GUEST POST: HARRIS CHAIN OF LAKES
Guest Post By TJ Fish, who knows more about Central Florida than us natives. If you love the water (like I do), if you love fishing, if you love boating, if you love exploring, this is a must read! Enjoy.
As
I sat at my dining room table in Jackson, Tennessee studying the atlas page of
Florida, I had just endured an hour-long phone interview. I was ready to leave the bucolic tranquility
of the Volunteer State for the robust and shiny Sunshine State. I had just talked with the bosses at city hall
of a town with a name that sounded Southern but looked Portuguese. They offered me a job. As I stared at the map, I became
fascinated. Tavares was located on a
land bridge.
Geography
gurus call it an isthmus. I was
fascinated with what a place that looked so cool on a map might look like in
person. I took that job. That was 15 years ago. What I discovered starting with my first day
in Lake County is that Tavares is surrounded by a bunch of water. What took subsequent years to discover is the
magic of the massive network of waterways and the underlying ecosystem of the
Harris Chain of Lakes.
I
learned that Lake County was settled in the 1880s largely due to access by
steamboat. I heard tales of modern-day
brave souls that had navigated the chain north to the Ocklawaha River and on to
the St. John’s River to Jacksonville and the Atlantic Ocean. I was forewarned that such a venture should
be accompanied by a chainsaw. The
wilderness surrounding the Ocklawaha through the Ocala National Forest can
sometimes provide natural challenges.
The
chain itself begins with the headwaters of Lake Apopka, which is the third
largest lake in the state and is fed by a spring near Montverde. The waters flow via a manmade canal to Lake
Beauclair and Lake Carlton near Astatula and Lake Jem. The waters then flow into Lake Dora passing
by Mount Dora and Tavares to the Dora Canal (also manmade). The canal then flows into Lake Eustis.
Meanwhile
waters flow from Little Lake Harris, located between Astatula and
Howey-in-the-Hills, into Lake Harris. On
the northern shore of Lake Harris is downtown Leesburg, which is wedged between
Lake Harris and Lake Griffin to the north.
The waters flow from Lake Harris first through the Dead River to join
the aforementioned waters in Lake Eustis.
From there, the chain flows through Haynes Creek (which features a lock
with a six-foot drop) into Lake Griffin.
The waters flow north by Lady Lake into the Ocklawaha River and on to
the Atlantic through downtown Jacksonville.
Some
little-known facts… Lake Yale is also part of the Harris Chain. However it is not connected like the rest of
the chain with a navigable waterway.
Lake Apopka once overflowed in rainy season via a wetlands system near
Astatula into Little Lake Harris. Before
the Dora Canal was dredged in the 1930s by the Army Corps of Engineers, it was
known as the Elfin River. Settlers had
determined the waterway to be enchanted.
So
get out on your boat. Or get your friend
to take you out on their boat. And
discover the magic of the Harris Chain of Lakes. Enjoy the cool spots to dock and soak in the
authenticity of Lake County. If you are
feeling adventurous, brave the Ocklawaha.
But don’t forget your chainsaw.
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Harris Chain of Lakes |
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Elfin River n/n/a Dora Canal |
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Steamboat on the Ocklawaha River |
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Resident of the Dora Canal |
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Lake Dora
|
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Great article. I too heard about people boating to JAX but could figure it out. Thank you.
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