Kayaking on TV ponds
 

Are there any ponds, in The Villages that you can kayak on (for fishing)?

Gators are everywhere in Florida.

A few years back, I asked that question at Everglades Rec. and was told no, it was not allowed. Try Lake Miona. There is a launch there.

On the south west side of Lake Deaton is a boat ramp to launch all types of fishing boats including kayaks. And at Lake Okahumpka park about a mile away is another boat ramp.

Lake Miona is the best lake around here. Lake Okahumpka is too tough to paddle through with all the grass. Lake Deaton is so so. Witchlacoochie River is good.

They are building a kayak launch ramp at the Lake Okahumpka rec center, Village of St. John’s. Should be open soon.

Just make sure you do not fall in. Some hungry wildlife might think dinner has been served.

Be wary of gators. When I lived in Altamonte Springs, a much more urban area than the Villages, there was a large pond nearby that had a large resident gator.

Any pond you can access from the road not crossing over private property can be fished and kayaked on.

Lake Griffin is a short ride south of TV, Lake Griffin Park has great boat access, including for kayaks. $5 per car.

You are surrounded by dozens of beautiful and navigable rivers and streams within short drives. Buy a directory and check them out. One of the best is Silver Springs State Park, which has rentable kayaks and six miles of downstream paddling on pristine Silver Spring to Ray's Landing. Not enough, join the Villages Canoe and Kayak Club.
Regarding alligators: Very over-rated threat. Try to get close to one.

Source of your information ?
 

Please name your source for this information. I agree with your statement on the fishing from public access areas, but disagree (it’s not allowed)with bringing your Kayaks to launch from there as well.

If you are correct, I’d be the first to launch my kayak in a pond.

Check out paddling.com/paddle/locations. It is a map of all kayak sites.

Stats
 

People getting killed by alligators is extremely rare," said Adam Rosenblatt, an assistant professor of biology at the University of North Florida who studies how alligators respond to changing environments.

Between 1999 and 2019, alligators killed 10 people in the southeastern U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In that same time period and in the same area, nearly five times as many people were killed by dogs, and nearly 12 times as many people were killed by lightning, he said.

"A lot of human-alligator conflict occurs when alligators get provoked, both intentionally and unintentionally, or when alligators go after people's pets," Rosenblatt told Live Science. When hungry, alligators might go after people, but those types of situations are "rarer," he said.

Believe the kayaking club uses Griffin Lake. Lake Dora is said to have the best fishing. Both of these are not directly within the villages but no more then 30 minutes away.