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Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

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Beecher Spring Run Welaka

Welaka

Along the St. Johns River, Welaka is home to some of Florida’s most significant archaeological sites

40 Acre Park

40 Acre Park wetlands

Welaka      ( 29.4730, -81.6644 )      0.5 miles

A 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

Beecher Run Nature Trail

Welaka National Fish Hatchery  |  Welaka
( 29.4419, -81.6498 )      0.5 miles

A 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

St Johns River

Welaka State Forest  |  Welaka
( 29.4688, -81.6603 )      4.3 miles

Named 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

Mount Royal historic marker

Welaka      ( 29.433345, -81.654323 )      0.1 miles

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

Spring basin in Florida woods

Welaka State Forest  |  Welaka
( 29.4688, -81.6603 )      1.7 miles

At 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

Bartram Adventure Tour

April 19, 2019    Sandra Friend

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

Bartram Trail Welaka

April 8, 2019    John Keatley

Learning 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

Well-groomed trail corridor in pine forest

Welaka      ( 29.4688, -81.6590 )      27 miles

Protecting more than four miles of deeply forested waterfront on the St. Johns River, Welaka State Forest provides a glimpse at a Florida that botanists John and William Bartram saw on their 1700s expeditions.

William Bartram St. Johns River Loop

Palm hammock trail

Welaka State Forest  |  Welaka
( 29.4688, -81.6603 )      5 miles

Discover 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.

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