Nick's Park
North coast launch
Nick's Park is a north-coast kayak and paddleboard launch, free to park.
Nick's Park is the public launch where the Cotee River meets Millers Bayou and opens to the Gulf, at the end of a quiet Port Richey neighborhood. You put in off a single-lane ramp with a courtesy dock and a hand-launch area, protected and calm right at the put-in. From here you can work the sheltered canals and the bayou, or push out to open water, where the exposure picks up fast once you clear the channel. Because there is a boat ramp, expect powerboat traffic on a good weekend and keep to the edges of the channel out. It is also the Gulf end of the roughly six-mile Cotee River paddle that starts up at the James E. Grey Preserve, if you ever want to run the whole river one way.
Where do I park, and is it free?
- Cost
- Free
- Parking
- Moderate
Free Port Richey launch reaching the Gulf through the canal and bayou.
How clear is the water?
Canal water at the ramp, opens to the Gulf.
What will I see?
- Dolphins working the river mouth and the bayou where it opens to the Gulf
- Manatees push up into the canals and the warmer bayou water in the cold months
- Snook and redfish in the canals, trout and sheepshead once you reach open water
What's the fishing like?
Canal and Gulf: snook and redfish in the canals, trout and sheepshead once you reach open water.
How do I share the water here?
The bayou and the river mouth are shallow seagrass, and the canals are a manatee route in and out of the warmer water. Keep slow through the no-wake stretches, give any manatee room, and on a low tide stay in the deeper channel instead of dragging across the grass flats.