Surprisingly scenic for a short stretch of trail, this Florida Trail segment on the west side of the Wakulla River never gets within sight of the river.
Instead, it traverses swamp forests draining into the tidal waterway, some of which are quite showy.
Cypress swampIt also has a few mysteries along it, like a massive sawdust pile compacted over time and enormous limestone boulders strewn across the landscape.
Two designated primitive camping areas provide places for backpackers traversing the entire refuge a place to set up a tent for the night.
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Overview
Location: Crawfordville
Length: 4.1 miles linear
Trailhead: 30.169408,-84.247194
Address: 6307 Coastal Hwy, Crawfordville
Fees: Free
Restrooms: None
Land manager: St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
Phone: 850-925-6121
Open sunrise to sunset. Expect copious mosquitoes. Leashed dogs welcome, although it is dangerous due to the presence of alligators.
Plan on muddy and wet traverses; hiking poles help tremendously for navigating the sloppiest parts.
Arrange camping by permit with St. Marks NWR in advance if you are backpacking the entire refuge.
Directions
From the intersection of Woodville Hwy (SR 363) and US 98 in St. Marks, drive west 2.7 miles along US 98, crossing the Wakulla River bridge. The Thompson House Trailhead is clearly marked on the south side of the highway after a stretch of woods. For the end point of this hike, continue 0.8 miles west on US 98 and turn left on Wakulla Beach Rd. After a mile, the trailhead is on the right.
Hike
From the Thompson House trailhead, follow blue blazes a little shy of a tenth of a mile to a junction with the orange blazes of the Florida Trail. Turn right.
If you’ve approached this section from the Coastal Trail along US 98, the junction is only a tenth of a mile in on a corridor lined with southern magnolia.
Start of the sectionWild bachelor’s button thrives along the pine duff on the edge of an old borrow pit under the pines and oaks.
At 0.2 miles, meet a T intersection with a forest road. Turn left. Signage and a picnic table marks the Wakulla Tract campsite.
Borrow pitCulverts shuffle water under this forest road in the swamp, but eventually clear water drains across the trail. It is normally narrow enough to hop across.
Passing a junction of forest roads, the path narrows entering the pines. If it’s soggy underfoot, the surrounding cypress swamp may overflow around a half mile.
DrainageIt’s a large basin with an open water center, fallen leaves, pollen, and needles creating the illusion of a solid surface atop the dark waters.
Leaving the swamp, gain elevation, following a grassy footpath. Cross the faded tracks of old forest roads.
Enter a well-established pine flatwoods with evenly scattered slash pine. Descend towards the river floodplain beneath southern magnolias.
Swamp basinNearly a mile in, at a sharp left curve, Sawdust Hill looms. Hidden by trees, it’s easy to miss.
A remnant of a very old and compacted sawdust pile, it has a bouncy surface. Climb to its crest for views into the canopy.
Climbing Sawdust HillThe understory opens up soon after. A line of cabbage palms mark the swirling surface of a floodplain swamp. Older slash pines show the tell-tale scars of turpentine tapping.
Enter a corridor between dense clumps of saw palmetto. Some are very old, with trunks standing straight up like minature cabbage palms.
Saw palmettoAt 1.5 miles, reach a boardwalk over a sluggish creek that looks like iced tea. Cypress knees rise from its depths. It drains a floodplain forest towards the Wakulla River.
On the other side of the boardwalk, a bench sits atop a rise above the swamp, a scenic dry spot to take a break.
Bridged creekMeandering beneath tall southern magnolias and through a thicket of native bamboo, rise into a hardwood forest with an open understory.
It closes in again near a massive oak with multiple gaps through its thick trunk. At 1.8 miles, a sign for the Wakulla River campsite marks a simple clearing under the pines.
Campsite clearingPast the next stands of bamboo, things start getting wet. Puddles form across the trail. At first they are easy to skirt.
Then, in a palm hammock just shy of two miles, the trail is the low spot in which water collects. Expect to splash through.
PuddlesClimb into a hardwood forest, passing a palm hammock fringed with sawgrass. Cabbage palms intersperse with pines and oaks.
Walk beneath tall slash pines and into a corridor lined with saw palmetto. Bamboo appears again under the hickories. Logs and fallen trunks offer bridges to cross deep puddles.
Log crossingAscend into a stand of tall pines to discover an unusual array of limestone boulders strewn around the forest at 2.4 miles.
Some are topped with pine needles and ferns, others, small palms. A few are perfect as benches. Cross a forest road past them.
Limestone bouldersSlipping past a cypress swamp, rise into uplands with a clear understory beneath the oaks, magnolias, and holly. At times clumps of saw palmetto obscure the view.
Emerge onto a forest road at three miles, stepping over a ditch. The next blaze is on the other side of a deep ditch adjoining the road. Scout for a shallower crossing.
DitchEntering pine-palm flatwoods, winds between trees to reach a well-defined corridor. Past the corner of a firebreak, climb into a drier forest.
Descending again, edge a vast floodplain swamp which sometimes spills into the footpath. Scan its fallen logs for alligators.
Floodplain swampBy 3.8 miles, join a firebreak along the property boundary fence to skirt this big swamp. Walk beneath a loblolly pine of incredible size.
Returning to the forest, gain a little elevation. This section ends as the footpath emerges to Wakulla Beach Rd, the trailhead on its opposite side at 4.1 miles.
Wakulla Beach TrailheadNorthbound
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