This portion of the “Forgotten Coast” is dotted with parks, forests, and refuges along US 98 and the barrier islands, none of which are easily accessed from Tallahassee or Panama City. Better to make Apalachicola your base camp for adventure!
Bald Point State Park
Beaches in the Big Bend are rare, since this stretch of shoreline is defined by coastal estuaries and there is a lack of barrier islands. Still, in the sweep of the shallows of the Gulf of Mexico between Apalachicola and Cedar Key, you’ll find slim ribbons and tiny patches of beach. Where Ochlockonee Bay meets [...]
Camel Lake Loop
Circle a cypress lined pond in the Apalachicola National Forest on the Camel Lake Loop. It’s a short hike on high ground in a place where most habitats are downright swampy. Despite the name of the Camel Lake Recreation Area, this body of water is Camel Pond, one of many large ponds in this part [...]
Chapman Botanical Garden
Adjoining the historic Orman House in downtown Apalachicola, Chapman Botanical Garden honors the memory of Dr. Alvan Wentworth Chapman, a noted botanist who lived and worked as a medical doctor in Apalachicola. In 1860, Chapman published Flora of the Southern United States, one of the first such studies of southern plant life. Both Chapman oaks [...]
Constitution Convention Museum State Park
At the Constitution Convention Museum State Park, interpretive exhibits and artifacts put a face on Florida’s frontier days, with a special focus on the historic city of St. Joseph (now Port St. Joe). Established by homesteaders who were kicked out of Apalachicola thanks to a sneaky land deal called the Forbes Purchase (1830), St. Joe [...]
Fort Gadsden
On an early morning in the fog off the river, you can almost feel the ghosts slipping between the trees, sunlight dappling through the moist needles of longleaf pine and the air thick with the fresh scent of river bottom and fungus. Pale lily-like blooms of wiregrass gentian peep from between the grasses carpeting the [...]
High Bluff Coastal Trail
In Tate’s Hell State Forest, the High Bluff Coastal Trail along US 98 near Carrabelle leads you over relict dunes covered with scrub plants like Florida rosemary and scrub mint, partially shaded by a canopy of sand pines. Since this is a scrub habitat, expect some sand in your shoes. You’ll walk a linear trail [...]
Myron B Hodge City Park
Hidden on a back street within walking distance of downtown Sopchoppy, Myron B. Hodge City Park offers quiet campsites along the dark placid waters of the Sopchoppy River, and a nature trail where you can linger along the Sopchoppy River amid the sweet spring scent of Florida azalea. With porch swings and picnic tables, the [...]
Ochlockonee River State Park
At the confluence of the Ochlockonee River and the marshes fed by the Sopchoppy River, Ochlockonee River State Park is tucked behind a corner of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge just south of Sopchoppy as you head towards Lanark Village. A popular camping spot thanks to easy access to the water for anglers and paddlers, it’s [...]
Ralph G. Kendrick Dwarf Cypress Boardwalk
Why build a boardwalk in the middle of one of the most impassible swamps in Florida? Along the Gulf Coast near Carrabelle, Tate’s Hell is well-known for being a wild place. Its name is derived from the legend of a lost farmer who vanished for a week in the wilderness only to find his way [...]
St. George Island State Park – Gap Point Trail
Tall slash pines dominate the windswept remnant of coastal scrub forest that St. George Island State Park protects at the easternmost tip of this barrier island dividing the mouth of the Apalachicola River from the Gulf of Mexico. Starting from the campground area, the 5-mile round trip Gap Point Trail offers an opportunity to backpack [...]
St. Joseph Peninsula State Park – Maritime Forest Nature Trail
Just before you get to the park gates of St Joseph Peninsula State Park, the Maritime Forest Nature Trail offers a quick sampling of the habitats that cling to the bluffs along St. Joseph’s Bay. Your gateway: a boardwalk across a freshwater marsh. Interpretive information offers insights into the plant life of the windswept maritime [...]
St. Joseph Peninsula State Park – St. Joseph Bay Trail
For a sampling of the fragile coastal habitats protected along St. Joseph Bay by St Joseph Peninsula State Park, take a short walk on this spectacularly scenic coastal trail. You’ll meander through a diminutive scrub forest where the delicate Florida rosemary, myrtle oak, and Chapman oak are gnarled and wizened like bonsai thanks to the [...]
St. Joseph Peninsula State Park – Wilderness Preserve Trail
If you’ve dreamed of camping on a deserted beach, here’s your chance. The westernmost tip of the St Joseph Peninsula is set aside for hikers to explore, a wilderness of windswept coastal scrub and sand dunes out to Cape San Blas, where St. Joseph Bay meets the Gulf of Mexico. Camp along a beach with [...]
Wright Lake Trail
At Wright Lake near Sumatra, a day hiking loop along the western edge of the Apalachicola National Forest features an unusual bridge and numerous pitcher plant bogs This well-kept loop along the western edge of the Apalachicola National Forest was a real surprise to me. I expected pine plantations (and there were many), but did [...]
