Overview

The Florida Trail begins one of its longest wilderness sections just north of US 319, crossing the Apalachicola National Forest. Although the forest is laced with dirt roads, there are no towns and no access to services for 77 miles, truly immersing you in a wilderness of ever-changing natural wonders.

Rolling sandhills topped with longleaf pine and wiregrass provide a gateway to the Sopchoppy River, a blackwater stream lined with cypress. The trail follows the high bluffs of the western shore, scrambling in and out of ravines, crossing numerous bridges, and leading you through colorful patches of native Florida azalea, fragrant in spring. At the Bradwell Bay trailhead, the character of the forest changes as you walk from wet flatwoods dotted with the white blooms of the titi tree into a swamp forest of sweetgum, maple, and cypress, where stands of virgin loblolly pines survived due to their inaccessibility to loggers. The Bradwell Bay Wilderness is one of the most majestic and wild places in north Florida, a roadless area encompassing more than 24,000 acres of hardwood swamp. It is one of the most challenging portions of the Florida Trail, involving miles of deep wading, and is best hiked with companions.

Heading west, the trail passes the historic Langston Homestead (with a side trail providing access) along Smith Creek before ascending down the bluffs into the steephead ravines of the Ocklocknee River, where endemic Florida anise sport brilliant red blossoms amid a living quilt of textures and colors on the ravine slops. Past Porter Lake Campground, you’re into the pine flatwoods once again, a vast savanna of longleaf with titi swamps and stands of rare hooded pitcher plants and colorful terrestrial orchids. There is little left of the ghost town of Vilas, save foundations of buildings from this once-thriving turpentine community. Near Camel Lake, you’ll encounter boggy pitcher plant prairies, bearing rubbery lemon and cherry-colored blooms in spring.    

Fast Facts

Map

Hikes

Gallery