Tied together with connector trails to the trailheads at each end, this segment of the Florida Trail is one of its more rugged pieces along the Suwannee River, providing a real workout.
Along the way, backpackers can find some tent spots with a view, and photographers will delight at the colors and textures along the river and its tributaries.
View of Suwannee Springs beach from a bluffWhile the entire hike is a delight, a highlight is the climb up Devils Mountain and the view from the top.
At 134 feet, this is not the high point of the Florida Trail, but it IS the highest elevation of the Florida Trail along the Suwannee River.
Ascending Devil’s Mountain southboundOur Florida Trail Books & Guides
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Overview
Location: Suwannee Springs
Length: 7.8 miles
Trailhead: 30.32531, -82.739273
Fees: Free
Restroom: None
Land Manager: Suwannee River Water Management District
Phone: 386-362-1001
IMPORTANT: Camping is NOT permitted at the trailheads
Leashed dogs welcome. However, ticks can be a serious problem on any hike along the Suwannee River. Protect yourself and your dog with appropriate repellents.
You will greatly appreciate having two hiking poles with you to assist in creek crossings and for climbs in and out of the ravines along this section, some of which can be extremely slippery when wet.
Always check river levels before hiking the Florida Trail along the Suwannee River. At flood stage, the river can flow over the trail and make hiking dangerous.
Directions
The ending point is Suwannee Springs off US 129 north of Interstate 10 at Live Oak. Limited parking is possible within sight of the old US 129 bridge on the old highway, but ample parking is available at Suwannee Springs itself, where a blue-blazed trail leads from the old bridge down to the spring. There is usually a portable toilet at this trailhead.
For the starting point, drive north from Suwannee Springs along US 129 and turn right on CR 132, the first paved road to the right after the river. After 1.5 miles, turn right onto CR 25A. Continue along it to where it crosses Camp Branch on a highway bridge and goes around a curve within sight of the weigh station on I-75. Look for a narrow two-track road on the right with a small sign. It leads down to the parking area.
For a day hike, it’s an easy shuttle between the two trailheads, which are about 15 minutes apart by car.
If your logistics only allow you to do an out-and-back hike, we recommending hiking out along this section from Suwannee Springs to the top of Devil’s Mountain and returning from there for an 8.2-mile round-trip.
Hike
From the Camp Branch trailhead, follow the white-blazed forest road down a very steep hill. Leveling out, meet a Y intersection after 0.7 mile.
Take the trail to the left. Reach the orange-blazed Florida Trail at a T intersection. Turn right.
Seepage streamThe trail follows the bluffs above the river. Cross a small seepage stream as the trail climbs, turning towards views of the river.
Reach the junction with the Disappearing Creek Trail at 1.5 miles. This side loop is worth the extra half mile if you haven’t previously seen it.
Disappearing Creek Loop Explore a geologic wonderland of karst topography and white sand beaches on this rugged 3.6 mile hike to a chasm where the rapids of Camp Branch are swallowed by a sinkhole.The loop circles both a large sinkhole and the curious flow of Camp Branch where it has deeply carved a ravine into the landscape.
The rushing waters pour into a swallet below the bluff and swirl out of sight, disappearing underground to emerge into the Suwannee River near the trail junction.
Florida Trail junction for Disappearing CreekThe footpath enters a corridor of saw palmetto in the bluff forest, passing Crooked Branch Ranch and a privately owned camping shelter.
It reaches the designated Crooked Branch campsite at 3.1 miles. After the trail crosses the creek on a bridge and dips near river level, it’s time to climb.
View back towards Crooked Branch from the climbFrom the base of Devil’s Mountain, it’s usually slippery up to the top. The ascent is steeply pitched, rising through the bluff forest.
A fern-lined chasm with a trickle of seepage springs just below the crest is called Greasy Gully for a reason. Beware of slipping off the hill in the mud.
Greasy GullyThe high point at 128 feet, Devil’s Mountain is relatively flat on top. In winter, it’s obvious just how low the bluffs are on the south side of the river.
It’s all downhill from here, but far from flat. Starting at 3.4 miles, the descent into the Sugar Creek Tract is nowhere near as steep as the ascent out of the Camp Branch Tract.
The top of Devil’s Mountain is well above the riverEnjoy panoramas across the bluff forest on the way down to a gully with a clear sand-bottomed stream flowing through it, a good water source.
Like this sandy stream, most of the waterways crossed along the remainder of this hike aren’t bridged. Their drainages carved deep, often steep ravines to clamber in and out of.
Stream in a gullyReaching the river bluffs after the next ravine, walk atop deposited sand that drops sharply into the river below.
A tributary flows between palmettos in the next low basin. Climb up to a flat, scrubby area where the footpath is edged with moss and lichens.
Glimpse of the river bluffsPeriodic flooding deposited deep sand along the next riverbank. Plowing through deep sand in spots, the footpath clings to its sharp vertical pitch as sidehill.
Re-enter the bluff forest. After 4.2 miles, make a sharp turn at a horseshoe bend in the bluff, the river both in front of and in back of you.
Deep soft sand bluffContinue along high forested bluffs with views between the trees. A gentle descent a half mile later reaches a broad crescent-shaped beach, a nice spot for a break.
Turning away from the river, tackle a gully where tannic waters flow between the cypress knees, a half-log bridge providing passage.
Tricky bridgeIt’s a steep descent into another gully at 5.3 miles where water sometimes rushes through the bottom, with a sometimes slippery scramble to climb back out of it.
Return to high sand bluffs where wild azalea bloom in spring, walking under a low canopy of sparkleberry and rusty lyonia.
Steep gullyThe footpath winds into old river channels behind the bluffs. A handful of river views open up from level spots before trail and river part ways at a view of a river bend.
Ascend into a bluff forest on the worn footpath, swarms of saw palmetto defining the corridor wherever it drops through swales.
The footpath leaves the river at a curveDraped in streamers of Spanish moss, the low canopy changes as you gain more elevation, becoming a tunnel of scrub oaks at 6.7 miles decorated with old man’s beard.
Shorter and stiffer than Spanish moss, it infuses this passageway with an eerie glow. An ephemeral waterway rushes through the low spot of the next palmetto-dense swale.
Glowing forestEmerge from the forest past a very old wooden Florida Trail sign into a sun-drenched power line easement.
Past a bluff a few steps off the trail with a very nice view of the shoreline of Suwannee Rivers, the well-defined footpath broadens.
Old US 129 bridge on a rainy dayAt 7.1 miles, an old concrete bridge formerly used by US 129 marks the end of this segment. Scramble the steep blue-blazed trail to reach it and cross it.
On the opposite side of the river, another steep blue-blazed trail leads to the parking area at Suwannee Springs, concluding this 7.8 mile hike.
If you parked at the weigh station instead, don’t take the blue blaze to Suwannee Springs but continue straight ahead instead to emerge at US 129.
Suwannee Springs was an early 1900s spaNorthbound
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Learn more about the Suwannee section of the Florida Trail
Florida Trail, Suwannee For 78 miles along the Suwannee River, the Florida Trail clings to bluffs and scrambles through ravines for physical challenges and great scenery.Slideshow
See our photos from this hike
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