Why build a boardwalk in the middle of one of the most impassible swamps in Florida?
Along the Gulf Coast near Carrabelle, Tate’s Hell is well-known for being a wild place. Its name is derived from the legend of a lost farmer who vanished in the wilderness.
When he found his way out, he exclaimed, “My name is Cebe Tate, and I just came from Hell!”
This boardwalk is there to document one of the stranger natural wonders of North Florida, a stand of dwarf bald cypress centuries old and less than 15 feet tall.
Looking down into the bowl of dwarf cypress from the Kendrick BoardwalkResources
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.
Overview
Location: Carrabelle
Length: 0.3 mile round-trip
Trailhead: 29.835818, -84.793065
Fees: Free
Restroom: None
Land manager: Tate’s Hell State Forest
Phone: 850-697-0010
Open dawn to dusk. Leashed pets welcome.
While it is usually fine when dry, the road to this botanical site may be impassable after a heavy rain.
If the road is wet, use good judgment in choosing to drive here without four-wheel drive. A low clearance vehicle may have trouble if the sand turns to mud.
Directions
From SR 65 just north of US 98 between Eastpoint and Carrabelle Beach, follow the signs into Tate’s Hell State Forest High Bluff Tract. Take North Road past Cash Creek Recreation Area to its intersection with Dry Bridge Rd, turn right. The parking area is along Dry Bridge Rd past 42nd Road, 4.5 miles from SR 65, down a turnoff to your right.
Hike
Perhaps the northernmost place you can see “hatrack” cypress in Florida, the haunting beauty of this spot is reminiscent of Rock Ridge in the Everglades and many parts of Big Cypress National Preserve.
A unique bowl of ancient cypress in the middle of bayhead swamps and pine flatwoods, it’s worth the trouble to get there.
An observation tower gives you an eagle’s-eye view of the cypress swamp.
While a short walk up to the top of the observation tower, the view lets you look over a massive sweep of forest beyond the bowl of wizened cypress.
It’s obvious that the timber companies sowed their slash pines right through these amazing hatrack swamps.
They are especially noticeable in winter when the cypress is bleached white against the intruding pines’ green.
Planted slash pines beyond the hatrack cypress as seen from the Kendrick BoardwalkTrail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Tate’s Hell State Forest.
Tates Hell State Forest One of Florida's more enormous state forests with over 202,000 acres, Tate's Hell is a vast coastal swamp sliced and diced by timber barons before being preserved by the state.Slideshow
See our photos of the Kendrick Boardwalk
Nearby Adventures
High Bluff Coastal Hiking Trail Discover the beauty of the Forgotten Coast by hiking one or both loops of the High Bluff Coastal Hiking Trail through scrub and wetlands fronting US 98 in Tate's Hell State Forest.
Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve blankets nearly a quarter million miles of marine basin on Florida's Forgotten Coast.
Fort Gadsden At Fort Gadsden Historic Site, a gentle walk in the Apalachicola National Forest leads through the well-interpreted historic site and a pine forest where wildflowers thrive.
Florida Trail, Jewel to Vilas 14.3 miles. Delving deep into the swampy heart of the Apalachicola National Forest, this section spans some of the gnarliest titi and gum swamps you'll see outside of Bradwell Bay.
- Hal Scott Yellow Trail - November 3, 2026
- Hal Scott Preserve - October 28, 2026
- Tradewinds Park - October 27, 2026