Myron B. Hodge City Park, Sopchoppy

Along the boardwalk

Hidden on a back street within walking distance of downtown Sopchoppy, the Myron B. Hodge City Park offers quiet campsites along the dark placid waters of the Sopchoppy River. With porch swings and picnic tables, the campsites are a delight, and at $15 a night, they’re certainly a bargain.

An unnamed nature trail showcases the beauty of the river. Starting in the middle of the campground as a boardwalk, it leads you across a shallow river cove where you can see the bottom clearly through the dark, tannic waters. Yellow tips of lizard-tail rise from leafy green cores. The sweet fragrance of Florida azalea washes over you as you stroll along the boardwalk, watching for alligators in the water and herons in the trees.

The boardwalk jogs to the left and deposits you on a river bluff. Follow the trail into the bluff forest, where azalea color the understory and southern magnolias provide deep shade. Along the cool forest floor, netted chain and bracken fern find a foothold. The trail ends at a point where an oak extends well out over the water, tempting a climb. A tributary enters, canal like, into the river at this point. Leaves drift beneath the arch of oak as ripples spread across the water.