New River is in the Florida Panhandle. It originates in the far north of the

Apalachicola National Forest The Apalachicola National Forest is the largest U.S. National Forest in the state of Florida. It encompasses and is the only national forest located in the Florida Panhandle. The National Forest provides water and land-based outdoors activities ...

and joins with the Crooked River (Florida) above

Carrabelle, Florida Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County along Florida's Panhandle, United States. The population was 2,778 as of the 2010 census. Carrabelle is located east of Apalachicola at the mouth of the Carrabelle River on the Gulf of Mexico. Geography C ...

to become the

Carrabelle River Carrabelle River is located in Carrabelle, Florida, and flows into St. George Sound in Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely ...

, which opens onto St. George Sound and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. The New River watershed drains a large part of Liberty County, Florida with the Apalachicola River to the west and the Wakulla River to the east. New River is used by paddlers south of Carr Bridge along a corridor of the Mud Swamp/New River Wilderness and, year-round, further south where it is wider with fewer obstructions. It leaves the national forest and enters

Franklin County, Florida Franklin County is a county along the Gulf of Mexico in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,451, making it the third-least populous county in Florida. The county seat is Apalachicola. The ...

, passing through

Tate's Hell State Forest Tate's Hell State Forest is 202,000 acres (819 km²) of land in Franklin and Liberty counties in Florida. The forest is located near Carrabelle off US 98 along the Gulf coast and on St. James Island. At one time, Tate's Hell supported at le ...

References

External links

A paddler's webpage about the New River accompanied by tortured musak
Bodies of water of Liberty County, Florida Rivers of Franklin County, Florida Rivers of Florida {{Florida-river-stub