Echoing the beauty of the lush riverside hammock of Camp Chowenwaw on the opposite shore, Black Creek Park traces the floodplain of this St. Johns River tributary.
Built by SORBA for mountain bikers, the trails of Black Creek Park are also open to hikers.
Singletrack along the floodplainThe outer perimeter of two singletrack loops edging the floodplain offer scenic glimpses of the waterway.
This two mile route combines their easy-to-follow rims with a return walk along the paved Black Creek Trail for a satisfying hike.
Black Creek TrailResources
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Overview
Location: Fleming Island
Length: 2 miles
Trailhead: 30.047910, -81.710276
Address: 7890 US 17, Fleming Island
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the trailhead
Land Manager: Clay County
Phone: 904-529-8058
Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome; pick up after your pet. Expect heavy cyclist use on weekends. Please yield to riders.
Directions
From Interstate 295 west in Jacksonville, take exit 10 for US 17 at Orange Park and drive south 9.9 miles. The turn-in is at the south end of Fleming Island just before the bridge over Black Creek. The entrance road ends in a tenth of a mile at the parking area adjoining the restrooms.
Hike
Walk by the restrooms towards the paved Black Creek Trail. Immediately past the restrooms, turn left onto Palmetto’s Revenge.
At a loop junction marked with arrows, bear left. Walk beneath a live oak of extraordinary girth, following the curve of the leafy path past a section of fence.
Start of the loopCircling behind the restrooms and parking area, head east through the hardwood hammock, massive grapevines dangling from the high canopy of towering oaks and pines.
Just beyond an enormous live oak at 0.2 miles, a worn path leads to the entrance road. The trail turns south, paralleling US 17.
Southerly turn near park entranceWithin this forest of enormous hardwoods, palm fronds signal a mix of young cabbage palms and saw palmetto on the sweep near the highway.
Glimpse the location of the waterway through gaps in the trees, hardwoods yielding to floodplain forest.
Floodplain forest beyond the hammockTurn sharply west near the base of an enormous pine. The forest thickens, American holly and magnolias entering the mix.
Light streams in from the ribbon of floodplain. Reaching a T intersection, bear left.
T intersectionThe worn path ambles briefly under the oaks, emerging at a ribbon of leaf-dusted asphalt. It’s the narrow south end of the Black Creek Trail.
It looks like a very old road, perhaps the original route of US 17. Across it is a sign for the Creek View Trail.
Black Creek TrailTurn left for a short walk to Black Creek along the old asphalt. Reach the bench overlooking open water a half mile into the hike.
Placid and swampy, the waterway is edged on its south side by Camp Chowenwaw Park.
Black CreekReturn up the pavement to the Creek View Trail to join it, taking the left side of the loop to parallel Black Creek.
Ascend a low bluff into the hardwood forest. The narrow path dances above the floodplain, following the creek upstream.
Creek View TrailSkim the edge of the floodplain by 0.7 miles, staying amid the bluestem palms under the oaks, looking down into lower basins.
Tracing the rim of the bluff above the floodplain forest under towering oaks and magnolias, this leafy path curves gently north.
Skimming the floodplainStay with the pathway closest to the creek when other options present themselves. A bench adjoins the trail, an old truck bed hidden amid native bamboo soon after.
With clusters of short needles, spruce pines reach for the high point of the canopy. The forest becomes more tangled.
BenchContinue past a wall of mature loblolly bay trees. Reach the next bench at a mile at a trail junction. Turn left, following the arrows.
A straightaway through the hammock follows. The understory opens, revealing parallel singletrack. A swamp chestnut oak rises from a broadly anchored base.
StraightawayAt 1.1 miles, bear left off the linear route, following the arrows to another long straight stretch.
Still paralleling the creek, bear left once more for a sweep along the floodplain’s edge to the north end of this park, outlined by former fence posts.
Northern portion of the parkCurving right at 1.4 miles, leave Black Creek behind. The worn path through the hammock aims towards the paved Black Creek Trail.
Reaching an enormous split-trunk pine, diverge from the trail: it becomes a twisty singletrack soon after this point.
The landmarkWalk east through a slender stretch of open understory to the Black Creek Trail. Join it southbound at 1.5 miles.
Tunneling through this dense hammock, the paved path is in deep shade, with occasional glimpses of US 17 to start.
Leaving the open understory for the paved pathTurning away from the paralleling highway by 1.7 miles, pass a bench at a junction with the singletrack loop.
Continue along a long, slow descent towards Black Creek, returning to the trailhead at 2 miles.
Downhill to the trailheadTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
Hiking Black Creek Park
Slideshow
See our photos from Black Creek Park
Nearby Adventures
Camp Chowenwaw Trails Explore Camp Chowenwaw Park on a network of trails into an old-growth hardwood hammock and floodplain swamps near where Black Creek empties into the St. Johns River.
Black Creek Ravines Conservation Area Perched on high ground above Black Creek downstream from Middleburg, this 6.5 mile hike showcases upland forests, seepage slopes, bluffs and the transitional habitats between them.
Green Cove Spring Park Swim in the perpetual flow of Green Cove Spring in a spring-fed swimming pool, the centerpiece of a landscaped riverfront park beneath old growth oaks along the St. Johns River.
Ronnie Van Zandt Memorial Park Gimme three steps and a whole lot more on a circuit of a park established to honor the lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd, northwest of Green Cove Springs where he grew up.
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