The Apalachicola National Forest is the largest National Forest in Florida, sweeping around the southern edge of Tallahassee.
Botanical beauty and wilderness draw hikers and other enthusiasts to the vast trail systems, including a lengthy segment of the Florida Trail between Sopchoppy and Bristol. Home to the fabled Bradwell Bay, the Apalachicola is also the place to see pitcher plants bloom en masse every spring, especially on the western edge of the forest near Sumatra and the Apalachee Savannas.
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… [Continue Reading]
Florida Trail, Bradwell Bay
You’re guaranteed to get wet on Florida’s roughest, wildest swamp walk on the Florida Trail in Bradwell Bay, a wild place where hiking with friends is a smart idea. Situated south of Tallahassee, the Bradwell Bay Wilderness is one of the most majestic and wild places in Northwest Florida, a roadless area encompassing more than… [Continue Reading]
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… [Continue Reading]
Leon Sinks Geological Area
In the Apalachicola National Forest just south of Tallahassee, Leon Sinks Geological Area offers a delightful introduction to the wonders of karst topography. Karst is a landscape that happens through deep erosion of a soft rock such as limestone, and it leads to the most unusual visual treats as water flows into, out of, and… [Continue Reading]
Trail of Lakes
By itself, the Trail of Lakes is a 3.9-mile blue blazed connector between two portions of the Florida Trail around Camel Lake, a soggy, boggy walk in the Apalachicola National Forest. To enjoy it as a day hike with no shuttling, you can use the Florida Trail to create a 9.5-mile loop (starting and ending… [Continue Reading]
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… [Continue Reading]
