RH Photo Adventures
Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park is one of Florida’s oldest state parks. It was developed in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. You can read more about the CCC here: https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/civilian-conservation-corps. They helped build many of Florida’s state parks from 1933 through the beginning of World War II.
Deep Hole is a 141 foot deep sinkhole located just northwest of the upper Myakka Lake portion of the Myakka River. It’s easy to see the outline of Deep Hole during the dry season when the land around it is above water. During the wet season, it blends in with the Myakka River as the entire area is under water.
This is a protected area with visitors limited to just thirty per day. To visit, you need to be in line when the park opens at 8am. You’ll need to secure a permit to gain access and receive directions to the area.
When I visited, it was a hot day so the alligators weren’t as plentiful as they would be on a cool, sunny day. There were still well over fifty of them lining the shore, but sometimes there are many more than that.
There is no shortage of things to do in our area if you’re looking to get outdoors and enjoy some spectacular Florida nature. I did a post about this back in 2019. https://rhphotoadventures.com/2019/03/06/what-is-there-to-do/ I’ve since discovered a lot of new resources to find places to explore.
The CREW Land and Water Trust https://crewtrust.org/ oversees and preserves land around the 60,000 acre Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed. These areas are among some of my favorite, including Bird Rookery Swamp.
This area was purchased in 1914 by a lumberman from Pittsburg named Edward Babcock. In 1931, he leased the timber rights on his land, and eventually nearly all of the old growth pines were cut down for timber. The Commission of Game and Fresh Water Fish (the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before it was called that), started to buy land for conservation and wildlife management. In 1941, they bought 19,200 acres of land from Edward’s son, Fred. Babcock Webb WMA is the oldest wildlife management area in Florida. Today, there are over 65,000 acres that make up the Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area. It was originally named after a commissioner at that time, Cecil M. Webb. It’s name was changed in 1995 to the Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area. We just call it Babcock Webb.
How do you pronounce “slough?” It rhymes with flew, not cough or chow. English is weird. Anyway, welcome to one of my favorite local spots! I will say, I prefer this place in the summer on weekdays because in the winter and on weekends it gets crazy busy. Today was a federal holiday, and I think everybody and their sister decided it was a good day for a walk at Six Mile Cypress.
O’Leno was Florida’s eleventh state park, established in 1940. Like many of the original state parks, it was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. This park is full of history and natural beauty. Some of the best hiking trails in Florida can be found here, particularly when combined with neighboring River Rise Preserve State Park’s trails.
Hontoon Island is a sweet little 1,650 acre state park located on the St. John’s River, six miles west of Deland in Florida. We visited in mid-October and had the whole place practically to ourselves. We arrived on a late Sunday afternoon. There were several families enjoying the day use area, fishing and playing on the playground. By Monday morning, the place was pretty much deserted.
When everything was shut down for a Covid-19, I decided it was a good time to check out some local birding hot spots. Ollie’s Pond is one of those places I put off going to because I didn’t think it would be all that exciting. It’s just a big pond in the middle of a neighborhood. My expectations were pretty low. I was pleasantly surprised! The first time I went, I saw seventeen species of birds. Not a huge number, but it was a fun variety. Yesterday, there weren’t quite as many birds, but the few I did see were pretty exciting. There were black-necked stilts, white pelicans, and a roseate spoonbill, along with the usual suspects like red-winged blackbirds and osprey.
A trip through Florida’s Big Bend area and into the panhandle is like a trip back in time. Urban sprawl has yet to infect this remote area of the state. Taking a drive across the 220 mile long Big Bend Scenic Byway will take you through miles of longleaf pine forests and along fabulously undeveloped white, sandy coastline. I didn’t know before I went, but apparently a detailed brochure exists to help you navigate this incredible highway and really take in all it has to offer. It can be found here: http://www.floridabigbendscenicbyway.org/sites/default/files/media/docs/Byway-Guide-20120319.pdf
A drive down the scenic byway is one of many things we did while we were in the area. We visited several state parks within a couple of hours of Ochlockonee, but here we’ll focus on this one incredible state park. I realized I was pronouncing it all wrong when a kind ranger gave me a tip to say it right. He said it’s O-Clock-Knee. Now you know.
Welcome to Ochlockonee! Driving down route 319 near the tiny town of Sopchoppy, you’ll end up here at the park. If you’re planning to camp here for awhile, it may be helpful to know that the nearest Walmart is about forty minutes away in Crawfordville. The nearest store is a Dollar General, about fifteen minutes away. There really is nothing around here!
You could drive around the state looking for brown signs indicating scenic areas and parks, or you could check out some of this info I’ve gathered here for you. I’ve spent an awful lot of time seeking out some of the best (in my opinion) places for exploring nature in Florida. This is not a list of every specific place to explore, but a list of ways for you to find those places for yourself and go explore. There are a lot of great resources available for finding things to do. It’s not always easy to find those resources though. This is a list of some of my favorites. I hope you’ll find this compilation helpful.
RH Photo Adventures 