Last week, we had a slight change to our schedule so Adventure Friday, turned into Saturday. We visited Etoniah Creek State Forest east of Gainesville. While there, we enjoyed a picnic lunch, walked the George's Lake Trail where we tried to catch some fish, and finished up the day with the Lake Blossom Trail. It is a nice park, with a mixture of plant life that is unique among all the parks we've visited, and it is also the home to the Etoniah Rosemary, a very rare shrub which only grows in Putnam county, Florida, and is on the national endangered list.
Since it was nearly a two hour drive from the house, our first stop upon reaching the park was the picnic area. With several tables in the pavillian and a couple of grills, we were in business. While the three youngest jumped in water puddles, Britt and Rebecca practiced sword fighting. Ruth meanwhile wondered around taking pictures that she mostly ended up discarding. While the park is quite nice, a word of warning about the roads is in order. The main road through the park is a hard packed dirt road. It isn't well maintained with ridges all throughout the road, so if you are going be prepared to go slow and still be bounced around. Additionally, some of the side roads are almost sugar sand, so you'll need to be careful accessing the trail heads so as not to get stuck.
George's Lake Trail
After feeding everyone hotdogs, chips, and applesauce we were ready to tackle a couple of trails. We started with George's Lake Trail, which is a 4/10s of a mile out to the pier making for a .8 mile round trip hike. We were there shortly after a morning rain, so the trail was cool, a perfect temperature. It also sparkled with all of the water droplets glistening on the trees and plants. Kate especially enjoyed checking all the downed leaves to find various colored leaves, as they are beginning to get some fall foliage in the area. At the pier, Gary, Ruth, Rebecca, and Kate did some fishing while Jon and Britt explored the bank and Will sat with me dropping leaves in the water and watched them float away with the little waves. Everyone had a good time even if we didn't catch any fish today.
After loading back up in the car, we made it down to the Lake Blossom Trailhead which had the neatest contraption. In the picture below you can see a box mounted on the fence. Each of the numbered buttons provides a recording with more information about Etoniah Creek. I loved the concept and hope they extend these to more of the trailheads in the state forest and parks. The first button gave us details on the trail, pond, and how it came to be part of the park. The second button gave us information on the rare Etoniah Rosemary.
Lake Blossom Trail
The Lake Blossom Trail circles the very tiny Lake Blossom, which is more of a marshy pond at only thirteen acres, and a depth of three to four feet throughout; it is a prime spot for birds. We only saw one lonely heron today, but it is a little late in the season. When it was acquired by the state forestry division, they dredged the outside of the lake all the way around for the other wildlife that wasn't doing as well, so the outer rim of the lake is much deeper at up to ten to twelve feet deep. This area is home to some fish and alligators though we saw no sign of either today. It was a really nice walk at only .75 of a mile around the lake. The little glimpses of fall color were especially pretty around this lake. Just a short ways from the trailhead is also one of the clusters of the Etoniah Rosemary. This unique shrub is a member of the mint family. Possessing a lavender bloom that reminds me a bit of a small snapdragon, it blooms from spring to late fall.
We would definitely recommend this state forest. So many of the ones we've visited have had a similar look and feel. However, Etoniah Creek is not just scrub and saw palms. We counted at least 4 different kinds of ferns, 12 different kinds of trees, and even this late found 5 different kinds of flowers blooming in the park. If you'd like to make a trip the address to the ranger center, just down from the picnic area, is 390 Holloway Road, Florahome, FL. The Ranger Station is open from 9 to 5 Monday through Friday, though the park itself is open from 8 am to sunset. Entrance to the Park is $2 for a car load of up to 6 people over the age of six.
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