Where Florida's peninsula and Panhandle meet, vast swamp forests dominate the landscape. This section lies between the Suwannee River and, to the west, the Apalachicola National Forest, passing through private timberlands and public hunting grounds. Here you'll find the Aucilla River sinks, where the river plays hide and seek underground, and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, with its vistas of the sweep of the Big Bend and the salt flats along the Gulf of Mexico.
Where Florida’s peninsula meets the Panhandle, the Big Bend encompasses tens of thousands of acres of low-lying pine flatwoods and floodplain forests draining into the Gulf of Mexico. It is a region where timber is king. Between Mill Creek and San Pedro Bay WMA, you must be a Florida Trail member to traverse private timber lands managed by International Paper and Wachovia. In Taylor County, just ten miles south of where the Florida Trail crosses US 19, the city of Perry is considered Florida’s Forest Capital, celebrating their roots annually with the Florida Forest Festival every October at Forest Capital Museum State Park.
West of the Econfina River, the Florida Trail meets up with the Aucilla River, paralleling the rapids and providing excellent spots to camp along the river. The Aucilla distinguishes itself as one of Florida’s more unusual rivers by vanishing into a riversink and flowing beneath the earth for nearly 7 miles, popping up to fill a string of sinkholes that the trail skirts around on its southwesterly route, including “The Vortex,” a large sinkhole that has a whirlpool inside it when the river is running swift and high.
Crossing US 98, the Florida Trail continues into St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, where backpackers can enjoy nearly 50 miles of hiking through pine flatwoods and floodplain forests and along levees through the salt marshes. Backpacking the St. Marks is a special privilege extended by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as this is the only National Wildlife Refuge in the United States to permit overnight camping for backpackers. You must be hiking the entire length of the trail through the refuge (as a “thru-hiker”) and must obtain a permit in advance from the refuge. Day hikers can hit the trail along Lighthouse Road for exploration of the salt marshes, where in October you’ll encounter clouds of monarch butterflies and related species on their last migratory stop before crossing the Gulf of Mexico. From the visitor’s center, a blue-blazed trail leads out to the remains of Port Leon, Wakulla County’s first county seat, obliterated by a storm surge in 1843. Backpackers must hail a boat across the St. Marks River to reach the popular trail town of St. Marks, with its excellent seafood restaurants and other hiker facilities. On the western side of the refuge, don’t miss The Cathedral, west of FR 200, one of the largest remaining virgin palm hammocks in Florida and home to Shepherd Spring, a stunning pool of blue hidden in the forest.
COUNTIES: Madison,Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla START POINT: Mill Creek Trailhead END POINT: Apalachicola National Forest MILES OF TRAIL: 120.7 TRAILHEADS: Mill Creek, Aucilla, St Marks NWR Visitor Center, Greenhouse Rd DESIGNATED CAMPSITES: 9 MAPS: 10,11,12,13 TRAIL PARTNERS: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Division of Forestry
Disclaimer: While FTA strives to maintain accurate information and is constantly updating its geodatabase, the trail and development along the trail corridor is constantly changing. The data has been collected from a variety of sources and accuracy varies. FTA provides this data for recreational purposes only and does not intend the data as a survey. Centerline data Florida Trail System (c) 2007 Florida Trail Association, Inc.
Hiking 
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West of the Econfina River, the Florida Trail meets up with the Aucilla River, paralleling the rapids and providing excellent spots to camp along the river. The Aucilla distinguishes itself as one of Florida’s more unusual rivers by vanishing into a riversink and flowing beneath the earth for nearly 7 miles, popping up to fill a string of sinkholes that the trail skirts around on its southwesterly route, including “The Vortex,” a large sinkhole that has a whirlpool inside it when the river is running swift and high. 
