Salty Dog Kayak Rentals — Local services in Port Richey

When we arrived around 11, we were greeted by the Salty Dogs cheerful barks. My daughter (14) and I were walk-ins and they immediately made us feel welcome and quickly got us checked in and on the water. We opted for 2 hours since we are not used to the Florida sun and even with sunscreen, my daughter got a mild burn in early April. We were given some highlights to look for on our self guided tour and some information about the area and the park. I would still recommend snapping a picture of the map at the check in or the launch ramp. We referred to it a few times on our journey. We were told that there are several phone apps that you can also use while on the water, but it was difficult to use them in the bright sun. I took a ton of photos paddling through the mangroves. There is literally a photo opportunity at every turn. Lots of birds, fish, a manatee and even a baby alligator made an appearance on our tour to the salt springs. When I go back, I’ll probably opt for the 4 hour tour and paddle out into the gulf. I’ll just make sure to schedule it earlier in the morning and on a day when the temperature isn’t pushing 90. It wasn’t an issue on our visit, but be sure to call and ask about the tides and how it may affect your experience. We lucked out and high tide occurred while we were paddling. We had a great time and will be back on our next trip...

Rented a pair of single kayaks + seat cushions for a two hour period on a Friday afternoon. The cushions were a big plus as probably would have had a sore butt on the hard plastic after 2 hours. The kayaks were sit-on-top kind. Paddles had drip stops and curved paddles. Equipment was quite good. Kayaks very easy to paddle and maneuver. Even with the good equipment, it would be hard not to get a wet butt between the bit of water that gets into the kayak via what are, I guess, buoyancy holes, and the little bit that comes in via the paddles. Good idea to wear swimsuit bottoms or have a change of shorts. Booking & paying online was easy. Launching (and getting back to shore) was very easy and dry. Owner did all the work. The ability to explore both the mangroves and the gulf is really nice. On our day, very few other paddlers and water in the mangroves and out in the gulf was very calm. The waterways in the mangroves very peaceful. Saw various birds in both the mangroves and bay (roseatte spoonbills, egrets, herons, osprey, pelicans, etc.). Highlight was watching a pod of dolphins in the gulf in a feeding frenzy. Lots of splashing and such. Was able to get fairly close to one outside of the pods. Overall, a really good trip and will not hesitate to...

Over the Holiday weekend we rented kayaks on two different occasions. Booking online was very easy! Upon arrival the kayaks were on the launch and ready to go. If you have your own kayak, you're able to launch without a fee, too. Sarah, the owner, is very friendly, engaging, knowledgeable, you can tell she loves what she does and genuinely wants you to have a great experience. Werner Boyce is a beautiful area to explore with many options. Head to the right of the launch and explore the creeks and coves. Head to the left and you'll be in more open water that leads to the Gulf. If you paddle far enough, you'll see the famous stilt houses. Both directions are very scenic! Lots of birds.... pelicans, osprey, eagles, & herons. So many fish... snook, redfish, sheepshead, trout & mullet. Only negative of our experience is that we didn't catch any fish! lol Although, we didn't see them on these trips. I've seen many dolphins, here. A great thing about this area is that it's a shallow, rocky, oyster filled bottom that is very tide sensitive, which keeps most of the boat traffic out. I would highly recommend exploring this beautiful state park through Salty Dogs Kayak Rentals. You will not be...