While the hiking loop at Ravine Gardens State Park is just 2.2 miles long, it’s a challenging and fun hike that clings to ravine slopes.
It also dips down to the springs at its bottom and through tunnels of azaleas. The suspension bridges are a big draw, too. They bounce!
Built in 1934 by CCC workers with 250,000 ornamental plants and 95,000 azaleas, Ravine Gardens was named the “Nation’s Outstanding Citizen Works Administration Project” when it opened. In 1970, it became a state park.
A hike around the steephead ravine leads you along precipitous ravine slope trails that let you do a two-mile circuit with great views.
For those less inclined to heights, you can walk down to the bottom of the ravine and follow gentle, broad pathways that follow the flow of a run formed from an artesian sulfur spring.
Either way, Ravine Gardens is a great half-day destination, especially during peak blooming of the azaleas in late February or early March.
Resources
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: Palatka
Length: 2.1 miles with shorter options available
Trailhead: 29.635600, -81.646211
Address: 1600 Twigg St, Palatka
Fees: $4-5 per vehicle
Land Manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 386-329-3721
Open 8 AM until sunset daily. Leashed pets welcome.
Park near the community center (restrooms are inside) and stroll the terraces of formal gardens to enter the park, past the splash of water in the fountain.
A series of staircases takes you down the garden terraces to the start of the trails inside the ravine.
Directions
Ravine Gardens State Park sits in the middle of Palatka. All major roads have signs directing you to the park. From the intersection of SR 19 and SR 100, drive 1.4 miles east to Mosley Ave. Turn right. Watch for the signs. Turn left on Silver Lake Rd. From SR 19, you can also take SR 20 east for 1.7 miles to Mosley Ave. Turn right and follow it 0.5 mile to the traffic light at Silver Lake Rd. Turn left. The park entrance is 0.1 mile down Silver Lake Rd on the right.
Hike
WEST END
Descend a curving set of stairs past a planting of sago palms and between two pillars. Turn right, walking down one more staircase to the trailhead for the Springs Trail.
Just for fun, cross the swinging bridge to start your hike counterclockwise. Turn right after you cross the bridge.
The trail clings to the hillside and passes staircases leading up – to the road circling the ravine – and down.
As you walk through the azaleas, the trail drops down broad steps that take it halfway down the side of the ravine.
There are many paths you can take along the way, but keep focused on the Springs Trail.
It descends a staircase past sword ferns and azaleas to a set of piped artesian wells, bubbling to create a clear flowing stream pouring downhill under the young bald cypresses.
The trail climbs back up the ravine slope from here and clings like a goat path as you get a great view of the wetlands around Bamboo Springs. It continues below the road and above the wetlands.
Climbing up under live oaks and southern magnolia, you’re behind and below the visitor’s center. Head up to the suspension bridge where you started, and cross it again to begin your journey down the east end of the ravine.
EAST END
This is the part of the park we love the most, since there are wild and untamed niches of natural steephead amid the profusion of blooms. Stick to the main footpath as it tempts you up or down at several intersections.
You pass through tall azalea bushes and round a bend in the ravine to the landing of a second swinging bridge. Continue straight to follow the Azalea Trail.
It’s a rugged footpath clambering up and down the ravine slope. When you get to the far end of the ravine, it drops down through a riot of ferns.
There are netted chain ferns, sword ferns, cinnamon ferns, and the giant southern woods ferns that thrive in the dampness of a seepage slope. Each fern’s fronds are large enough to be a fern itself.
Climbing back up the slope, the trail gets more severely pitched downhill. Watch your footing! Banana trees and coconut palms peep out of the more common undergrowth below.
Cross the suspension bridge to enjoy the view of the pond below, and walk down the stairs at the other end to take in the cypresses and ponds. From this picnic spot, you have several choices to return to the parking area.
You can walk up the road, you can walk up the wide limestone path on the bottom of the ravine, or you can seek out more sinuous trails.
They start at the far end of the pond and rise to follow the contour of the ravine back to the formal gardens.
Explore More
Learn more about Ravine Gardens
Ravine Gardens State Park With swinging bridges over a deep ravine painted in bright colors by azaleas each February, Ravine Gardens State Park offers hiking and biking loops in PalatkaVideo
A hike through Ravine Gardens in late winter
Slideshow
See our photos from this park
Nearby Adventures
Palatka Water Works On the grounds of the Water Works Environmental Education Center, explore the historic Palatka Water Works and a short interpretive trail dedicated to William Bartram's travels as Puc Puggy, the Flower Hunter.
Palatka Riverfront Park Re-imagined to showcase the beauty of the St. Johns River, Palatka Riverfront Park offers a quarter-mile riverfront walk with panoramic views. 
St. Johns River Center A destination for environmental education with a dash of regional history, the St. Johns River Center in downtown Palatka tells the story of Florida's longest and most storied river.
Palatka to St. Augustine Trail Connecting two of North Florida's most historic cities, the Palatka to St. Augustine Trail follows the route of Henry Flagler's East Coast Railway through rural farming communities.
- Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park - November 3, 2026
- A.J. Henry Park - November 1, 2026
- Okeeheelee Nature Center Trails - October 22, 2026