Known as Florida’s Canoe Capital thanks to the rivers and creeks of Blackwater River State Forest, Milton is a major destination for outdoor recreation. Santa Rosa County, of which Milton is the county seat, is well known statewide for its hiking, bicycling, and paddling trails.
Blackwater River State Forest – Bear Lake Trail - At Blackwater River State Forest, each of the recreation areas offers access to hiking, and popular Bear Lake is no exception. A 4-mile trail loops around this impounded reservoir, which flows into Sweetwater Creek. The [...]
Blackwater River State Forest – Jackson Red Ground Trail - Connecting Karick Lake Recreation Area with the Red Rocks area of Blackwater River State Forest, the Jackson Red Ground Trail follows the path taken by General Andrew Jackson and his 1,200 troops in 1818 as [...]
Blackwater River State Forest – Wiregrass Trail - An excellent overnight backpacking trip which is also a segment of the Florida Trail, the Wiregrass Trail gets you into the heart of an ecosystem that has vanished across most of the Southeast—the longleaf pine [...]
Blackwater River State Park – Chain of Lakes - Many people hike a short distance on this interpretive trail and never do the entire loop. Why? The Chain of Lakes Trail leads to one of the more beautiful sandbar beaches on the entire Blackwater [...]
Clear Creek Nature Trail - When I arrived at the peak of pitcher plant blooming season at the Clear Creek Nature Trail (early April) and walked the boardwalk across the bog, I’d felt like I’d stepped into an 18th century [...]
Florida Trail, Eglin West - Bordered by the tangled floodplain forests of the Yellow River to the north, this 14.2-mile segment of the Florida Trail traverses high, dry sandhills topped with longleaf pine forest and planted pine, dropping in elevation [...]
Florida Trail, Juniper Creek - The Florida Trail along Juniper Creek (also known as the Juniper Creek Trail, Blackwater River State Forest) is a gorgeous place to explore in springtime, when mountain laurel blooms in both pink and white and [...]
Garcon Point Trail - On a peninsula separating Blackwater Bay and East Bay, Garcon Point Preserve presents an open landscape of wind-swept prairies punctuated by oak hammocks and tall longleaf pines.The Western Gate Chapter of the Florida Trail Association [...]
Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park - Where wet pine flatwoods slope towards Blackwater Bay, a sweeping panorama of wet prairies is host to the largest concentration of pitcher plants in all of Florida. Even from the side of the road – [...]
