Rogers Park

Rogers Park is the public launch on the lower Weeki Wachee, the one you use when you want to put your own board in without booking through the state park upstream. From the ramp you have a choice: paddle up toward the headspring and the famous blue water, which is gorgeous but a real grind against the spring current, or drift down about two miles toward Bayport and the Gulf, which is the easy direction. The swimming area fills with families on hot weekends, and the water stays cool year round because it is spring fed. This is the downstream edge of the Weeki Wachee Springs Protection Zone, so the no-anchoring and no-bottom-standing rules still apply up to here. Manatees work their way up the lower river in the cold months. One change worth knowing before you go: the county brought parking fees back, so it is no longer free, ten dollars a day at the kiosk.

Where do I park, and is it free?

Cost

$10 / day (as of 2026-06)

Parking

Ample

Restrooms

yes

County park on the lower Weeki Wachee with parking, restrooms, and a swimming area.

How clear is the water?

Spring-river water, clearer upstream.

What will I see?

• Manatees push up the lower river when the Gulf turns cold
• Mullet schools, the occasional otter, herons and ibis working the banks

What's the fishing like?

Spring-river: redfish, snook, and trout in the lower reaches, mullet throughout.

What about the current?

Current readings come from Weeki Wachee River (USGS, about 2.9 mi away).

How do I share the water here?

You are at the bottom end of the Weeki Wachee Springs Protection Zone, and the same rules hold here: no anchoring or standing on the river bottom, which keeps the spring sediment from clouding the water everyone comes to see. If you paddle up toward the blue, stay over the channel and off the grass beds.