Stalking Early Spring Wildflowers in North Florida
Following the route outlined below will take you to six sites filled with beautiful early spring (March and April) wildflowers. Although there are many flowers blooming at this time, ten of the most frequent and showy ones are highlighted here. The entire route covers 180 miles and takes about 4 1/2 hours to drive, but it would also make a good day-long foray. The route leads west from Tallahassee through Chattahoochee to Marianna, then winds south through Blountstown and Bristol back to Tallahassee. (Photographs copyright 1998, Eleanor Dietrich.)
1 -- Angus Gholson Nature Park Take Interstate 10 west from Tallahassee to Chattahoochee, Exit 166. Along the Interstate in early spring, fences and trees are decked with the large, trumpet-shaped blossoms of yellow jessamine. Turn north at the Chattahoochee exit and drive 1.5 miles to SR 269. Turn right and continue 4.4 miles on SR 269 to a former Junior Food Store on the outskirts of Chattahoochee. Turn left there onto Morgan Road and follow it 0.8 miles up a hill to a "Yield" sign and a "Slow, Curve Ahead" sign. Four roads intersect at this point: Brent Street is on the right. A brown, wooden sign reading NATURE PARK is on the left. (Look carefully, because it's easy to miss). Turn left into the park and continue to the parking lot. From the picnic area, take the trail to the left. Then, before the bridge, take a right onto the lower trail by the stream. In mid-February, the hillsides of this little-known park (a treasure in itself) are covered with the yellow, upside-down blossoms of trout lilies. Blue violets also make their appearance at this time, and, in mild winters, trillium may be blooming. By mid- to late-March, the trillium reach full bloom and are joined by delicate blue phlox and showy white rain lily.
2 -- Three Rivers State Park Leaving Chattahoochee's Nature Park, turn left and drive 0.5 miles to U.S. 90. Turn left again, then proceed west 5.3 miles to SR 271 in Sneads, where a sign will direct you north 2 miles to the park. There is a small entrance fee. From the park entrance, it's 1.5 miles to the picnic area. Park at the far end of the parking lot. Walk a short distance up the road and look down the hill into the woods on the right. In mid- to late-March, depending on how mild winter has been, the hillside will be covered with the starry white blossoms of bloodroot interspersed with hundreds of dark-red trillium. The bottom of the hill and up the next slope is home to large colonies of beautiful rain lily and violets.
3 -- Florida Caverns State Park Retrace your way back to U.S. 90 and turn right to Marianna. The sign to the Caverns State Park is 18.8 miles ahead. Turn right and continue 2.7 miles. There is a small entrance fee. In the park, drive 1 mile to the parking lot at the visitor's center. Late March and early April on the hillside leading to the center offer many wildflowers including more trillium, bloodroot, violets, and wild columbine. The most spectacular flower there at this time is blue phlox which forms large stands with their nodding bell-shaped scarlet and yellow flowers, that crowd around the trail behind the visitor's center and along the walkway to the cavern.
4 -- Torreya State Park Drive back into Marianna to U.S. 90, then take a left and head east 3 miles to SR 71 on the outskirts of town. Turn right and continue 24.4 miles south into Blountstown and the intersection with SR 20. Turn left on SR 20 and drive on to Bristol, 4.6 miles east across the Apalachicola River. After another left on SR 12, follow the signs north to Torreya State Park. After 6.4 miles from Bristol, the route turns left onto SR 271 for another 3.4 miles to a road bearing left into the park. It is 3.2 more miles to the park entrance. A final mile into the park reveals a 3-mile trail leading out of the picnic area parking lot. In late March and early April, the banks of the stream along this trail are full of wild azaleas. Trillium, blue phlox, yellow jessamine, and violets might still be blooming. Continuing down the park road another 0.4 miles to the Gregory House parking lot, you'll find a beautiful wild azalea at the edge of the woods inside the split-rail fence on the right. Trails behind the house also lead down to the Apalachicola River.5 -- Lake Talquin State Park Returning to SR 20 in Bristol, turn left toward Tallahassee. After crossing the Ochlockonee River at 20.7 miles, drive 8.6 more miles to Jack Vause Road and a brown sign on the right that points to the recreation area on Lake Talquin. Turn left down the dirt road until you come to the sign on the left indicating the entrance to the recreation area. A nice boardwalk skirts the shore of Lake Talquin. In mid-February, this is a wonderful spot for trout lilies. To find them, go to the entrance of the boardwalk and look down the hill to your right. Their bright yellow blooms carpet the forest floor. In March and April, the nature trail that leads off to the right from below the picnic area has trillium and violets among other wildflowers and it is a lovely walk through the woods.
6 -- State Road 20 Roadside Continue east toward Tallahassee about 1.2 miles, and the roadside turns flat, dry and sandy. Lady lupine blooms here in early April, along with lyre-leaved sage and hot-pink moss verbena. Drive on back to Tallahassee to complete your trip. Hope you had a great time, and come back often!
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