Dedicated in honor of a local soldier who lost his life in 2009, Msgt John E. Hayes Memorial Park is hidden beyond the Middleburg Historic District.
A 36-year-old Marine supporting a reconnaissance mission while stationed in Afghanistan, he was on his fifth deployment when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.
Memorial for Sgt. HayesEncompassing frontage along Black Creek, the park has a playground and fishing pier as well as a sometimes-busy boat ramp.
Descend the bluff from either of two entrances to find a boardwalk loop with overlooks and observation decks among the big trees of the floodplain.
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Overview
Location: Middleburg
Length: 0.5 mile loop
Trailhead: 30.072802, -81.853917
Address: 3788 Main St, Middleburg
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the trailhead
Land manager: Clay County
Phone: 904-284-6378
Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome. Pick up after your pet.
Directions
Following SR 21 (Blanding Blvd) south from Interstate 295 in Orange Park, drive 12 miles to Middleburg. Turn left on Palmetto St. Drive 0.4 mile to Main St and make a left. Continue a half mile to the park. Turn in at the large parking area on the left adjoining the restrooms and playground. For an accessible approach to the boardwalk, use the parking area by the boat ramp.
Hike
From the main parking area, follow the sidewalk behind the playground. Descend a series of staircases curving into the start of the boardwalk.
Entering the floodplain forest, the straightaway meets a four-way junction. Turn right.
Descent to the boardwalkTowering bald cypresses make up the high canopy, with slender dahoon holly and sweetbay also reaching for the sky.
Hovering above the floodplain of the North Fork of Black Creek, the boardwalk spans pools of dark water.
Royal fern, grapevines, and sweetgum saplings are among the crazy quilt of textures below.
Boardwalk at the base of the bluffAt a tenth of a mile, meet a second four-way junction. Turn right. Floodplain trees rise from a sheet of dark water as the boardwalk nears the creek.
Ascending through gentle curves to higher ground with pines and oaks, the boardwalk ends at a grassy terrace.
Grassy terrace near memorialFollow the sidewalk to the left past the picnic pavilion to the boat ramp. The memorial for Msgt. Hayes rests at the base of the flagpole slightly uphill.
Walk down to the observation deck and pier that adjoins it to take in a sweeping view of a curve in the North Fork of Black Creek.
WaterfrontRising within steephead ravines protected by Jennings State Forest, this winding waterway merges with the South Fork not far downstream.
Although it’s not obvious when driving through town, Middleburg straddles a peninsula created by that confluence, with Black Creek Ravines just downstream.
Black Creek upstreamWalk back up the ramp to the sidewalk. Descend the boardwalk, meeting the four-way junction at a quarter mile, and turn right.
This segment jogs above the dark water of the floodplain to the second observation deck visible from the first one.
Black Creek downstreamIt sits above a lily-dotted cove out of the main flow of the creek. While open to fishing like the other deck, it’s the better perch for birding.
Return to the junction and turn right. On mounded ground at the base of a tall pine, cinnamon ferns dominate the corner where the boardwalks diverge.
Cinnamon fernsBeneath the arc of boardwalk, clear waters shimmer as they flow from indiscernable seepage springs.
Cabbage palms break the linear lines of floodplain trees packed densely enough the creek isn’t visible through the forest.
Spring-fed streamFrom a final straightaway, the grassy bluff and its incoming staircase is visible up ahead. But there’s one more side trip at the four-way junction. Turn right.
This segment ends at a platform with benches beneath a magnificant stand of enormous bald cypress.
Boardwalk to the cypress platformMarvel at their height and width before returning to the initial junction.
Turn right to climb the stairs. Walk past the playground to the trailhead, completing this half mile walk.
Old interpretive marker at the base of a cypressTrail Map
Explore More!
Slideshow
See our photos from Msgt John E Hayes Memorial Park
Nearby Adventures
Black Creek Ravines Conservation Area Perched on high ground above Black Creek downstream from Middleburg, this 6.5 mile hike showcases upland forests, seepage slopes, bluffs and the transitional habitats between them.
Ronnie Van Zandt Memorial Park Gimme three steps and a whole lot more on a circuit of a park established to honor the lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd, northwest of Green Cove Springs where he grew up.
Camp Chowenwaw Trails Explore Camp Chowenwaw Park on a network of trails into an old-growth hardwood hammock and floodplain swamps near where Black Creek empties into the St. Johns River.
Jennings Pioneer Trail With elevation changes, streams, and cascades, the Pioneer Trail is as close as you can get to the Appalachian Trail experience without leaving the Florida peninsula.
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