A significant site for interpretation of the Seminole Wars, Paynes Creek Historic State Park is crisscrossed by a network of four miles of trails.
Of these, the easy-to-ramble Peace River Trail starts right outside the picnic area. A loop hike, it follows the creek downstream to the river on a counterclockwise hike.
Where Paynes Creek meets the Peace RiverReturning on bluffs along a series of oxbow lakes, it provides places to pause and take in the wildlife below.
Despite the easy access to the waterways in many places, this is not a park to go swimming. There’s a reason for the many alligator warning signs.
Mama and babies in an oxbow pondResources
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Overview
Length: 1 mile loop
Trailhead: 27.619128,-81.807741
Address: 888 Lake Branch Rd, Bowling Green
Fees: $3 per vehicle
Restroom: At the visitor center and picnic area
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 863-375-4717
Open 8 AM to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome.
Directions
Follow US 17 south from Barstow to Bowling Green. In Bowling Green, turn left onto Main St and follow it east a quarter mile to Lake Branch Rd. Turn right and drive 1.1 miles. The park entrance is on the right. Follow the entrance road to its end at the picnic area.
Hike
Follow the path out of the the picnic area to Paynes Creek, reaching a broad open grassy area above the creek at a junction of trails.
The Historic Trail is to the right. Turn left to follow the Peace River Trail along a wide forest road paralleling the creek in partial shade.
Start of the Peace River TrailThe first overlook on the creek is just beyond a bench. As the trail goes slightly uphill, it reaches a T junction, the start of the loop. Turn right.
Burbling tannic waters slip by in the creek’s deeply eroded channel, exposed now and again in glimpses through the trailside vegetation and trees.
View of the creekAn overlook at a quarter mile has a bench above the creek. Ibis pick though the shallows.
While it doesn’t seem deep enough, this sand-bottomed creek is frequented by alligators.
Benches above Paynes CreekA bench sits above the confluence of Paynes Creek and the Peace River, which rises from the Green Swamp and flows south towards Charlotte Harbor.
It’s a floodplain river, prone to sudden rises and falls. The scour marks along the banks and the sand along its shores tell the story.
The confluenceRemaining a broad forest road, the trail turns away from the confluence and parallels the river upstream.
Glimpses of the sparkling water and the willow-topped sandbars within it are possible until the trail turns away from it at 0.6 mile.
Glimpse of the Peace River from the bluffsTwo benches overlook part of a series of oxbow ponds that once had massive cypress trees growing along them.
This fact is revealed by the sheer girth of the cypress stumps rising out of the pond, hosting their own small ecosystems.
Cypress stumpsPassing a series of interpretive panels about wildlife, reach an overlook built above a cypress swamp.
It was here, right behind the interpretive sign for the American alligator, that a mama gator and her babies were sunning in the marsh.
It’s rare to see an animal behind its interpretive panelIt made us thankful the overlook is on the bluff well above the pond, and allowed for some excellent photos.
Beyond the overlook, reach a T intersection where a sign says “Nature Trail.” Turn left.
Final stretch of trailA few moments later, the loop portion of the trail ends. Turn right to exit, paralleling Paynes Creek back to the clearing.
Here, a series of steps leads down to the creek itself. Either continue your hike by taking the Historic Trail, or turn right and follow the paved path back to the picnic area trailhead.
Stairs to Paynes CreekTrail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Paynes Creek Historic State Park
Paynes Creek Historic State Park Straddling the former treaty boundary of Seminole lands, this interpretive site along the Peace River features a network of trails tied together by a swinging footbridge. Slideshow
See our photos of the Peace River Trail
Nearby Adventures
More worth exploring while you’re in this area.
Mosaic Peace River Park At the site of a former phosphate mine, a boardwalk slips through the cypress swamps of the Peace River floodplain at Mosaic Peace River Park near Fort Meade.
Fort Fraser Trail Paralleling US 98 between Bartow and Lakeland, the Fort Fraser Trail is along an urban greenway with connectivity to Circle B Bar Reserve
Alafia River State Park Alafia River State Park lets you launch on a Florida downhill while mountain biking the rugged terrain of a reforested open pit mine. 
Solomon’s Castle A glimmering monument to recycling and ingenuity, Solomon's Castle is a quirky work of art. A nature trail leads along the forested edge of Horse Creek.