Along US 90 in Marianna, a highway pulloff provides a quiet place to duck into the woods and sit a spell along the shores of a crystalline waterway, Spring Creek.
The creek begins at Jackson Blue Spring, a swimming area at the north end of Merritts Mill Pond, and flows into a reservoir on the opposite side of US 90.
Resources
Overview
Location: Marianna
Length: 0.2 mile round trip
Trailhead: 30.752359, -85.192961
Type: Round-trip
Fees: None
The boardwalk is steep in a few spots.
Directions
The pulloff and parking area is along US 90 heading east from downtown Marianna, immediately after you cross the bridge over the creek.
Details
At the end of this short but pleasant boardwalk through the floodplain forest, you can see the water (and fish) rush down the spillway and into the forest, turning from churning froth to glassy stream.
Step off the boardwalk and do a little exploring along the cypress-lined shoreline to see Louisiana herons and snowy egrets in the shallows.
This is the tubing and kayak put-in for a four-mile trip that drops you into the Chipola River and down to Bear Paw Adventures take-out near Interstate 10.
They rent you tubes and provide a shuttle during their season. The boardwalk landing and creek shoreline is also popular with anglers, and the shallow waterway’s coves are ideal for fly-fishing.
Tubing Rentals