| FT Big Oak Trail - Big Oak Trail |
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| Written by Sandra Friend | ||||||||
Page 5 of 6 The Big Oak Trail exits the campsite and continues its loop by following the Suwannee River upstream. Swamp chestnut oaks, bluff oaks, and large American holly shade this portion of the trail, and you can see the boat ramp on the far side of the river.  After skirting an extensive floodplain, the trail drops down into it and makes a beeline to the river. As you walk along the river, look carefully at the water’s surface to notice the upwelling from numerous small spring vents. Scan the far shore and listen for the sound of flowing water, and you’ll eventually notice Lime Spring, gushing water down rocks into the river.At 6.8 miles, you cross the gas pipeline corridor. Once you enter the forest again, keep alert for the Big Oak, the namesake of this trail. There are many large oaks along this stretch of the trail, but the Big Oak towers over them all, and is particularly conspicuous thanks to the width of its gnarled base. It indeed takes eight people to reach around the bottom of this tree—we tried it! As the trail turns away from the Suwannee for the last time, it enters the deeply shaded hardwood hammock. Shallow karst depressions and deeper sinkholes pockmark the leaf-strewn forest floor, including one very deep sinkhole at 7.3 miles. Barren limestone reflects in the water at the bottom. The trail drops down into an area that was once clearcut of its yellow pines, but has grown back with a crowded understory of oaks, sweetgum, and young pines in the disturbed clay-rich soil. Turning a corner, the trail re-enters the denser forest and comes to a large sign marking where the Florida Trail continues east along the river. Turn left, away from the orange blazes, and follow the blue blazes through the shady forest past several sinkholes to emerge at the gas pipeline corridor. Turn right to complete the loop, and retrace your hike back to your original starting point. |
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