Flowing towards the St. Johns River, Dunns Creek winds through extensive floodplain forests as it drains massive Crescent Lake.
Encompassing 6,200 acres on the south shore of the creek facing Long Swamp, Dunns Creek State Park protects the cypress-rimmed waterfront and the uplands above it.
Dunns CreekWhile for many years the only park access was at the Blue Pond picnic area along US 17, a two-mile entrance road now offers a scenic drive to a landing and launch on the creek itself.
At the end of the park road? Picnic sites and miles of trails. The Piney Bluff trail system has a series of three interconnected multiuse trails and a hiking-only loop to explore.
Picnic spots at Piney BluffResources
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: Pomona Park
Length: 15.4 miles in six trails
Main Entrance: 29.52581, -81.58938
Address: 320 Sisco Rd, Pomona Park
Fees: $4-5 per vehicle
Restroom: Vault toilets at picnic areas
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 386-329-3721
Open 8 AM to sunset. Leashed pets welcome. Accessible access to fishing pier along the creek.
Most trails are multi-use. Fat tires are recommended for tackling soft sand.
Directions
From Interstate 95, take the Flagler Beach / Bunnell exit for SR 100. Drive west on SR 100 for 28.8 miles, passing through Bunnell, to where it meets US 17 in San Mateo. Follow US 17 south for 9.2 miles, crossing Dunns Creek en route on a high bridge. The Blue Pond entrance to Dunns Creek State Park is along US 17 and signposted first. Watch for the turnoff for Sisco Rd a quarter mile farther on the left. Follow Sisco Rd for 2.2 miles to the park’s main entrance on the left. After paying the entrance fee at the gate, proceed 2.2 miles to reach the parking area at Dunns Creek Landing. The Piney Bluff trailhead is another quarter mile past the landing at the end of the road.
About the Park
Botanical diversity is a major reason why this landscape is protected as a Florida State Park.
Along the park’s main road, habitats range from sandhills and scrub to bayheads and pine flatwoods.
Driving over hills on the main park roadExploring the park on its trails leads you up and over rolling hills, on wades through cypress strands, and along the edge of sinkhole ponds.
A paddle along the six-mile meander of Dunns Creek between Crescent Lake and the St. Johns River reveals extensive floodplain forests.
Dunns Creek as seen from the landingHidden in the backcountry of the park are steephead ravines and some botanically important species.
Among them are populations of the rare Etonia false rosemary (Conradina etonia), otherwise only seen at Etoniah Creek State Forest in northern Putnam County.
Blue Pond trailheadThere are two main day use areas for visitors. The Blue Pond picnic area along US 17 provides picnic tables and a vault toilet.
It is the starting point for the Blue Pond Trail, a relatively flat and sandy multiuse trail leading to a sinkhole pond.
Yellow-blazed portion of the Blue Pond TrailDunns Creek Landing is deep within the park via the Sisco Rd entrance. The parking area allows for wheelchair access to a pier and landing on the water.
A boardwalk leads to it, or you can amble through the picnic area to the water’s edge below the launch at the landing.
Boardwalk leading to the landingPicnic tables are scattered under a canopy of tall pines and oaks not far from a vault toilet. The hiking-only Yellow Trail has prominent blazing leading away from this day use area.
The Piney Bluff trailhead at the end of the road offers access to the Yellow Trail and a collection of three multi-use trails that start out from this point.
Trailhead at Piney BluffIn the opposite direction of the trails is a picnic spot and natural beach along the creek where you can hand-launch or land watercraft.
A large grassy area between the two attracts visiting sandhill cranes.
Picnic spot and launch along Dunns CreekTrails
Blue Pond Trail
Starting within sight of US 17, the Blue Pond Trail is open to cyclists but the sand makes it challenging for anything other than fat tires.
There are two parts to the trail, a 2 mile yellow-blazed loop with a shortcut dividing it lengthwise and a 1.5-mile round-trip on a red-blazed spur leading to Blue Pond.
The lower portion of the Yellow Loop makes for a 1.5-mile loop through scrub and sandhills, with nice views of a prairie where the trail meets the red spur.
Prairie along the Blue Pond TrailPiney Bluff Trails
Starting out from a prominent live oak at the Piney Bluff trailhead, cross to the treeline to see the park sign and map outlining the trail system.
Four trails begin together, which makes the blazing somewhat colorful through a tunnel of sand live oaks out into an expanse of pine flatwoods.
A brightly striped tree in a tunnel of oaksAt a junction after a quarter mile, the trails start to break apart. To the left, the blue, red, and yellow blazes follow the “Flatwoods Trail” route.
We have not hiked these loops yet, but the map at the trailhead did not match this intersection, so we strongly suggest carrying a GPS when you take on these hikes.
The Flatwoods Trail heads south from the four-way junctionEach trail name matches its blaze color. According to the sign at the trailhead, the Blue Trail offers a 6.1-mile loop with a shortcut option.
The Green Trail makes a loop north from this junction, edging the floodplain of Dunns Creek for a 1.4-mile hike.
The Green Trail goes north from the four-way junctionThe Red Trail continues east, culminating in a turn-around loop. The full round trip is posted as 2.3 miles.
Once it diverges from the Flatwoods Trail, the Yellow Trail is hiking-only.
Pine flatwoods along the Yellow TrailYellow Trail
While the Yellow Trail shares partly shares its route with the multiuse trails at Piney Bluff, it diverges from the Flatwoods Trail on a narrower path through the pine flatwoods.
Halfway along its arc, it crosses the park road, entering soggier habitats. Expect some wading in bayheads and cypress strands.
The ending point of the not-quite-loop is after 1.8 miles at the picnic area by Dunns Creek. Follow the park road back to Piney Bluff trailhead to make a 2 mile loop.
Yellow Trail access at Dunns Creek LandingExplore More!
Slideshow
See our photos from Dunns Creek State Park
Nearby Adventures
More worth exploring while you’re in this area.
Welaka State Forest
Protecting more than four miles of deeply forested waterfront on the St. Johns River, Welaka State Forest provides a glimpse at a Florida that botanists John and William Bartram saw on their 1700s expeditions.
Beecher Run Nature Trail
A stop along the Bartram Trail, the Beecher Run Nature Trail at Welaka National Fish Hatchery provides a walk beneath ancient pines along the edge of the hatchery ponds, which are fed by historic Beecher Spring.
Murphy Creek Conservation Area
With hiking in scrubby flatwoods and sandhills above forested slopes draining to Murphy Creek, as well as on Murphy Island in the St. Johns River, this water management preserve provides two places to explore.
Haw Creek Preserve
Secluded and special, Haw Creek Preserve at Russell Landing nestles up along the shores of Haw Creek facing Haw Creek Preserve State Park.