Yankeetown Florida

Yankeetown and Inglis Florida are located in Levy County Florida just North of Crystal River, Florida on the "Nature Coast". Inglis and Yankeetown are full of colorful characters and steeped in rich history.

A.G. Knotts, a wealthy city planner from Gary Indiana is credited with popularizing the area, when in 1919 he purchased two thousand acres. Knotts lived in Inglis and and enjoyed the bountiful fishing and hunting.

Over the next ten years a large path was cleared through the wilderness that eventually became a paved road. Knotts was an avid fan of famous writer Izaak Walton. He later built the now popular Izaak Walton Lodge in Inglis Florida.

Northerners flocked to the area to see what all the excitement was about in the deep South. Eventually the Florida Legislature granted the area a charter and it was named Yankeetown.

About a thousand residents still call Yankeetown home. People seeking a slower way of life more in tune with nature and the surrounding native Florida wildlife visit and relocate to Inglis and Yankeetown to enjoy all that the surrounding waterways have to offer.

Natural freshwater springs surround the area and form the Withlacoochee River which feeds many canals and eventually runs into the Gulf of Mexico. The Withlacoochee River is one of only a few rivers in the world that flow North.

The Withlacoochee River and surrounding area still offer excellent fishing both freshwater and saltwater. Enormous tarpon, kingfish, grouper, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, sheepshead, redfish, trout, bluegill, and bass are common catch in the region and out to sea in the Gulf of Mexico.

The surrounding wetlands, salt flats and grass flats offer an oasis for native wildlife in particular water foul and game birds. Bird watching is very popular in the Inglis and Yankeetown area.

The Cross Florida Barge Canal also is worth mentioning. The Barge Canal cuts across the state of Florida and runs into the Gulf of Mexico right here at Inglis Florida.

There is even a lock system that compensates for the 30 plus foot difference in the water level between the canal and the Gulf of Mexico. It makes for an adventurous boat ride as the large lock doors open and close around you. Inglis and Yankeetown Florida also offer access to the nearby Gulf Hammock Wildlife Management Area.

The wildlife reservation of over 24,000 acres offers an excellent managed hunting experience. The native wildlife include squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, opossum, bobcats, skunks, otters, deer, turkeys, wild hogs, fox, black bears and even coyotes.

If hunting, fishing and birdwatching are not for you, there are plenty of other activities in Inglis Florida.

There are many hiking, biking and horseback riding trails such as the Withlacoochee Bay Trail, which is part of the Cross Florida Greenway project. There is also canoeing and kayaking trails through the mangroves and saw grass.

The town of Inglis itself offers a romantic, tree lined stroll down Riverside Drive as well as accommodations and dining as such places as the Riverside Inn, Izaak Walton's Lodge, Pine Lodge Bed and Breakfast, Big Oaks River Resort, Port Inglis, and the Withlacoochee Motel. There is plenty of fresh seafood available in the area as well.