The terminus of the Florida Trail is at Pensacola Beach, affording a lengthy beach walk, but the wonders of this region extend far inland to the vast Blackwater River State Forest, a playground for backpackers and day hikers alike. Bayou hikes are particularly interesting here, especially in spring when vast fields of pitcher plants are in bloom in the low marshes.
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 hike leads you through pine flatwoods and bluff forests, where Southern magnolia and hickory trees provide shade. It’s an excellent… [Continue Reading]
Big Lagoon State Park
Between Pensacola and Perdido Key, Big Lagoon is best known for its (really big) lagoon, high observation tower, and campground, but the trail system is a delight for hardy hikers. It’s easy to make short forays out along the lakes and to the observation tower on the criss-crossing nature trails, but a circuit around the… [Continue Reading]
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 River, and it’s a hot spot on weekends. But a walk on the full loop gives you the big picture… [Continue Reading]
Clear Creek Nature Trail
Imagine a wonderland of bright red blossoms and lacy white-veined trumpets reflected against reflections of the sky, where everywhere you turn, beauty surrounds you. You’ll find it near Milton at the Clear Creek Nature Trail. When I arrived at the peak of pitcher plant blooming season at the Clear Creek Nature Trail (early April) and… [Continue Reading]
Florida Trail, Eglin East
This segment of the Florida Trail near Destin is on a swath of public land with a long and storied history. Established concurrently with the Ocala National Forest in 1908, the Choctawhatchee National Forest protected a vast swath of old growth longleaf pine forest. In 1940, the Federal Government decided to make the area a… [Continue Reading]
Florida Trail, Eglin West
Bordered by the tangled floodplain forests of the Yellow River to the north, this 12-mile segment of the Florida Trail traverses high, dry sandhills topped with longleaf pine forest and planted pine, dropping in elevation as the trail descends towards the East Bay River. For most of its length, it’s never far from SR 87,… [Continue Reading]
Florida Trail, Fort Pickens
At the westernmost point of Santa Rosa Island, along the shimmering sands of the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Trail comes to an end at one of the most important historic sites in Florida’s Panhandle—Fort Pickens. Construction of Fort Pickens began in 1829 under supervision of the Army Corps of Engineers. President Abraham Lincoln considered… [Continue Reading]
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 the dogwoods put on a show. There are seepage slope bogs where pitcher plants look pretty as well. This is… [Continue Reading]
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 constructed two trails to provide public access to this prime place to enjoy pitcher plant blooms in the spring,… [Continue Reading]
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 they marched towards Pensacola from Apalachicola. Jackson had just received orders to be in charge of the “Indian Removal” from… [Continue Reading]
Naval Live Oaks Preserve
Naval Live Oaks Preserve outside Pensacola was our nation’s first tree farm, established in 1828 by President John Quincy Adams to protect a significant coastal stand of live oaks for military use. In those days, our navy’s ships were made of wood, and Pensacola was a significant deep-water coastal port. Once a supply of live… [Continue Reading]
Tarkiln Bayou State Park
Tarkiln Bayou State Park offers wheelchair accessible trails leading to pitcher plant bogs along a bayou on the Alabama border, west of Pensacola. In 2003, The Nature Conservancy assisted the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with the purchase of this critical wetland along Tarkiln Bayou, known as the Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie. Adjoining wetlands… [Continue Reading]
UWF Dunes Preserve
If you’ve ever wanted to scramble up and down Florida dunes, here’s your chance! This part of Santa Rosa Island is a coastal desert that the Florida Trail weaves up and over. The Florida Trail is the only National Scenic Trail to meander along a beach—the beaches of Santa Rosa Island—and this is one of… [Continue Reading]
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 forest. These rolling clayhills are topped with stately longleaf pine and wiregrass, with views that go on and on as… [Continue Reading]
Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park
Resources Immediately north of Garcon Point Preserve, Garcon Point Rd (CR 191) is a delight to drive in early April. Pitcher plants bloom roadside, edging the ditches in astounding quantity as you draw closer to Blackwater Bay and Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park. Overview Location: Bagdad Length: unknown—no marked trails Lat-Long: 30.484300, -87.071500 Type:… [Continue Reading]
