Wekiva Island: Longwood’s Front Porch on a Wild and Scenic River
At the Longwood–Wekiva Springs seam, Wekiva Island rents canoes, kayaks and paddleboards on a National Wild and Scenic River, then pours for the paddlers on its boardwalk. Here's how to do the day well.
3 minute read
First, the geography, because locals are precise about it: Wekiva Island sits at 1014 Miami Springs Drive in Longwood, on the Wekiva River at the seam where Longwood meets the Wekiva Springs community — about a mile downriver from Wekiwa Springs State Park. Note the spelling split, because the Island’s own explainer does: “Wekiwa,” with a w, is the spring — its name means spring of water — while “Wekiva,” with a v, is the flowing river. The Island is the river’s front porch: a family-owned, eco-minded recreation spot where you can launch a canoe in the morning and be back on the boardwalk with a drink by the time the light turns.
Real Florida, Deliberately Kept
The Weinaug family bought the property in 2008 and rebuilt it around three stated pillars — sustainability, education and art — that still organise the place. The Island runs on solar-minded, low-impact lines, fills its calendar with environmental education and art events, and keeps the commercial layer light: a general store, the Without a Paddle Café for food, and The Tooting Otter, the riverside bar named with a wink at the river’s resident otters. Private cabanas line the boardwalk for groups who want shade, a grill and a home base for the day.
On the Water
The river is the main event, and it earns the billing: the Wekiva is a designated National Wild and Scenic River, one of only two in Florida, protected from the springs to the St. Johns. Wekiva Island rents canoes, kayaks and paddleboards by the day, first-come, first-served — the Island takes no vessel reservations, so early arrival is the whole strategy on fine weekends. Paddle upstream and you can reach the spring run at Wekiwa Springs State Park in about a mile; drift down and the river slows into full Old Florida — turtles on logs, wading birds in the shallows, and yes, alligators, which are part of the ecosystem and firmly on a look-don’t-feed basis. Two house rules matter: the Island is not dog-friendly, a policy in place since 2018, and alcohol is prohibited on the river itself, so the cooler stays ashore whatever the plans were.
The Island After the Paddle
Not everyone comes to work. The boardwalk runs along the river under the trees, Adirondack chairs face the current, and the Island’s social centre of gravity — The Tooting Otter — pours for the crowd that paddled, the crowd that watched them paddle, and the crowd that never intended to paddle at all. Without a Paddle Café handles the food side with the river in view, and the general store covers the forgotten-sunscreen emergencies. Through the year the Island layers its calendar the way its mission statement promises: environmental education days, art shows and markets, live music, and a Winter Wonderland season that turns the riverbank festive in December — the Island leaning into its third pillar and dressing the boardwalk for the holidays. Corporate and private events take the cabanas midweek; weekends belong to families, paddlers and the otter-spotting hopeful. It adds up to something Central Florida has surprisingly little of: a river beach club with its values printed on the gate.
How to Do It Well
Arrive early, especially in the warm months, when a modest per-person entry fee applies at peak times and the rental fleet goes out fast. Sign the waiver online before you come, bring the sunscreen and the dry bag, and give the paddle upstream to the springs the unhurried hour it deserves. Non-paddlers are not left out: the boardwalk, the café and a cabana make a full day of shade and river-watching entirely respectable.
Wekiva Island is the wilder half of Longwood’s outdoors — pair it with Big Tree Park’s ancient cypresses for the full Seminole County nature day — and you’ll find it pinned on our Orlando Top Spots Map. Orlando sells a lot of manufactured Florida. This is the original, flowing past a boardwalk in Longwood.
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