Burrowing into a densely vegetated coastal hammock on the marsh side of the peninsula at Fort Clinch State Park, this hike encompass a pair of nature trail loops.
The Willow and Magnolia Loops circle murky depression ponds thought to have been used for indigo dye processing.
The depression pondsNow murky swamps, they were expanded in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps excavating limestone for road building.
A perimeter hike of nearly a mile is possible, but a shorter central loop shows off the elevation changes and the swamp at its finest.
On the perimeter Magnolia TrailResources
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Overview
Location: Fernandina Beach
Length: 0.5 mile
Trailhead: 30.698446, -81.444270
Address: 2601 Atlantic Ave, Fernandina Beach
Fees: $4-6 per vehicle
Restrooms: Nearest at visitor center
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 904-277-7274
Open 8 AM to sunset. No bicycles. Insect repellent and a hiking stick recommended. Do not hike through water covering any footpath.
Although permitted, neither leashed dogs nor small children should accompany you on this hike due to the close proximity of alligators.
Directions
Exit Interstate 95 at SR 200 for Fernandina Beach. Drive east, A1A joining in at Yulee. After 10 miles, A1A curves north and merges onto South 8th St. Continue north on South 8th St for 3 miles to Atlantic Ave and turn right. Head east on Atlantic Ave for 1.5 miles. Enter the park on the left. Past the entrance station, continue 2.3 miles along the main park road to the well-marked unpaved trailhead on the left.
Hike
Four entrances to footpaths radiate from this trailhead. Take the one adjacent to the large Willow Pond Nature Trail sign.
Enter the dappled shade of the bluff forest on the Magnolia Trail. The well-worn path cuts across the slope of a hill.
Start of the Magnolia TrailAfter a small rise, a ribbon of swamp is visible through the dense vegetation downhill. Tackle a steep slope and clamber uphill under tall magnolias.
Descend to a bench before the next steep climb, reaching a junction with the Willow Trail at a decision point.
Bench before the junctionThe outer loop of the Magnolia Trail clings to hillsides, but the inner Willow Trail plunges directly to swamp level.
Turning onto the Willow Trail, start a relentless descent on a narrow sand track from the bluff forest into a hydric hammock. Marsh ferns sprout from soggy earth.
Descent to swamp levelLeveling out, turn a sharp corner past a fallen oak with strangely twisted limbs and enter the swamp.
Sunlight illuminates coffee-colored waters mere steps off the footpath, largely hidden by palm fronds.
Twisted oakCradling a swamp in the low point between ancient dune swales, these man-made borrow pits are old quarries, long and linear, flanking the trail on both sides.
The earth between is moist and sometimes mucky, covered in fallen fronds between the cabbage palms. Keep alert for the movement of snakes and alligators in this habitat.
Palm hammockA small rise offers a nice view across the near pond and its reflective waters. Clusters of water spangles, a tiny aquatic fern, dapple the shadier spots.
Rounding a bend, reach the back side of a sign at a trail junction. It says “High Water Bypass” the way you came. The Willow Trail extends in both directions at this T.
Trail junctionThe left is a shortcut towards the exit. Turn right. The path broadens, sunlight streaming through Spanish moss in the canopy of oaks and palms.
Reach another junction, this time with the outer Magnolia Trail. Taking it to the right will loop along the far end of the trail system.
A bridge crosses over the swamp before a climb to the bluff forest circling back to the junction you descended from earlier.
Vivid green waters near junctionMake a left to continue on the Willow Trail, which remains close to swamp level, a puzzle of logs and sticks and fallen fronds separating footpath from the water at first.
Becoming a narrow causeway crowded with trees, the pathway edges close to open waters of the swamp on the left, the pit on the right filled with dense grassy marsh.
Narrow causewayThe causeway is low to both swamps. Keep alert for alligators: worn grooves in both directions are alligator slides, where they cross and sometimes sun on the trail.
It’s dangerous to get within twenty feet of an alligator, so if one is on this causeway in front of you, retreat to an alternate exit via the Magnolia Trail.
Along a palm-shaded corridor flanked by swamps, the green tint caused by the water spangles on the surface case an eerie glow.
Last trail junctionReach the final trail junction at a bench; this is where the shortcut comes out to enable a loop of just the Willow Trail from its trailhead entrance.
The causeway broadens slightly, with an imbalance of swamp: more of it on the left than the right.
Clinging to the footpath’s damp earth via a network of roots, an oak arches out over the swamp on the right.
Arching oakVirginia willow and wax myrtle edge the greenish expanse on the left. Narrowing , the pathway becomes a deep groove in the causeway.
A tunnel of palm fronds parts as the Willow Trail reaches the end of the borrow pits.
Groove in the footpathTo the right, a spur trail leads to a bench overlooking a large swampy pond. The Willow Trail turns left, crowded by palms.
It ascends into the coastal hammock, popping out at the parking area after a half mile hike.
Spur with a benchTrail Map
Trail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Fort Clinch State Park
Fort Clinch State Park With 1,100 acres of pristine beaches, towering dunes, maritime forest, and estuarine tidal marshes, Fort Clinch State Park is one of Florida’s paramount recreational areas. Video
Hiking the Willow Pond Trails at Fort Clinch
Slideshow
See our photos from the Willow Pond Trails
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