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FT Big Oak Trail - Big Oak Trail |
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Written by Sandra Friend
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Page 3 of 6
 Where the blue blazes meet the orange blazes of the Florida Trail, be sure to turn right (north) to continue on the Big Oak Trail. Climbing up an embankment, you come to the railroad tracks and must cross them again. The trail drops down a steep embankment on the other side and enters the ghost town of Ellaville, with the only hints of this timber boomtown bits of broken clay pots and brick foundations. The trail winds out to the edge of the river bluff along the Withlacoochee River and turns to follow it north.
At 2.6 miles, you reach a campsite with a picnic table, fire pit, and river access. It lies very close to a forest road in Twin Rivers State Forest. Continuing to parallel the river, you can see some of the rocky shoals when the water is low. The Withlacoochee is known for rough and rugged kayaking thanks to its shoals, and don’t be surprised to see kayakers at the backpacking campsites. The trail emerges from the deep shade of the river forest to scramble up an embankment to CR 141 to use the highway bridge to cross the river. On the other side of the river, follow this country road briefly until you find the dirt road to the right that leads back down and around to the gate for the gas transmission line. When you reach the gate, continue straight down the easement for the gas pipeline to reach the top of the loop.
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