 As the Florida Trail winds its way into Florida's Panhandle, it passes through the Big Bend, where the curve of the state can be seen from the dikes within St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, the only NWR which permits backpacking and primitive camping.
The Florida Trail continues into the often wet Apalachicola National Forest, home to hundreds of colorful pitcher plant bogs. Crossing the time line at the Apalachicola River, you step back in time into Blountstown, home of the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement. The trail along Econfina Creek is especially pretty in spring when the mountain laurel are in bloom.
Crossing Nokuse Plantation and Eglin Air Force Base, the trail reaches some of the highest ground in Florida en route to its conclusion. Two end points await: the traditional end of the trail at Fort Pickens on the sands of Gulf Islands National Seashore, and the new Blackwater connector to a system of hiking trails stretching through Alabama and beyond. |
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Hiking 
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Florida Trail Map Brochure