40 Acre Park
Welaka 0.5 milesA community park in Welaka, 40 Acre Park is a great stop for birding, with little-used trails that ramble around a series of wetlands once used in the fish hatchery.
Beecher Run Nature Trail
Welaka 0.5 milesA stop along the Bartram Trail, the Beecher Run Nature Trail at Welaka National Fish Hatchery provides a walk beneath ancient pines along the edge of the hatchery ponds, which are fed by historic Beecher Spring.
John’s Landing Trail
Welaka 4.3 milesNamed for Philadelphia resident and royal botanist to King George III, John Bartram, the John's Landing Trail leads to his landing site documented in 1765.
Mount Royal
One of Florida's largest mounds, Mount Royal was first documented by William Bartram in 1765, when it was an important central feature of a large village along the St. Johns River.
Mud Spring Trail
Welaka 1.7 milesAt Mud Spring, mud isn't what you'll see in the gently rounded basin that cradles an underwater garden, but a glassy natural pool.
On a Bartram Adventure Tour
On a guided Bartram Adventure Tour, we hiked, biked, and paddled to follow the travels of William and John Bartram along the St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida
Paddling the Bartram Trail in Welaka
milesLearning how botanists William and John Bartram traveled along the St. Johns River in the 1700s, I followed an experienced river guide for a look at part of the Bartram National Recreation Trail from the water on our Bartram Adventure Tour in Palatka.
Welaka State Forest
Welaka 27 milesProtecting over four miles of forested waterfront on the St. Johns, Welaka State Forest offers a glimpse of what botanists John and William Bartram saw in the 1700s.
William Bartram St. Johns River Loop
Welaka 5.0 milesDiscover the beauty of Welaka State Forest on a 5 mile footpath that winds along ecotones and hugs the bluffs of the St. Johns River to showcase natural wonders that botanist William Bartram documented in 1774.