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White top pitcher plants

Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park

Conserving a vast swath of wetland habitats in low-lying areas along the Perdido River floodplain, Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park is home to four species of Sarracenia – pitcher plants – unique to the Gulf Coast.

Pensacola      ( 30.37294,-87.402347 )      

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Conserving a vast swath of wetland habitats in low-lying areas along the Perdido River floodplain, Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park is home to four species of Sarracenia – pitcher plants – unique to the Gulf Coast.

Pitcher plant bog at Tarkiln Bayou
Pitcher plant bog at Tarkiln Bayou

Resources

Resources for exploring the area

North Florida Panhandle Explorers Guide book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover Complete Guide to Florida Wildflowers

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.


Overview

Location: Pensacola
Trailhead: 30.37294,-87.402347
Address: 2401 Bauer Rd, Pensacola
Fees: $3 per vehicle
Restroom: At the trailhead
Land Manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 850-492-1595

Open 8 AM until sunset daily.

Leashed pets welcome, but for the sake of other visitors please don’t take them on the boardwalk.


Directions

 
From downtown Pensacola, follow US 90 west to the last turnoff before the bridge into Alabama, Bauer Rd. Drive south and watch for the trailhead on the right.

About the Park

From the small parking area, a paved barrier-free trail winds through dense pine flatwoods. A delicate lacy trumpet beckons just beyond the boardwalk’s edge.

The network of thin veins of white help you in identifying a white-topped pitcher plant, Sarracenia leucophylla.

Unique to the Gulf Coast, this tall carnivorous plant is one of four rare pitcher plant species that thrive in these swampy prairies between the pines near the Alabama border.

Starting in 1998, The Nature Conservancy assisted the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with the purchase of this critical wetland along Tarkiln Bayou, known as the Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie.

Adjoining wetlands had already been bulldozed for housing. Acquisitions since now protect over 4,000 acres along the Perdido River floodplain.

The park is a passive preserve for botanical study, with a 7-mile loop of forest roads through the prairie and a wheelchair-accessible path.

It leads to the Emma Claire Boardwalk of Hope, which crosses a spectacular pitcher plant bog on its way to an overlook over the bayou. Another nature trail loop explores pine flatwoods on the east side of Bauer Rd.

Camping is available fifteen minutes away at nearby Big Lagoon State Park.


Trail Map

Tarkiln Bayou trail map


Explore More!

Learn more about the trails at Tarkiln Bayou State Park.

Tarkiln Bayou

Tarkiln Bayou Trail

Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park offers several trails – including an accessible boardwalk – leading to pitcher plant bogs along a bayou on the Alabama border, west of Pensacola.


Slideshow

See our photos of Tarkiln Bayou State Park.


Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Big Lagoon boardwalk

Big Lagoon State Park

At Big Lagoon State Park, enjoy exploring the sweep of coastal forest and wetlands along one of Florida’s largest lagoons

Perdido Key Discovery Trail

Perdido Key Discovery Trail

Showcasing the habitat diversity of Perdido Key at Johnson Beach, the accessible Perdido Key Discovery Trail is a gentle boardwalk over wetlands, forests, and dunes

Perdido Key dunes

Perdido Key State Park

With sand as white as fresh fallen snow, Perdido Key State Park offers Florida’s westernmost public beach

Sunrise at Gulf State Park

Gulf State Park

Stretching west from the tip of Perdido Key, Gulf State Park encompasses more than 6,000 acres of natural habitats on barrier islands between Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Trail Map (PDF) Official Website

Category: Florida State Parks, Northwest Florida, Parks, PlacesTag: Accessible, Birding, Boardwalks, Botanical, Favorites, Fishing, Florida State Parks, Observation Decks, Pensacola, Perdido Key, Picnic, Pitcher Plants, Wildflowers, Wildlife Viewing

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