[FLA17]

Does anyone know a good place to have a good chance of seeing wild gators in florida from homosassa springs and north of their?

[jambo101]

Most lakes up that way have their resident gators.
Maybe rent a canoe and float down the Homossassa or Weeki Wachee rivers.
Or = http://www.citruscounty-fl.com/reptile1.html

[faithfulFrank]

There are some pretty big ones at the Homosassa Springs State Park, along with manatees, etc. Nice place....

Frank

[Crane's Rooster]

Paynes Prairie, Ocala National Forests and for a sure bet, take a airboat ride on Lake Jessup just outside Orlando. Largest alligator breeding lake in the State, tens of thousands of gators.

[Sgt. Buzzcut]

I would guess you'd see some on the Withalachocee River but if you really want to see an area infested with big ones go to Myakka River State Park near Sarasota and take the airboat ride. Another place is the marsh area right near Cape Canaveral.

[EscAlaMike]

pick a lake.

[Kevin from Tampa]

Pretty much any body of fresh water.

If you're looking for an exciting/good experience....

1-Billy Swamp Safari in western Broward county, on the Indian reservation. Air boat rides that are guaranteed to get you good looks at some large, medium, and small gators.

2-Air boat rides in western Dade county in the 'glades...same thing...

3-Canoe trip down the Myakka river in Sarasota county, as per above...you'll see LOTS there. If you want a REALLY exciting experience, do this at night. Bring a flashlight. Every once in a while, shine the light around you. Look for the pairs of red dots at water level, then watch them disappear when you paddle toward them. Those are alligator eyes. You can also get this experience on the upper Hillsborough river in Pasco county (and actually, just about any medium-narrow river in Florida).

[JM1822]

I do quite a bit of kayaking and I see alligators in most bodies of fresh water but some are better than others. I guess it will really depend on how you are able to get to the places that have big populations of alligators.

If you don't have your own kayak, canoe, or boat, I would suggest Wild Bills Airboat Tours on State Road 44 at the Citrus/Sumter County line. I think they charge about 35 dollars for an hour airboat ride on the Withlacoochee River. They always make sure to find a few gators to show their customers.

If you do have your own kayak or boat, I would suggest the following areas. Tsala Apopka Lake off of County Road 48 in Floral City is pretty good. There is a canal system south of the lake that loops all around the lake. It's a pretty long system but there are a lot of alligators in it. I would definately reccommend taking a canoe or a kayak though because the water is not very deep in some places.

The Withlacoochee is a pretty good place and there are lots of boat ramps scattered throughout the area.

I've seen a couple gators in the Chassowitzca River, but not every time.

I think the place where I see the most is in the Silver River near Ocala. Last time I went there we saw at least 15 gators and a few of them were between 10 and 12 feet.

I've never seen an alligator in Weeki Wachee or in the Rainbow River. I'm not saying they aren't there, I just haven't seen any.

Hope this helps.

[SoFLGal]

I do quite a bit of kayaking as well. The Myakka River is filled with gators. Here's few pics of one I took last weekend. Also just about any water trap on a golf course will have gators in it:

[Crane's Rooster]

I want to thank all the brave souls who put their lives on the line to provide us those great pics. You are braver than I. OK in all seriousness that's great to see, I would love to keep seeing these pics for years to come. I grew up in areas like this and hope that we keep our cities urban and our natural areas beautiful so my kids will still be able to see sights like this.