Little River is Open

[FW]

I went by Little River. The gate was still locked. The parking lot is dry, but the low spot in the road still has water over it. I suspect they won't open it until that is dry.

The water was up to within a foot of the handrail on the landing. The head pool looked to have about 20' of visibility. There was no visible boil, but it was windy which could cover up a boil. I suspect the current is pretty strong, and will be until the river stops dropping.

Update: It is open as of March 24, 2015.

[Diverlee]

Thanks Forrest. I was going to go by there today myself but got busy and forgot!


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[bottomtime]

was thinking of making a boat run,up the river and ck the springs ???

[FW]

was thinking of making a boat run,up the river and ck the springs ???

Be careful! The county has declared that the run is NOT a navigable waterway.

You can call the Sheriff's office, and ask when the park will be open. You can also ask permission to take a boat up the run. Let us know what they say in either case.

[MarkR]

Be careful! The county has declared that the run is NOT a navigable waterway.

Really? How in the world did they justify that? I get that they just did not want people accessing the spring from the river, but I thought that was the whole point of the "navigable water" rule... to prevent land owners from blocking access to waterways?

Does this apply to any other springs? Telford etc?

[FW]

Really? How in the world did they justify that? I get that they just did not want people accessing the spring from the river, but I thought that was the whole point of the "navigable water" rule... to prevent land owners from blocking access to waterways?

Does this apply to any other springs? Telford etc?

A few others, but not Telford. I suspect they can get by with that, since there is a waterfall at the end of the run when the river is low.

When they were putting in the erosion control (walls, ramps, etc.), we asked about river access, and they said back then it wasn't navigable.

[Greenwood_60]

They'll call it whatever they want until someone challenges it.

[FW]

They'll call it whatever they want until someone challenges it.

Very true, but we have access to the cave now, but may not if we loose the challenge. Besides, I would much rather go in via the stairs, than fool with a boat.

[MarkR]

Very true, but we have access to the cave now, but may not if we loose the challenge. Besides, I would much rather go in via the stairs, than fool with a boat.

Very true. Its just hard to fathom being chased away from LR Spring in my Kayac or John-Boat because the spring is "not navigable". Maybe they are trying to prevent a floatilla of pontoon boats tied up over the spring? ..That would suck.

FWIW, I will be moving to HS at the end of April, and specifically bought on the Sante Fe River so I can kayac on the rivers and enjoy the springs. So I was a little sad to hear they are discouraging access to any of the springs from the river.

[gschaut]

FWIW: The US Army Corps of Engineers and the E.P.A. are the ONLY agencies that can determine "navigable waters".

Sheriff Deputy Barney Fife does not get a vote.

http://www.usace.army.mil/Portals/2/...ble_waters.pdf

This rule has been upheld repeatedly by SCOTUS.

You might check with the USACE district office for info on the spring run's status?