It’s the trees that catch your attention at Bulow Creek State Park, from the canopied road leading to the park to the imposing Fairchild Oak standing guard over the main entrance.
Explore the park’s trails to immerse in the ancient Bulow Hammock itself, beneath its canopy of old-growth trees. Along its ridge, springs bubble freshwater that feed primordial swamps.
Resources
Resources for exploring the area
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: Ormond Beach
Trailhead: 29.387667,-81.132183
Address: 3351 Old Dixie Highway, Ormond Beach
Fees: free
Land Manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 386-676-4050
Open 8 AM to sunset daily. Leashed pets welcome. Bicycles permitted.
Additional access points for day hiking, biking, and paddling are along Walter Boardman Road and a trailhead along the entry road to Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park.
Directions
The park is along “The Loop,” a popular scenic drive along the coast of northern Volusia County. Look for the entrance on the east side of the road north of James Ormond Park and south of Walter Boardman Drive.
About the Park
The park’s main entrance showcases the Fairchild Oak. It’s an imposing presence that would take a good eight people holding hands to encircle the base of the tree.
Thought to be more than 2,000 years old, its limbs are so thick they curve in crazy directions and embed themselves in the ground.
To get acquainted with Bulow Hammock, a short walk on the Wahlin Trail is in order. It leads along the high ground of the forest to its very edge, where it drops off into the swamps.
Along a natural ridge, a bubbling freshwater spring flows out of the hillside while the aroma of a sea breeze is all around you. A boardwalk curves along where it feeds the floodplain to offer a better perspective.
Following the Fairchild Oak Trail north, more details of the grandeur of this mighty oak hammock unfold, its canopy interwoven by ancient southern magnolias, ironwood, and sweetgum of towering stature.
Along waterways feeding the creek, it’s like stepping into Jurassic Park. Giant leather ferns tower overhead. Primitive coontie plants that sprout in profusion in the rich, dark earth.
Trail Map
Explore More
Bulow Woods Trail
A linear hike between state park day use areas at Bulow Plantation Ruins and Bulow Creek, the Bulow Woods Trail parallels the flow of a freshwater creek near the sea
Bulow Woods Loop
Stretching 5.2 miles through an primordial forest of sluggish, fern-lined waterways, ancient live oaks, magnolias, and cabbage palms, the Bulow Woods Loop is one of North Florida’s most scenic hikes
Bulow Creek State Park
Walk among the ancients in Bulow Hammock, starting with the imposing Fairchild Oak, one of Florida’s largest live oak trees
Slideshow
See our photos of Bulow Creek State Park
Park Map (PDF) Official Website