Our Trails
ftastaff April 24th, 2007
Volunteers from the Panhandle Chapter of the Florida Trail Association are the caretakers of the Florida Trail in the Central Panhandle counties of Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Bay, Washington, and Holmes. In this region, the Florida Trail is still a work in progress as we continue to work with private and public landowners to create a protected corridor between existing segments of the trail. Our completed sections of trail are connected by orange blazes down back roads and state highways. These completed sections include:
The Blountstown Greenway. Now open for foot and bicycle traffic, this paved segment of trail routes hikers off of SR 20 and into the community of Blountstown. The ends of the 5-mile greenway are at the Apalachicola River and at Sam Atkins Park, home of the Panhandle Pioneer Settlement. Heading west across the Apalachicola River Bridge on SR 20, our trail leaves the road and heads down the Greenway through downtown Blountstown to Sam Atkins Park before returning to a roadwalk along SR 71 west.
Econfina Creek WMA. Considered by some to be the prettiest section of the Florida Trail, the trail segment between Scott Road and SR 20 crosses the creek several times on various interesting and high bridges. The terrain is rugged and in spring the ravines are filled with the color and fragrance of mountain laurel. The trail passes a beautiful waterfall and several springs that feed into the creek, as well as an open prairie and pine plantation along the 18-mile route, perfect for a weekend outing.
Pine Log State Forest. Florida’s oldest state forest includes a segment of the Florida Trail through lush hardwood forest and pine plantation, across rolling sandhills and around cypress-lined lakes. The trail can be accessed most easily from the Sand Pond trailhead / campground area south of Ebro.
i am trying to get directions to the trail at scotts rd. i have lived here my whole life and never saw the waterfall. if you could please help me with some directions i would greatly appreciate it.
Erica, thanks for asking. I’m sure that most local people are unaware of the waterfall or even that the Florida Trail passes so close to their home. I lived here for over thirty years before I heard of the Florida Trail. To get to the waterfall, travel north on US 231 from Fountain. Scotts Rd is on the left about 100 yards north of the intersection with County Road 167. Travel west on Scotts Rd for approximately three miles, following the orange blazes marked on telephone poles. The trailhead parking area is on the left, down a narrow one-lane road which has a Florida Trail sign at it’s entrance. The waterfall is reached by a two mile hike on the trail, which is well marked with orange blazes. Econfina Creek is at a very low level at this time due to the extended dry summer we’ve had, so the waterfall is not likely to be at it’s best, but the walk itself and the views of the creek along the way still make it a worthwhile endeavor. I hope you have an enjoyable hike.
I have kayakd the econfina from the scotts bridge entrance all the way down and out acroos deer point lake but I’ve never hiked the trail. I am planning on it this time I am home. I was hoping to take my faithfull hound along with me and I was wondering if you would advise aginst that for some reason unseen to me? Also does the trail end at 20 or continue on to 388?
There is no prohibition against taking pets along on the trail. The only thing I can think to caution you about is to be sure to have control of your pet to prevent it becoming lost, being a nuisance to other hikers, or being injured during hunting season. Also, you will want to throughly check your pet for ticks after having them in the woods. Unfortunately, at this time, the trail does not extend into the woods south of SR 20, but turns west along SR 20 as a road walk. The trail through the Econfina area from Scott Rd to SR 20 is approximately 18 miles long. The Walsingham Bridge road crossing is close to midway if you are looking for a shorter hike.
Thanks for your nice website….good coverage!…I am slightly familiar with the trails, but can you tell me how long is the walk from the Pine Log Campground to Hwy 20?
Thanks
Ginger
Ginger, I don’t know the exact distance from the Pine Log campground to Hwy 20, but the entire distance from the FT intersection with Hwy 79 just above Pine Log Creek to the intersection with Hwy 20 is a distance of 2.6 miles. The campground appears to be a little less than a mile from Hwy 79, so the distance from the campground to Hwy 20 would appear to be just under 2 miles.
We found another waterfall about 2 weeks ago… its bout 2 hrs north of walshigham. we found it again 2day and i would say its about 5 feet high and doesnt sound or look like the one everyone else is talking bout or look like the one in the pics…. today me and my 3 dogs got attacked by wasp on the trail…
from walshingham i would say we crossed 5 little bridges to get to the waterfall we found today…. its probably 20 mins from the bluffs, maybe 30…. and also the water is way colder there
Thanks for writing Paul. I will try to locate the falls you saw the next time I am on the trail.
There are numerous small streams which feed into Econfina Creek and many of them are at a slightly higher elevation than the creek. I am wondering if the one you noticed is possibly falling for a larger distance and is more noticeable now due to the extremely low level of the creek due to the drought we have experienced this summer.
This is the first time I have been able to walk along the bottom of the creek without getting my shoes (or my head) wet!
I hope neither you nor your dogs had serious reactions from the stings from the wasps. Thanks for mentioning it. A good reminder of one of the hazards of enjoying nature!
Well where the falls we found was we kinda cleared a little area by hand, so that everyone that goes through there can see it…You can def. hear it as you walk by it… Good thinking on the creek being lower, I didnt even think bout that.. But the creek would have to be down at least 5 feet in that spot.. BTW, none of us were bothered by the wasps(hornets is what they looked like). Hopefully this weekend We will be out there again…
Do alot of people hunt along the trial? I make sure to wear orange, dogs too. but we heard quite a few close shots this past weekend.
Hunters do use the trail and I have seen hunters sitting as close as 15 feet from the trail a couple of times. They seemed surprised to see people hiking by. I suspect that they didn’t realize they were near a hiking trail. I also wear bright orange during hunting season and encourage everyone to do the same.