De Soto booked for kayakers, but not for the National Parks Service paddle challenge

With the 100-year anniversary of the National Parks Service less than a month away on Aug. 25, kayakers and paddle boarders still have the rest of the year to participate in the Florida National Parks Service Centennial Paddle Challenge by paddling 100 miles in three or more Florida national parks to earn a commemorative iron-on patch.

Bradenton’s very own national park, De Soto National Memorial, is one of 11 Florida national parks included in the challenge, but rangers haven’t seen a surge in kayakers.

“I think probably it’s because I’m not sure everyone knows about it that much,” De Soto ranger Richard Donnelly said. “Others are a little easier to launch from.”

Robinson Preserve, Donnelly said, is comparatively easier to launch kayaks from than De Soto. He said he had talked about the challenge to three or four visitors, and De Soto ranger Kyle Messina said he had given out about 24 centennial challenge log sheets since the challenge start on Jan. 23.

“I'm unsure of how many people came here to paddle since we are not a fee collecting park so visitors can just drive in and launch during hours,” he said. “The visitors are in charge of tracking their own miles, not the rangers.”

While challenge paddlers have been scarce, Donnelly said the memorial’s weekend ranger-led kayak tours are booked up through the tour’s last day, Oct. 16, and very rarely have room for alternates.

Paddlers taking on the 100 miles can post about their mileage with the #FLNPS100PaddleChallenge hashtag. A few participants have shared their images from De Soto across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, but most come from Canaveral National Seashore near Titusville, Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park near Miami.

De Soto volunteer Timothy Burke, who has played Hernando de Soto for 15 years, paddled around the national monument in his full conquistador garb in April, saying he would add his paddling during a De Soto landing reenactment toward the challenge.

While he’s already paddled 63 miles around Canaveral, Fort Matanzas, Castillo de San Marcos, Fort Caroline and De Soto, he said he’s going to try to make it out to Everglades, Big Cypress and possibly the Gulf Islands.

“I’m going to try to complete the challenge, but as with many things the journey is more important than the goal,” Burke wrote in an email.

On his website, he said he was participating in the challenge to add upper-body workouts to his marathon training. But in an email, he joked he was paddling for only the iron-on commemorative patch.

Abigail Perez, of Mascotte, shared on Instagram her visit to the national memorial for the challenge.

“It’s always a surprise to see dolphins so close to our kayaks!” she wrote in an email.

Launching from Robinson Preserve, the 21-year-old paddled four miles around De Soto with her boyfriend, Greg. The couple have paddled a total of 45 miles through four other Florida national parks, including Canaveral, Everglades, Biscayne and Dry Tortugas National Park.

The De Soto National Monument, 8300 De Soto Memorial Highway, is open year-round from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free to the public.

This story was originally published July 28, 2016 at 1:25 PM with the headline "De Soto booked for kayakers, but not for the National Parks Service paddle challenge."