Echoing the great thing about the plush riverside hammock of Camp Chowenwaw on the other shore, Black Creek Park traces the floodplain of this St. Johns River tributary.
Constructed by SORBA for mountain bikers, the paths of Black Creek Park are additionally open to hikers.
Singletrack alongside the floodplainThe outer perimeter of two singletrack loops edging the floodplain provide scenic glimpses of the waterway.
This two mile route combines their easy-to-follow rims with a return stroll alongside the paved Black Creek Path for a satisfying hike.
Black Creek PathAssets
Overview
Location: Fleming IslandLength: 2 milesTrailhead: 30.047910, -81.710276Address: 7890 US 17, Fleming IslandFees: FreeRestroom: On the trailheadLand Supervisor: Clay CountyPhone: 904-529-8058
Open dawn to sundown. Leashed canine welcome; choose up after your pet. Anticipate heavy bicycle owner use on weekends. Please yield to riders.
Instructions
Hike
Stroll by the restrooms in the direction of the paved Black Creek Path. Instantly previous the restrooms, flip left onto Palmetto’s Revenge.
At a loop junction marked with arrows, bear left. Stroll beneath a stay oak of extraordinary girth, following the curve of the leafy path previous a piece of fence.
Begin of the loopCircling behind the restrooms and parking space, head east by means of the hardwood hammock, large grapevines dangling from the excessive cover of towering oaks and pines.
Simply past an infinite stay oak at 0.2 miles, a worn path results in the doorway highway. The path turns south, paralleling US 17.
Southerly flip close to park entranceInside this forest of huge hardwoods, palm fronds sign a mixture of younger cabbage palms and noticed palmetto on the sweep close to the freeway.
Glimpse the situation of the waterway by means of gaps within the timber, hardwoods yielding to floodplain forest.
Floodplain forest past the hammockFlip sharply west close to the bottom of an infinite pine. The forest thickens, American holly and magnolias getting into the combo.
Gentle streams in from the ribbon of floodplain. Reaching a T intersection, bear left.
T intersectionThe worn path ambles briefly beneath the oaks, rising at a ribbon of leaf-dusted asphalt. It’s the slender south finish of the Black Creek Path.
It seems like a really previous highway, maybe the unique route of US 17. Throughout it’s a signal for the Creek View Path.
Black Creek PathFlip left for a brief stroll to Black Creek alongside the previous asphalt. Attain the bench overlooking open water a half mile into the hike.
Placid and swampy, the waterway is edged on its south aspect by Camp Chowenwaw Park.
Black CreekReturn up the pavement to the Creek View Path to affix it, taking the left aspect of the loop to parallel Black Creek.
Ascend a low bluff into the hardwood forest. The slender path dances above the floodplain, following the creek upstream.
Creek View PathSkim the sting of the floodplain by 0.7 miles, staying amid the bluestem palms beneath the oaks, wanting down into decrease basins.
Tracing the rim of the bluff above the floodplain forest beneath towering oaks and magnolias, this leafy path curves gently north.
Skimming the floodplainStick with the pathway closest to the creek when different choices current themselves. A bench adjoins the path, an previous truck mattress hidden amid native bamboo quickly after.
With clusters of quick needles, spruce pines attain for the excessive level of the cover. The forest turns into extra tangled.
BenchProceed previous a wall of mature loblolly bay timber. Attain the following bench at a mile at a path junction. Flip left, following the arrows.
A straightaway by means of the hammock follows. The understory opens, revealing parallel singletrack. A swamp chestnut oak rises from a broadly anchored base.
StraightawayAt 1.1 miles, bear left off the linear route, following the arrows to a different lengthy straight stretch.
Nonetheless paralleling the creek, bear left as soon as extra for a sweep alongside the floodplain’s edge to the north finish of this park, outlined by former fence posts.
Northern portion of the parkCurving proper at 1.4 miles, go away Black Creek behind. The worn path by means of the hammock goals in the direction of the paved Black Creek Path.
Reaching an infinite split-trunk pine, diverge from the path: it turns into a twisty singletrack quickly after this level.
The landmarkStroll east by means of a slender stretch of open understory to the Black Creek Path. Be a part of it southbound at 1.5 miles.
Tunneling by means of this dense hammock, the paved path is in deep shade, with occasional glimpses of US 17 to start out.
Leaving the open understory for the paved pathTurning away from the paralleling freeway by 1.7 miles, cross a bench at a junction with the singletrack loop.
Proceed alongside an extended, gradual descent in the direction of Black Creek, returning to the trailhead at 2 miles.
Downhill to the trailheadPath Map
Discover Extra!
Video
Mountain climbing Black Creek Park
Slideshow
See our images from Black Creek Park
Close by Adventures
Path Map (PDF) Official Web site
Articles collectively researched, written, and photographed by Sandra Good friend & John Keatley, Florida authors and publishers of FloridaHikes.com.
