Between
the deepest part of the Big Bend and Port St.
Joe (at the southern edge of Florida's
Panhandle), a collection of barrier islands
named for saints shelter the mainland from
the winds and waves of the gulf. St George
Island is a long sand bar which emerges from
the gulf to contain Apalachicola Bay.
St. Vincent Island, immediately to the west,
completes the protection of the bay. The
St. Joseph Peninsula -- not an island
because a causeway and State Route 30E
connect this sand spit to the
mainland&emdash;is just west of the point
that marks the northern edge of the Big Bend.
On these islands and on the mainland are the
most precious wildlife sanctuaries in the
state, plus several notable state parks. The
only major community in the region is the
town of Apalachicola, and it would
only be considered major by someone living in
a village of 500 people or fewer. The area is
less settled and far less frenetic than the
nearby Panama City area. It's your best
chance to see what the state parks system
calls "the Real Florida."
St.
Marks National Wildlife Refuge
When
you look at a map of Florida, you'll see the
farthest indentation of the gulf into the Big
Bend area between the Ochlockonee River and
Ochlockonee Bay, to the west, and the
Auchilla River. Most of the shoreline and the
mainland, stretching several miles into the
interior, comprise the St. Marks refuge. This
is the largest and most diverse federal
refuge in the state -- an impressive
landscape of mangrove swamps, three river
estuaries, bayous, over a hundred miles of
shoreline, shell mounds, an historic
lighthouse, and sparkling beaches. The refuge
is accessed via U.S. Highway 98, with the
main entry point and the lighthouse on County
Road 59. There are two separate units. The
Wakulla Unit (with the lighthouse and most of
the refuge lands) is to the east, while the
Panacea unit nestles against the eastern
banks of Ochlockonee Bay and the Ochlockonee
river.
There
are trails for hiking, canoe put-in points,
boat ramps, and trails for wildlife
observation. A new boat access site and
fishing pier have been built on the west side
of Lighthouse Road (CR 59) about two miles
south of the visitor center. This work was
undertaken by the St. Marks Refuge
Association, a citizens group that raises
funds and works to support the work of the
federal staff.
The
refuge is open from sunrise to sunset,
year-round. The visitor center, located at
the edge of the refuge on CR 59, is open
Monday through Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 4:15
p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. As
with some of the other refuges, hunting is
permitted during designated seasons, fall
through spring. The refuge is open for
fishing year-round, in ponds along CR 59 and
in Otter Lake (on State Route 372A in the
western Panacea Unit). Picnic facilities are
located next to Mound Trail, and on Otter
Lake, both in the St. Marks unit, off CR 59.
A boat ramp is located near the lighthouse,
with 24-hour access. Canoes and boats are
permitted in the refuge pools between March
15 and October 15, with motors up to 10 h.p.
allowed.
The
main route to view wildlife is County Road
59, and with the visitor center here, this is
your best place to begin a visit to the
refuge. An entry fee is charged. Wildlife
lists and other brochures are available for
purchase at the visitor center. While summer
hiking is extremely hot and buggy, the fall,
winter, and spring months provide pleasant
weather for exploring the wildlife-viewing
possibilities. The Plum Orchard Trail begins
behind the visitor center, taking a
1.3rd-mile route with interpretive markers
highlighting native plants and trees. The
Mounds Interpretive Trail leads for a mile
from CR 59, about five miles south of the
visitor center, to significant mounds built
by early native residents. The Headquarters
Pond Trail is found across from the Mounds
trailhead, providing access to a wooden
observation deck overlooking Headquarters
Pond. The Levee Trail, located at the end of
the road to the right of the Lighthouse,
focuses on native plants. A leaflet is
available at the trailhead.
Two
longer primitive trails run for seven and 13
miles through the St. Marks Unit, and two
trails (five and nine miles) explore the
Panacea Unit. The Florida National Scenic
Trail offers a 35-mile segment of this fine
south-to-north hiking experience, entering
the refuge at U.S. 98, passing East Stoney
and Stoney bayous, crossing a half-dozen
rivers, and exiting at U.S. Highway 319, in
the Panacea Unit.
Many
varieties of wildflowers are found within the
refuge. Those who come from outside the
southeastern states will enjoy looking at the
yellow jessamine which blooms in profusion in
spring. This not an edible flower; all parts
of it are quite toxic, although it has been
used for medicinal purposes in the past.
Crabbing is a popular activity, and the best
place for crabbing is the shore along the
Lighthouse, and in the brackish pools along
County Road 59, created by impoundment dikes.
There are alligators in the pools, so be
careful! For general information, contact the
refuge office at (904) 925-6121. Canoes may
be rented at TNT Hideaway, located six miles
west of the visitor center where U.S. Highway
98 meets the Wakulla River.
St.
Marks Lighthouse
The
saga of the lighthouse in the St. Marks
Refuge is not only a story of human survival
(by the people who lived there for more than
a century), but also the story of the Gulf
Coast during the long and tortured political
and social history of the region. Like the
San Marcos Historic Site (see below), a visit
to the lighthouse helps one to understand how
the land got to the state it did, and what
groups lived here, and fought here, in an
effort to preserve various ways of
life.
Set
on a prominent point near the deepest recess
in the Big Bend, the lighthouse tower was
built in 1829 by Winslow Lewis, a Boston
contractor. When the tower walls were found
to be hollow instead of solid blocks, Calvin
Knowlton was assigned the job of building a
new one before the soil eroded under Lewis'
structure. The new tower was completed in
1842 -- 80 feet high, sitting on a base 12
feet deep, built of limestone blocks taken
from the ruins of the old fort San Marcos de
Apalache.
The
second tower was well built, with the base
four feet thick, and tapering to 18 inches at
the top. It housed a brass lamp, later
converted to handle electricity, which could
be seen by ships from a distance of 15 miles.
The reflecting lens came from Paris, and was
considered so valuable and prone to damage,
that when the Civil War erupted in the area,
the lens was taken down, wrapped in cloth and
hidden in the salt marsh by Confederate
troops. Shells hit the tower during the same
conflict, burning the tower's woodwork, and
after being surrounded by Federal ships and
soldiers in March 1865, the lighthouse was
mined by the retreating Confederates.
Federal
troops landed on the site, and proceeded to
march to Tallahassee, but were defeated by
the citizens of Woodville in the famous
Battle of Natural Bridge. Both the tower and
adjacent light keeper's house were rebuilt in
1866.
The
first keeper was Samuel Crosby. The third was
J.P. Mungerford, who served from 1841 to
1844. This was during the great storm of
September 1843, when gigantic waves covered
the St. Marks coast, washing away every
building in the area, except for the tower.
The Mungerford family survived only by
clinging to the topmost garret floor of the
lighthouse. Fifteen others, who were at
ground level in the dwelling structure, were
drowned. The last keeper (from 1916 to 1957)
was J.Y. Gresham, whose wife was born,
raised, and married at the lighthouse -- the
daughter of the previous keepers, the Charles
Fine family. They were at the light when the
bird refuge was created, and saw electricity
replace them in 1960. The Coast Guard
maintains the light, while refuge staff
maintain the historic home.
San
Marcos de Apalache
State Historic Site
St.
Marks is a small community located off State
Route 363, at the edge of the federal
reserve, and is the location of one of the
significant remains of the early Spanish era.
300 men arrived here with explorer Panfilo de
Narvaez in 1528, after traveling overland
from Tampa. The site, at the confluence of
the St. Marks and Wakulla rivers impressed
Narvaez, who build and launched the first
ships made by Europeans in the New
World.
In
1539, Hernando de Soto followed the route
from Tampa, bringing 600 men, and in 1679,
the Spanish governor of Florida began
construction on a faux stone fort at the
river junction. Logs were covered with lime
to give the appearance of building stones. It
lasted three years and was pillaged and then
burned by pirates. A real stone fort was
built, starting in 1739. It took until 1763
to complete half of it, and then was
delivered to the English following the war
with Spain. Spain regained the site in 1787,
occupying it for another 13 years. General
Andrew Jackson took the fort for the United
States in 1818, only to be retaken by the
Spanish. In 1821, Florida was ceded to the
U.S. A marine hospital was built, utilizing
stones from the fort, in an effort to control
yellow fever which decimated the population
of the area. The final battle at San Marcos
occurred during the Civil War, when
Confederates took the fort, renaming it Fort
Ward.
There
is no other place along the Gulf Coast of
Florida that so completely echoes the
tumultuous history of the state, from the
earliest Spanish days. A trail takes visitors
through the ruins of the fortification, and a
visitor center&emdash;built on the foundation
of the old military hospital&emdash;contains
exhibits and artifacts covering the area's
history. The historic site and visitor center
are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday
through Monday, and are closed on major
holidays. You'll find a picnic area and
beaches on the river. For information on the
site, call (904) 925-6216,
St.
Vincent National Wildlife Refuge
St.
Vincent is an undeveloped, triangle-shaped,
barrier island located just offshore from the
mouth of the Apalachicola River, at the
far-western edge of the Big Bend. The island
is accessible by private boat or by a
commercial service based in the town of
Apalachicola. You may also wish to rent a
boat, canoe, or kayak to explore the island
and Apalachicola Bay. The island is a natural
geological treasure, as well as a significant
home for wildlife. The length of the island
is dissected by a series of dune ridges, on
which you'll find a series of sand roads.
These ridges were created by a long
succession of fluctuation of sea levels which
created beaches, one after the other. Between
the dunes are freshwater lakes and sloughs on
the east end, and dryer upland pine forests
on the western end. With about 57 inches of
rain a year and wider than most barrier
islands, this is a subtropical ecosystem
offering varied plant and animal
communities.
You'll
find almost every wildlife habitat common to
Florida, with tidal marshes, freshwater
lakes, live oak and mixed hardwood dominating
the dunes, other areas with scrub oaks or a
mixture of live and scrub oaks, groves of
cabbage palm,, and four separate slash pine
communities.
The
island had been used as a private hunting and
fishing preserve before The Nature
Conservancy purchased it for $2.2 million,
with U.S. Fish and Wildlife "Duck" stamps
allowing its purchase by the federal
government from the Conservancy in 1968.
During the years the island was operated as a
hunting area by the Loomis brothers, they
introduced exotic game such as zebras,
elands, black bucks, ring-necked pheasants,
and Asian jungle fowl. A population of sambar
deer was imported. Today, these large
elk-like animals coexist with the native
population of white-tailed deer, with the
sambar occupying the marshy areas and other
wetlands, and the white-tailed living higher
in the dry upland zone.
Several
threatened and endangered species live on the
island, including bald eagles, loggerhead
turtles, wood storks, and indigo snakes. In
addition, the refuge is participating in a
program to reintroduce the endangered red
wolf to the Southeastern states. The wolves
are bred here and transported to other
states, including North Carolina, and to
Great Smokey Mountains National Park.
This
is a fine place to watch waterbirds,
including osprey and wood ducks in the
spring, and oyster-catchers from June to
August. Migrating shorebirds (and songbirds)
come to St. Vincent from September to
November, with the waterfowl population
peaking between December and February. This
is also the period when white-tailed deer
mate. You may see alligators taking in the
sun during the winter days, and then they
retreat to their marshy nests in summer. The
best time to see the miracle of loggerhead
turtle reproduction is in the early summer,
when females lay eggs on the beaches.
Outlet
Channel, at the east side of the island, is
the main entry point for boats and canoes.
There are 14 miles of beaches along the south
and east shores, with 80 miles of sand roads
leading east to west along the ridge tops.
The island is four miles wide at the east
end, and seven miles long along the south
shore. There are no organized campgrounds on
the island, and primitive camping is
permitted only during hunting season (for
deer and wild hogs). Fishing is permitted on
the lakes of the refuge. Information on the
island is available at the public boat ramp,
located at Indian Pass, on State Route 30,
and on the island at the bridge upstream from
Outlet Channel. The refuge visitor center is
found in the Harbor Master Building, on
Market Street in Apalachicola, call (904)
653-8808. You'll be able to purchase a bird
list here, as well as other materials on the
refuge and its wildlife protection program.
There is a small mainland tract, covering 86
acres, along the shore of the bay on State
Route 30, ten miles west of Port St. Joe, and
just east of the public boat ramp.
Wakulla
Springs State Park
Within
this 2,860-acre park is one of the world's
largest and deepest freshwater springs. The
outer rim of the spring pool covers three
acres, with the water a constant 70 degrees,
year-round. Measurements show that the spring
produces more than 1.2 billion gallons of
water per day. A glass-bottom boat operates
when the water is clear, permitting visitors
to see to the bottom of the deep spring,
including the mouth of the cavern which lies
100 feet below the surface. A few mastodon
bones may be seen at the bottom, and many
varieties of fish live in the warm water. A
two-mile riverboat tour, on the Wakulla,
offers a chance to see alligators, turtles,
many birds, and the occasional wild turkey
and white-tailed deer.
Various
habitats provide a rich base for the wildlife
of the park. Along the river are shallow
marshes, which offer a home to nesting birds
including herons, egrets, purple gallinules,
osprey, black and turkey vultures, limpkins,
anhingas, and bald eagles, among many others.
Migrating ducks come here during the fall and
spring. Upland hardwood and longleaf pine
forests provide habitat for song birds and
mammals.
The
area now enclosed within the park became
famous when, in 1850, Sarah Smith identified
the bones of an ancient mastodon on the
bottom of the spring. Nine additional
mastodons from the ice age have been
identified since then, some of them deep
inside the spring cave. While the source of
the spring is still a mystery, divers have
explored the spring cavern to a depth of 300
feet and a distance of 4,300 feet.
While
there is no camping facility in the park, you
will find picnic tables with grills. Nature
trails are located along the park drive. A
six-mile hiking trail uses the park service
roads. Swimming is permitted in a designated
area near the spring, and an observation
platform with a diving platform provides a
fine view of the spring.
Florida
State University operates the Wakulla Springs
Lodge and Conference Center. The lodge offers
overnight accommodations and features a large
dining room. Built in 1937 by financier
Edward Ball, the lodge has 27 spacious guest
rooms, available to the general public as
well as to conference participants. Since the
park is only 14 miles south of Tallahassee
(via State Route 267, at SR 61) and close to
the Apalachicola National Forest and the
national wildlife refuges, this is a great
place to stay while exploring the natural
wonders of the Big Bend region. For dining
and lodging reservations, call (904)
224-5950.
Tallahassee-St.
Marks
Historic Railroad State Trail
The
original state trail was built on the
abandoned 20-mile rail bed of the old
Tallahassee/St. Marks Railroad. The rails
joined Tallahassee to the Gulf Coast from
1837, mainly to transport the cotton crop of
the region. The railway was first used
mule-power, with the animals hauling freight
and open passenger cars along very rickety
rails, described by an early traveler as "the
worst that has yet been built in the entire
world." The rail line was improved, and steam
engines were first used in the 1850s. Now, 16
miles along the old rail line are used as a
recreational trail, for such activities as
cycling, hiking, horseback riding, and
skating. A paved section is used by cyclists
and skaters, with an adjacent trail for
horses and riders. The southern two miles has
been integrated with the Florida Scenic
Trail, leading across the St. Marks River to
the historic community of Ponce de
Leon.
The
entrance to the trail is located just south
of Tallahassee, at a paved parking lot on
State Route 363. This is the road that runs
south from the state capital to St.
Marks.
St.
George Island State Park
The
beach on St. George Island often pops up on
"World's Best Beaches" lists, and it's no
wonder. Nine miles of undeveloped beaches and
dunes are surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico
and Apalachicola Bay. The park is set on
1,962 acres, at the end of the long, narrow
barrier island. Here, and along the remainder
of the island, are salt marshes, pine and
live oak woodlands, and sandy coves and
beaches. The pines were used for the
manufacture of turpentine during the early
1900s, and the island was later used by the
military for training exercises. The causeway
was built in 1960s, leading to an influx of
visitors and the construction of park
facilities.
Small
freshwater ponds and sloughs harbor marine
life, and provide nesting places for birds,
but the island is arid and animal life is not
as rich as that in the nearby St. Marks and
St. Vincent refuges. But you will see many
birds, particularly shore birds including
willets, least terns, snowy plovers hunkering
down along the dunes and beaches, and many
others. Migrating birds stop here on the
north and south journeys. Park rangers say
that the best time to view birds on the
island is just after a cold front passes
through the area.
You'll
find a campground in the pine forest, on the
bay side, and primitive campsites are located
at Gap Point, at the end of a 2.5-mile trail.
The trail begins in the developed campground
and leads through the pine flatwood forest.
Surf and bay fishing are popular activities,
with a good choice of flounder, sea trout,
whiting, and sometimes Spanish mackerel. Boat
ramps are found at the Youth Camp area in the
park, and on East Slough.
The
park is located ten miles southeast of the
town of Eastpoint, off U.S. Highway 98. For
information, call the park office at (904)
927-2111.
Ochlochonee
River State Park
Located
near the picturesque-sounding village of
Sopchoppy, this park on a short river offers
camping, plus swimming and picnicking, close
to the national wildlife refuges. It's
located on U.S. Highway 319, four miles south
of Sopchoppy. The drive to St. Marks Refuge
takes about ten minutes.
The
park is found in a pine flatwood region, with
small grassy ponds and oak groves. This is a
perfect home for deer, fox squirrels,
bobcats, foxes, and many species of water and
song birds. The red-cockaded woodpecker is
frequently seen and often heard. A canoe will
take you on the river, where the fishing is
excellent. Redfish and speckled trout are
caught in the more brackish waters, with
largemouth bass, bream, catfish, and speckled
perch in the river.
St.
Joseph Peninsula State Park
Located
just south of Port St. Joe, this park has the
same kind of fine, white sand beaches found
on St. George Island. In addition to the
beaches and high dunes, you'll find a thick
forest in the interior of this long barrier
spit. The peninsula was a home to native
peoples before the Spanish period, and was an
army training facility during World War
II.
More
than 200 varieties of birds have been
identified in the park, with shore birds
found along the outer beach and bayshore, and
songbirds and raptors in the pine forest. The
park is home to the endangered peregrine
falcon. Look in shallow St. Joseph Bay for
marine creatures, including octopi, crabs
including horseshoe, hermit, and fiddler,
plus scallops.
A
full-facility campground offers sites for
tents, trailers and RVs. Canoeing is a
popular pastime, as is boating. A boat ramp,
boat basin, store, and canoe rentals are
available. Guided walks and campfire programs
are offered during the busier winter season.
For information, call the park office at
(904) 227-1327.
John
Gorrie State Museum - Apalachicola
The
settlement of the Big Bend region began in
the early 1800s, and Apalachicola became an
important cotton farming community. A customs
house was opened in 1821, and a young
physician named John Gorrie arrived in 1833.
Gorrie served not only as the town doctor,
but played a strong local role as postmaster,
mayor, city treasurer, and bank director. He
was there during the devastating outbreak of
yellow fever, and out of concern for his
patients developed an ice-production method
for cooling their hospital rooms. This
breakthrough led to the invention of modern
air-conditioning and refrigeration. The
town's economy is now based on the production
of oysters, and the harvesting of gulf
shrimp, fish, and crabs.
Gorrie's
life and times are reflected in the exhibits
in this fascinating state museum, located on
Sixth Street, one block from U.S. Highway
319/98. On display is a replica of Gorrie's
ice-machine, built from the charts of his
1851 patent. The museum's visitor center is
open daily, except Tuesdays and Wednesdays,
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and is closed on major
holidays. For information, call the museum at
(904) 653-9347.
