I went for a nice 4.75 mile hike today at Etoniah Creek State Forest today. It's only a few miles North of Rice Creek CA and our beloved Florida Trail passes through it. If you were through hiking you would exit Rice Creek CA into Etoniah and exit Etoniah via road walk to Goldhead Branch SP.

I was curious about this park because it seems to be relatively little known. You can find information online but local media seems to be void of any reference to this park. The southeast section of the park seems to be popular for equestrian hikes. I hiked the Longleaf Pine Trail which is in the Northwest corner of the park. The FT shares this trail for a good 2/3 of the way. I'm not sure if this is the new blaze for the FT, as the trail was supposed to be moved off forest roads. The Florida Trail Data Book had me a little confused. However aside from the Data Book the blazes are well marked and using the FT map will keep you in the right direction.

I hiked this trail right after lunch which might not have been the best time of day but it wasn't as hot as I expected. The horse flies and ticks were a bit of a problem.

The scenery was nice with two sinkholes and a dry pond which actually had a little bit of water in it. The trail winds along through pine and oak most of the way except for a road walk right in the middle of the trail.

There was however a serious need for trail maintenance. Particularly at the end of the loop where a large tree crosses the trail which was completely impassable. I picked up a whole colony of ticks here! Also along the trail the foliage is trying to reclaim its territory a good mow would help.

I recommend this trail if you want a nice afternoon hike or maybe a cool early morning hike. I would like to hike the FT section between Rice Creek and the end of this trail which is on Tinsley Road. There is a nice camping area about 7-9 minutes from the trailhead so an overnight dayhike to the campsite would be great.

Also this trail is one of the trails listed in the Florida State Forests Trailwalkers Program. If you hike ten of the Florida SF trails, fill out a simple postage paid survey card for each one, and mail them in you get a cool patch(I think it's cool anyhow!). The website for the program is http://www.fl-dof.com/forest_recreation/trailwalker_index.html

Check out the photos from the hike at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/gmcclain20/ EtoniahCreekSFLongleafPineTrail042508

Happy Trails!
Travis