Less than a half mile long, the interpretive Wahlin Trail branches off starts within sight of the Fairchild Oak beyond a clearing where a 1915 land office once stood.
It leads along the high ground of the forest to its very edge, where it drops off into the swamps.
Floodplain descentAlong 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 the spring feeds the floodplain to offer a better perspective.
Spring runResources
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Overview
Location: Ormond Beach
Length: 0.4 miles
Trailhead: 29.388626, -81.131250
Address: 3351 Old Dixie Highway, Ormond Beach
Fees: Free
Land Manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 386-676-4050
Open 8 AM to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome; pick up after your pet.
Expect mud. Use insect repellent and a hiking stick.
Directions
From Interstate 95 north of Ormond Beach take Old Dixie Hwy exit 278. Follow it east past the Publix shopping center and around the sharp curve, passing Walter Boardman Ln. The entrance is on the left, two miles from the interstate.
Hike
At the parking area, face the picnic shelter to get your bearings. At the treeline beyond it, large brown signs flank a clearing.
Visit the trailhead kiosk for an overview of the park before heading towards the sign on the right.
The Fairchild Oak Trail is on the left, the Wahlin Trail on the rightSkip Wahlin was one of the local citizens who helped conserve this forest as part of the park. In his memory, his family and friends made this nature trail happen.
Adjoining the sign, a broad footpath into a palm hammock narrows, reaching the rim of a bluff.
Start to the right of this signWide earthen stairs lead downslope to a boardwalk. Listen to the burble of water.
Fed by the height of the water table, seepage springs dot the forested slopes above Bulow Creek.
Runnels of water slice through the mud below, meeting the clear tannic outflow of a larger spring hidden among the palm fronds.
Boardwalk over seepage springLeaving the boardwalk, climb the bluff on earthen stairs, reaching a small clearing with a bench on the far side.
For those who only wanted to visit the spring basin, a left here goes straight back to the picnic shelter. Make a right to stay on the longer loop.
Stay right at this junctionOaks and cedars provide the high canopy above the palms. After a curve the footpath narrows and becomes damp dark earth edging a rivulet under the palms.
The slightest bit of rainfall can turn the leaf and frond-strewn path to mud.
Muddy footpathMany species of ferns thrive in the always-damp earth along the shallow stream, including young sprouts of giant leather fern.
Cedars and oaks tower to impressive heights, as do the eldest of the cabbage palms. Native bamboo sprouts from dark damp soil.
Towering treesWalk between columns of palms, passing a bench at 0.2 mile before a curve. Live oak limbs arch above.
Continue the curve along a dense wall of palm fronds into an alley of palms.
A mild ascent leads to the edge of the pine flatwoods, skinny slash pines standing tall above the oaks.
Bench before palm alleyNow on a sandy path between the oaks, reach the bench seen immediately after climbing up from the boardwalk.
Pass that intersection by bearing right, emerging into a clearing where a land office from 1915 stood until recent times. The exit to the trailhead becomes obvious.
Exit towards trailheadStepping into the larger clearing, the size of the Fairchild Oak against the tree line is attention-getting.
If you haven’t already stepped under its canopy to marvel at the broad trunk and thick limbs, do so now.
The Fairchild OakThe marker beneath it credits botanist David Fairchild for talking the Portland Cement Company into preserving it and the surrounding forest.
Return to the trailhead to complete this 0.4 mile excursion into Bulow Hammock.
Commemorative plaqueTrail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Bulow Creek State Park
Bulow Creek State Park At 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.Video
Hiking the Wahlin Trail
Slideshow
See our photos from the Wahlin Trail
Nearby Adventures
Fairchild Oak Trail Beginning at one of Florida's largest live oak trees, the Fairchild Oak Trail explores a gradient of habitats above Bulow Creek for two linear miles. 
North Peninsula State Park Neatly accessed via a scenic drive extending north from Ormond Beach, North Peninsula State Park has two tantalizing miles of oceanfront along a palm-rimmed line of dunes.
Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park History and natural beauty meet on a 1.4 mile hike under a dense canopy of ancient live oaks to the ruins of one of Florida's oldest sugar mills.
Bulow Creek Trail A linear hike between state park day use areas at Bulow Plantation Ruins and Bulow Creek, the Bulow Creek Trail parallels the flow of a freshwater creek near the sea
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