Florida Trail: Suwannee & Big Bend Hiking Guide

Official companion app to "The Florida Trail Guide" guidebook by Florida Hikes! Containing three of the Florida Trail's most scenic destinations - the Suwannee River, Aucilla Sinks, and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge - this region sweeps west from Lake City to south of Tallahassee. Hugging the rugged bluffs of the Suwannee River, the first half of this section is a delightful mix of challenging terrain with river views and outstanding geological wonders: deep sinkholes, hundreds of springs, stretches of rapids, and several serious-sized waterfalls. When water levels are low, it's possible to camp on the river's white sand beaches. A big gap lies between beauty spots with the loss of a long-standing route through private timberlands; thru-hikers must follow a 48.4 mile roadwalk to connect the Suwannee and Aucilla Rivers.

Like the Suwannee, the Aucilla River has high rocky bluffs topped with dense forests, and even a stretch of showy rapids. However, this river vanishes underground, and the trail traces its route along the surface around jagged rocky sinkholes, crossing numerous natural bridges. At St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, the Florida Trail reaches Florida's coastline. In the Big Bend, beaches are rare; marshes stretch as far as the eye can see out to the Gulf of Mexico. Traversing coastal forests and levees for more than 40 miles, the trail offers the rare opportunity to backpack across a National Wildlife Refuge with designated camping and a river that must be crossed by hailing a boat.