As botanist William Bartram canoed the St. Johns River in 1773, he noted massive mounds of snail shells piled up on its shorelines. These middens, prehistoric garbage heaps, spoke to civilizations long gone who had plied the waters of the St. Johns for sustenance and travel.
The Bluffton Mound was well known as a landmark along the river, thanks to its size, but like many middens along the St. Johns was carted away for roadfill in a less enlightened time earlier this century.
Today, a visit to the Bluffton Interpretive Trail leads you into the past and through habitats common to the uplands along the St. Johns River.
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Overview
Location: Volusia
Length: 1.2 miles
Trailhead: 29.125353, -81.503343
Address: 5458 US Hwy 17, De Leon Springs
Fees: $2 per person
Restroom: portable toilet at the trailhead
Land Manager: Florida State Forests
Phone: 386-384-5256
Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome.
The entrance road may be a little tough on your vehicle but does not require four-wheel drive. This hike is part of the Florida State Forest Trailwalker program, so be sure to pick up a postcard and mail it in once you complete the hike.
Covered picnic pavilions provide a place to grab a snack and watch the river roll by, and there’s a canoe launch too, so you can make a day out of a visit to the Bluffton Recreation Area.
This state forest is open to hunting, and during hunting season in the winter, access to the recreation area may be limited. If you visit during hunting season, wear a blaze orange vest.
Directions
From the junction of US 17 and SR 40 in Barberville, drive west 5.8 miles towards the town of Volusia at the Astor Bridge to the second sign for Lake George State Forest on the left. Turn south on St. Johns River Road. Drive 0.7 of a mile down this bumpy road to reach the state forest entrance. Stop at the kiosk and sign in. The road narrows sharply, although at the time we visited, it appeared they might be widening it so two cars could pass. After 2.7 miles you pass the entrance to a beautiful primitive camping area tucked in beneath ancient oaks, and after 3.4 miles the road ends at the trailhead and river access area.
Hike
Starting at the parking area, sign in at the kiosk. Walk along the shoreline for a glimpse of the St. Johns River at the canoe launch.
Cypresses rise tall on the far shore, where watermarks on their trunks tell the tale of just how high the St. Johns River can get at times.
This is an excellent spot for birding, especially in the early morning. Gallinules drift across the shallows, and you might catch a glimpse of a limpkin.
Leaving the pier, turn right and walk between the Southern red cedars to the third sign-in spot for the forest, this time for the hiking trail itself. Here, you’ll pay your entry fee.
At the kiosk, pick up an interpretive guide, which has numbers corresponding to locations along the hike. An ancient village once occupied at this spot.
A midden of freshwater snail shells – like what is seen at present-day Silver Glen Springs – once rose up to twenty feet high across 35 acres of riverfront here.
The people who lived here enjoyed the bounty of the St. Johns River, not just in snails but fish, turtle, and manatee. Pottery and tools have been found in archeological digs at this site.
By the early 1900s, this spot was known as Orange Bluff. Atop the midden, an orange grove flourished.
Surrounding truck farms in the wetlands enabled the planters to ship oranges, tomatoes, and other vegetables from the dock at Bluffton Landing.
Some remains of the dock sit down along the water’s edge. The trailhead is well-marked and well-signed.
As you start down the footpath, notice the tiny snail shells underfoot everywhere. These were all a part of the midden. At Marker 5, note the orange trees that remain from the Orange Bluff days.
Loblolly pines and sweetgum rise overhead. The straight-line nature of the trail feels like a tramway, which probably was used to transport crops and cypress out to the river.
A wide spot in the trail seems like it might have been the location of the planter’s home, which in its day would have had a nice view of the St. Johns River.
You encounter your first lime-green blaze along the trail. It’s not the optimal color for blazing, but keep yourself attuned to it at the intersections.
Leaving Orange Bluff, the trail starts down a boardwalk past Marker E and into a lush hardwood hammock, where oranges also grow in the understory. Bamboo grows in profuse clusters.
Passing an ironwood tree, get into a dense stand of pignut hickory, so much so that the footpath is covered in hickory nuts. It’s tough to walk since it feels like you’re walking on marbles.
As the forest canopy thickens, thanks to ancient live oaks and massive Southern magnolia trees, reach the beginning of the loop at 0.3 mile. Turn right.
The trail leads through river bluff forest, the landscape undulating underfoot – perhaps due to river erosion, or the removal of the midden materials, or furrows from truck farming.
Sparkleberry rises overhead, notable for its peeling reddish bark and its berries. As the landscape opens up a little, the habitat transitions into scrubby flatwoods.
An unmarked spur trail at half a mile leads down to a patch of open scrub. Take a quick wander down there for a look. Low-bush blueberries spot blooms along the edges of the trail, which is fringed with Chapman oak and sand live oak. Returning to the main trail, turn right.
You’re back in the scrubby flatwoods, with young longleaf pines planted to gain a foothold to establish a new sandhill forest in the scrub. The line of cabbage palms in the distance indicates a flow of water through the landscape, along with tall cypress. It’s an interesting mixture of habitats in one spot.
Crossing another boardwalk, the trail continues past tall wax myrtles. Sphagnum moss and marsh ferns indicate the location of a bog, along with colorful wild bachelor’s-button growing in the mushy spots.
Poke around a little, and you might find hooded pitcher plants, according to the forest’s list of native plants found here.
Cypress trees rise in a line to the left along the rim of this wet flatwoods area. A big puff of deer moss indicates another change in habitat as the landscape rises up a little to accommodate gallberry, blueberry, and bracken fern, an island of sandhill surrounded by small boggy spots.
The trail continues into open, shadeless scrubby flatwoods, with gatorbacks in the trail – the root systems of saw palmettos.
Tiny bogs are in every low spot, havens for crickets and frogs, bladderworts and sundew. A cypress dome sits off to the left, with cinnamon ferns near the mushy spots in the trail.
A little elevation brings back the plants of the scrub. The uneven ground underfoot makes for a rough workout for the knees. Roserush and deer’s tongue grow trailside.
At Marker 11, the trail makes a sharp left past a stand of young sand pines. A sharp right leads you into the sand pine scrub.
This is a lush patch of sand pine scrub, with an understory of curvaceous branches of lyonia and sand live oak hosting colorful hanging gardens of lichens.
The trail reaches a noticeable high spot, which might be part of the original midden. A Southern magnolia is swaddled in resurrection fern.
Transitioning to the edge of a palm hammock, the trail now passes under some loblolly pines. “X” marks the spot in this part of the forest: look for the crossed palms.
The loop ends soon after, at 0.9 miles. On the walk back through the hammock, enjoy the tall magnolias, live oaks, and cabbage palms as they cast long shadows across the trail.
You start to hear the roar of motorboats along the river. Watch the fallen logs for interesting blobs of fungi. The trail turns right as it draws within sight of the river.
Continue down the narrow boardwalk back out to the homestead site, emerging at the edge of the recreation area. Walk back down to the river to the parking area, ending your 1.2 mile hike.
Explore More!
Slideshow
See our photos from this hike
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