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Bald Point State Park

Maritime Hammock Loop

Discover the beauty of a lightly-walked beach paired with the intimate details of a maritime forest and the immense panorama of a coastal estuary on this 1.3 mile loop at Bald Point State Park

Bald Point State Park  |  Alligator Point
( 29.940572,-84.338035 )      1.3 miles

Beaches in the Big Bend are rare, since this stretch of shoreline is defined by coastal estuaries and there is a lack of barrier islands.

Still, in the sweep of the shallows of the Gulf of Mexico between Apalachicola and Cedar Key, you’ll find slim ribbons and tiny patches of beach.

At Bald Point State Park, the beach walk takes you around the tip of a slender peninsula to where Ochlockonee Bay meets the Gulf of Mexico.

The walk culminates in a boardwalk through the estuary to the bay. Sweeping views, colorful blossoms, and scurrying shorebirds add to the fun.

Bald Point State Park Picnic spot edging the maritime forest


Resources

North Florida Panhandle Explorers Guide book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.


Overview

Location: Alligator Point
Length: 1.3 mile loop
Trailhead: 29.940572,-84.338035
Address: 146 Box Cut Rd, Alligator Point
Fees: $4 per vehicle, $2 pedestrian or cyclist
Restroom: at the parking area
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 850-349-9146

Open sunrise to sunset daily. Dogs are not permitted on the beach.

Sunscreen and a hat are suggested for this hike, since the majority of the walk is in full sun.

Carry insect repellent, as you may need it in the estuary for the mosquitoes. Yellowflies can be a major problem here in early summer. Unfortunately, repellent doesn’t work on them.

Maritime Hammock Loop Bald Point


Directions

 
From Tallahassee, follow US 319 to US 98 at Medart. Drive west on US 98 through Panacea to Ochlockonee Bay, crossing the bay on a long bridge. Continue one mile to SR 370, the road to Alligator Point. Follow this road for 3 miles to the turnoff for Bald Point Road. Follow Bald Point Road into the park entrance.

Hike

Since we initially hiked this as an out-and-back beach walk to the estuary boardwalk, we’re delighted to discover the park has added a footpath to make this a loop now called the Maritime Hammock Loop.

The hike begins at the first parking area after the main gate. A sidewalk leads through the coastal scrub, past restrooms and pretty picnic shelters to a boardwalk protecting the dunes.

Bald Point State Park Morning glory on the dunes


The core beauty of this park is its solitude. You may encounter other visitors walking the sandy strand or soaking in the sun, but they will be few.

It is remote and calm here, with the sounds of cicadas, shorebirds and surf echoing in your ears. Fishing boats lie at anchor a mile or more offshore in the mouth of Ochlocknee Bay.

Shimmering schools of baitfish lie close to the surface of the sea as you exit the boardwalk and turn left to walk along the firm sands.

The shorebirds put up a perpetual chatter as your shoes squeak on the sand – perhaps you’d rather walk barefoot?

Bald Point State Park Expect shorebirds along the beach


It’s an easy walk along the strand, and a time for contemplation, a mindful walk. The sea oats on your left are mimicked by the pine forest beyond; the waves, a constant strum.

You see the channel markings now, that lead into Ochlockonee Bay. Stilts race down the sand, past a dead horseshoe crab washed ashore in sea wrack.

When you reach the weathered finger of a tree that protrudes from the beach, you’ve walked 0.4 mile in the sun.

Beyond, you can see picnic shelters in the distance as the beach curves towards the bay. It is shallow here, and fishermen wade waist-deep although more than 100 feet offshore.

Bald Point State Park The sweep of sand to where bay meets Gulf


The coastal scrub curves to parallel the beach. From here you can see Mashes Sands, Wakulla County’s best-known beach on the far shore.

Stilts and gulls cluster in whistling gatherings at the point, where they know the fish are gathering as well.

At half a mile, you reach a hiker symbol sign beckoning you across the dunes. Turn left and follow the path.

Compared to the beach, it is more of a trudge through extremely soft sand, away from the shoreline.

Bald Point State Park Walking through soft sand as you leave the beach


As soon as you step over the dune, the strum of the shore disappears. Walk through an open coastal grassland on a trail defined by the rangers’ ATV tracks, dipping through swales.

As you reach the treeline, a low canopy of maritime hammock, relax in the shade of the bench.

The trail pops out at the far parking area, the end of the road. Cross the parking area to where the bench is, and follow the path, a concrete sidewalk to start, to the marsh.

Bald Point State Park Accessible walkway to the boardwalk


A pretty lagoon sits off to the right. To the left, there’s a bench in the shade, and beyond it, a broad sweep of estuary fringed by pine woods.

A few more steps, and the trail, becoming a boardwalk, is surrounded by the estuary.

At 0.9 mile, trail’s end is at a platform overlooking the estuary and Ochlockonee Bay beyond, nearly 360 degrees of beauty. Houses do dot the far shore.

Bald Point State Park Boardwalk out into the estuary


The air is imbued with the salt of the coast. A memorial bench provides a place to settle in for some serious birding.

Breathe in the salt air and calm, the chirp of cicadas, the birdsong. Then return back to the bench in the maritime hammock.

Follow the trail south through the hammock, paralleling the park road but in a delightful amount of shade.

Fungi rises from the oak duff, and wildflowers spill across the sandy spots.

Bald Point State Park Wildflowers in bloom


Yaupon holly thrives in the understory. The windswept oaks are covered in shield lichen and Spanish moss.

Returning to the starting point at the paved path, the trail ends, making for a 1.3 mile hike.

Bald Point State Park The maritime hammock


Trail Map

Maritime Hammock Loop Trail Map Loop in red. Nearby bike trails in blue


Explore More!

Learn about the other trails you can hike or bike at Bald Point State Park

Estuary at Bald Point State Park

Bald Point State Park

Where Ochlockonee Bay meets the Gulf of Mexico along the Forgotten Coast, quiet Bald Point State Park protects the tip of the peninsula, providing beaches to roam and estuaries and uplands to explore

Slideshow

See our photos of Bald Point State Park


Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Pine reflections in pond

Ochlockonee River State Park Trails

Create a 2.6-mile loop around scenic Ochlockonee River State Park by linking the Pine Flatwood Nature Trail and the Ochlockonee River Nature Trail.

Myron B Hodge City Park

Myron B Hodge City Park

Myron B. Hodge City Park offers a nature trail where you can linger along the Sopchoppy River amid the sweet spring scent of Florida azalea.

Florida Trail, Sopchoppy River

Florida Trail, Sopchoppy River

4.1 miles. Following the gentle curves of the Sopchoppy River in the Apalachicola National Forest, this section of the Florida Trail is one of the most scenic hikes on the trail.

Florida Trail, Sopchoppy

Florida Trail, Sopchoppy

8.9 miles. Slipping through pine flatwoods and sandhills to the east of Sopchoppy, the Florida Trail plays tag with a network of forest roads that criss-crosses the southern portion of the Apalachicola National Forest.

Trail Map (PDF) Official Website

Category: Beach Hikes, Beaches, Hikes, Nature Trails, Northwest Florida, TrailsTag: Alligator Point, Bald Point State Park, Birding, Boardwalks, Family-Friendly, Fishing, Gulf of Mexico, Picnic, Sopchoppy

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