Situated on the north facet of the Blackwater River on the finish of a protracted filth highway, Wilderness Touchdown Park immerses guests deep throughout the woods with loads of choices for out of doors leisure.
Recognized for its sandy shorelines, this park contains a sandy seashore alongside the river, a brief distance from ample tree cowl on a sizzling day.
Sandy seashoreA loop path meanders throughout the property, showcasing a outstanding number of pure landscapes from shady river bluffs to solar drenched pine savannas.
The park provides free, first-come-first-served tenting for tents and RVs with the added safety of a camp host and facilities like consuming water and restrooms with sizzling showers.
Tenting spaceSources
Overview
Location: BakerLength: 1.6 milesTrailhead: 30.802944, -86.767111Address: 5700 Wilderness Touchdown Highway, BakerFees: FreeRestrooms: On the parking areaLand supervisor: Okaloosa CountyPhone: 850-689-5790
Open one hour earlier than dawn to at least one hour after sundown. No pets allowed.
Instructions
Hike
Beginning on the parking space in entrance of the restrooms, head east towards a boardwalk on the fringe of the woods close to an indication for the mountaineering path.
Observe the picket walkway flanked by tall Atlantic white cedars because it descends a slope into the floodplain.
BoardwalkOn the finish of the boardwalk, a pavilion with a pair of picnic tables stands inside a couple of hundred ft of the Blackwater River.
Relying on latest rains, the water could also be excessive up on the financial institution or a shallow creek bordered with sandy seashores.
Blackwater RiverLook upriver for an outlined pathway main into the forest, climbing a bluff to a peaceable spot overlooking the tannic river under.
After crossing a dip on a brief bridge, the path turns away from the financial institution, starting a gradual ascent because the habitat transitions from blended hardwoods to pine forest.
The trail takes a pointy left close to a bench on the northern finish of the loop to cross the doorway highway earlier than coming into a wholesome mesic flatwoods atmosphere.
Trailside benchThroughout the highway, dispersed pines kind an open cover over a shrubby mix of lyonia, bracken fern, noticed palmetto, and yaupon holly.
Indicators point out the path of the mountaineering path the place it intersects facet paths.
Pine flatwoodsBecause the route bends to method the river once more, a shady hammock rises from the forest ground, surrounding swales crammed with bald cypress timber.
Turning to comply with the shoreline by a tunnel of dense vegetation, glimpses of the water seem to the appropriate, the place mountain laurels bloom on the steep banks.
Mountain laurel in bloomThe path rises to a tall bluff with panoramic views earlier than dropping right down to cross the boat ramp and ending the loop on the picnic pavilion.
From this level, comply with the boardwalk throughout contoured terrain again to the trailhead.
River bluffPath Map
Discover Extra!
Video
Climbing Wilderness Touchdown Park
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