A riot of ferns

Along the Fern Loop

As you continue, the Ridge Trail rises up to the edge of the flatwoods, where stringers of old mans beard dangle from the live oaks. The ravine on the left becomes increasingly deeper, with lots of southern magnolia inside. A bench looks down over the ravine. At the trail junction with the prominent FNST sign, the Florida Trail turns right to head towards the Devil’s Washbasin, and the Ravine Trail continues straight, beneath a bower of American holly, hickory, and dogwood. You reach a point where the trail ahead is blocked and your trail turns left to start a steep descent into the gorge. Walking along a wall of saw palmetto beneath the elms and tall southern magnolia, you can see a briskly flowing clear sand-bottomed stream through the woods, and you cross it on a bridge at 1 mile. The trail turns right and continues through a profusion of needle palms.

A staircase leads up the ravine slope to the left, but you’ll want to continue straight ahead for the gem of this hike, the Fern Loop. This tail of the Ravine Trail takes about 15 minutes to walk and immerses you in a wonderland of ferns, needle palms, and sparkling water trickling out of the steephead slopes to create tiny rivulets that form sand-bottomed streams that come together to create Gold Head Branch. At 1.1 miles, you’re back at the beginning of the loop and can continue back along the Ravine Trail to the Ridge Trail to the Mill Site parking area for a full 2.1 mile hike.