Florida National Scenic Trail

The Florida National Scenic Trail meanders for 1,400 miles through wilderness areas and across the beautiful landscapes of Florida. Wakulla County is fortunate to have the trail run through it for approximately 75 miles with two designated gateway communities: the City of St. Marks and the City of Sopchoppy.

The trail follows abandoned railroad beds built at the turn of the century and crosses over old logging bridges at the eastern edge of the county line. It continues through the St. Marks Refuge, one of the oldest in the National Wildlife Refuge System, across a series of dikes constructed to hold freshwater for thousands of wintering waterfowl.

Between Wakulla Beach Road and Spring Creek Highway (CR 365), the trail passes through a magnificent area known as the Cathedral of Palms, with a short side trail to idyllic Shepherd Spring. The trail continues at the Carraway Cuttoff Trailhead to the western edge of the county through the Apalachicola National Forest into one of the longest wilderness sections of the Florida Trail. This stretch of trail leads to Bradwell Bay National Wilderness Area and then to the steephead ravines of the Ochlockonee River.

Florida National Scenic Trail is maintained by volunteers in partnership with private and public land managers.

Trailheads in Wakulla can be found in the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge (coordinates linked below) and in the Apalachicola National Forest.