Florida Keys VolunTourism

Mary after an island clean-up

Kayaking across warm tropical waters by day and setting up camp on island beaches at night is a privilege we don’t take lightly. That’s why we try to incorporate at least one beach clean-up on our multi-day kayak trips in the Florida Keys.

If you choose to participate in a clean-up, we’ll log your volunteer hours with the Florida Keys Overseas Paddling Trail. This makes you trail volunteers and VolunTourists!

Trash is not only unsightly, it can be hazardous to marine life. While paddling through the mangroves, you may see Bill or I pull over to the side, flip open a jackknife and cut away some fishing line hanging from the branches. Birds can become entangled in the line, and animals may choke on hooks. The line can be deposited in monofilament recycling containers located at many of the public boat ramps in the Keys.

If you want to volunteer further, consider joining the Florida Paddling Trails Association, which covers all the water trails throughout the state. 

Visit www.BurnhamGuides.com to see our 2011 trip details.

Florida Keys Paddling Party

We're having a Keys Party, book-signing and slide show during Onancock's Second Friday: Nov. 12, 2010, 5-8 p.m. at SouthEast Expeditions at the Wharf, 2 King St., Onancock, VA

Enjoy a tropical evening inside SouthEast's cozy kayak shop and hear about the trips we'll be leading this winter in the Florida Keys, mid-January through March 2011.

Our small group expedition trips range from one-day paddles to Key West, easy overnights along the Seven Mile Bridge, to the infamous 100-mile paddle from Key Largo to Key West, scheduled for March 22-31, 2001, with room for several more. 

We'll be giving slide show presentations every hour starting at 5 p.m., followed by question-and-answer and signing copies of our Florida Keys Paddling Atlas and Knack Kayaking for Everyone.. 

BOOK A TRIP THIS EVENING AND GET 10% OFF THE COST! Gift Certificates available. Trip details at BurnhamGuides.com

Paddle Key Largo to Key West March 22-31, 2011

The dates are set for our annual 100-mile paddle from Key Largo to Key West, Florida, the Southernmost Point in the U.S. The 10-day trip will be March 22-31, 2011, kayak camping all the way.

We’ll launch from Key Largo, paddle between 7 and 17 miles per day, and land 10 days later in Key West, in time for the Sunset Celebration in Mallory Square. The cost of $1,500 includes everything: kayak, gear, camping gear, all meals, and instruction along the way.

From mid-January through mid-March, we'll offer customized trips ranging from one-night along the Seven Mile Bridge to 2-5 days in the Lower Keys Backcountry. The cost is $150 per person per day for however many days you want to be out.

Upon booking any trip, you’ll receive a copy of our award-winning Florida Keys Paddling Atlas so you can see just where we’ll be going! All the details are at BurnhamGuides.com with photos and video from last year’s trips here

Feel free to e-mail or call 305-240-0650 with any questions!

Hitting the Trail: Updating "Hiking Virginia"

When we’re not paddling this fall, we’ll be hitting the trail, quite literally, to update our first book, Hiking Virginia. It’s been 10 years since we did the initial research, so we are going to re-hike many of them, add new chapters (like James River State Park, which wasn’t even open back then!), and add GPS coordinates and color photos to every chapter. 

We’re excited to make this book we love even better: a National Outdoor Book Award Honorable Mention, it has sold more than 20,000 copies. 

We’ll be posting trail reports here weekly, from easy walks near cities, like Newport News Park, to the lung-busting 100-plus-mile Pine Mountain Trail that follows the high ridge between Virginia and Kentucky.  The first post will be up soon!

Florida Keys Kayaking Trips in 2011

We're now taking reservations for our 2011 Florida Keys paddling trips for mid-January through March!

Customized itineraries range from one-day paddles to Key West, Seven Mile Bridge overnights, 3-days in the backcountry to the full 100-mile 10-day adventure from Key Largo to Key West.

Join us, outdoor writers and kayak guides Bill and Mary Burnham, for multi-day kayak camping trips in the Florida Keys this winter. You'll find yourself literally paddling from the pages of the our award-winning Florida Keys Paddling Atlas.

Trips include all camping and kayaking gear, meals cooked for you, and instruction. Each couple or family will take home a signed copy of our Atlas, winner of a National Outdoor Book Award. 

We've just uploaded Customer Reviews from last year's trips.Visit BurnhamGuides.com to start paddling in paradise!  Call 305-240-3298 or e-mail with your dates.

Book-Signing/Kayak Shop Opening April 9

We've chosen Onancock's Second Friday art stroll (April 9, 5-8 pm) to open SouthEast Expedition's newest kayak shop on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and debut our two new outdoor books, hot off the press!

After 3 years leading kayak trips in the Onancock area for Dave Burden's SouthEast Expeditions, we are excited to now have an on-water location for tours, rentals and paddling gear. Headquartered at Sunset Beach near Cape Charles on the southern tip of the Eastern Shore of VA, SouthEast has been the premiere kayak outfitter on the shore for the last decade.

The historic Steamboat Ticket Office is an ideal spot for the northern shore Onancock-area tours. It sits right next to the historic Hopkins Bros Store housing Mallards at the Wharf offering indoor and outdoor dining and entertainment by chef Johnny Mo. We've arranged with Mallards to offer delicious box lunches to our kayakers!

You can see the little ticket office behind Bill in the photo above, to the left of Mallards' red roof. Both buildings are owned by the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society and figure prominently in Onancock's nautical history and our historic kayak tours!

The first art stroll of the year is perfect timing with the release of our two new books this month: "Knack Kayaking for Everyone" and "Best Hikes Near Washington DC." We're also fresh from paddling the 100-mile length of the Florida Keys, so we tell you all about it and will also have copies of our "Florida Keys Paddling Atlas."

Come see the shop, meet other paddlers, and learn about paddling destinations up and down the Shore.

If you can't make it this weekend, consider planning a visit to our wonderful harborfront town of Onancock with B&Bs, dining and galleries.

The shop's regular hours will be Thurs-Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm, but we'll arrange a tour or rental other days by appointment: 757-787-2933

Day 9 Key Largo to Key West finale

Our last day paddling from Key Largo to Key West dawned clear and beautiful as we departed from Geiger Key Marina & Campground. As we passed Boca Chica Beach, we were treated to an airshow by NAS Key West. Here’s a video of an F-18 practice landing right over Bill’s kayak!

From there, much of this side of the islands are undeveoped and you can see lots of birds and sealife. My kayak passed right over a 4-foot loggerhead sea turtle sitting on the bottom!

We took out at Lazy Dog Adventures, where Sue is kind enough to let us haul out our boats. Our good friend Christine met us with the van and helped us load up, then we all sat down with a cold pitcher of Key West Sunset Ale from Hurricane Joe’s.

We’re thinking this route would make a great day trip for next season’s trips, starting with breakfast at Geiger Key Smokehouse and ending with the sunset celebration at Mallory Square. If you’re interested, email us!