New River (Carrabelle)

New River is a blackwater river in the Florida Panhandle. It rises in the far north of the Apalachicola National Forest, and its watershed drains a large part of Liberty County. In the Mud Swamp/New River Wilderness the river loses its identity and splits into several twisting channels. Below the wilderness it leaves the national forest and enters Franklin County, where it runs through Tate's Hell State Forest. Above Carrabelle it joins the Crooked River to form the Carrabelle River, which opens onto St. George Sound and the Gulf of Mexico. The water is dark and takes on a reddish tint in the shallows. Below Forest Road 22 the upper river alternates between wide pools and narrow passages lined with cypress. The state acquired Tate's Hell in 1994.

The U.S. Forest Service says there is no canoe trail through the Mud Swamp/New River Wilderness. Paddlers can put in at the forest's southern boundary, where the river crosses Forest Highway 13 or along Forest Road 182, and paddle down through Tate's Hell State Forest to Carrabelle. Eight reservable primitive campsites are spread along an 11-mile stretch of the river's west bank: North Road, New River #8, Gully Branch #2, Dew Drop, Borrow Pit #1 and #2, Parker Place and Pope Place. The Gully Branch launch is a short carry down a rough ramp, with a pit toilet and covered pavilions. The river has no stream gauge and its level changes a great deal. Drought can make it almost impassable, and low water is most likely in summer.