a few minutes. Quickly launching and getting out of the way to set an example, we paddled out of the muddy creek connecting the dock area to the river. At the entrance to the river, there is a slight sand bar that you may have to get out and pull your vessel over. Once in the river, we tried paddling upstream. It got progressively harder. At one point, the current was extremely strong through a shallow area that I had to split the paddle and use it like snowskiers do to push through. There were some buoys just past that point. Not sure of their purpose. Since my companion didn't want to try to get through the heavy current, I turned around and paddled back through the class one rapids which was fun. Going downstream, the current lessened. The river was somewhat clear with a yellow-brown tint to it. It was lighter than most tannic rivers. Tannic acid is the decomposition product of leaves that ends up in most rivers. How dark it makes the water depends on the flow. The heavier flow of some spring fed rivers dilutes the tannic acid and soil sediments so much that the water can be very clear. The tint of the water can vary. Up in South Carolina, I was diving in a river that had red tinged water due to clay and tannic acid combining. The Alafia in this area is clear enough to see fish such as mullet, catfish, and bream. Oddly enough, we saw no turtles, nor alligators. There were several places one could pull up on and get out to stretch legs. Since we were going downstream, we didn't go far since there was no way of knowing how hard it would be to paddle back against the current. Canoes seemed to outnumber kayaks, and most people were going downstream to take out at Lithia Springs Park. There was a small outflow coming from a stream about four foot wide, but only two to three inches deep. I walked up this stream a considerable distance into the woods as it twisted and turned. The water was flowing fast and it was cool, leading me to believe that there was a spring somewhere at the head of this small stream. The brush got thicker and with fallen logs, I decided to turn back. No small consideration was also the possibility of encountering a cottonmouth or other poisonous snake in the constricted stream bed. Paddling back to the landing proved to be easier than expected as the current was not that strong. The water level was low this trip, if it was higher, the current would be stronger.