Hidden Gems of Apalachicola National Forest, Florida

The Apalachicola National Forest covers 571618 acres in the Florida Panhandle between Tallahassee and the Gulf coast. Most travelers remain on Interstate 10 without realizing they are passing the largest national forest in Florida and the only place in the world where the Apalachicola dusky salamander exists. The forest contains longleaf pine and wiregrass ecosystems that once covered 90 million acres across the Southeast but now persist on less than 3 percent of that original range. The Apalachicola River system within the forest boundary produces more species of amphibians and reptiles than any other river system in North America north of Mexico. Trout Pond Recreation Area provides access to a spring-fed sinkhole pond where the water temperature holds at 70 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. The forest maintains 67 miles of the Florida National Scenic Trail passing through pitcher plant bogs where four carnivorous plant species grow within sight of each other.

The Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp was established in 1894 and operates as the oldest active religious community in the southeastern United States devoted to Spiritualism. The 57-acre property in Volusia County contains 55 residences and maintains a year-round population of certified mediums who offer readings by appointment. The Cassadaga Hotel built in 1927 remains open with 14 guest rooms and a dining room serving three meals daily. The camp prohibits alcohol within its boundaries and requires all resident mediums to pass certification tests administered by the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association. Sunday services at Colby Memorial Temple have occurred continuously since the temple's construction in 1923. The bookstore holds over 1000 titles on mediumship, metaphysics, and spirit communication. George Colby established the camp after traveling from New York following what he described as spirit guidance to found a Spiritualist community in central Florida.

The Dry Tortugas sit 70 miles west of Key West and receive approximately 80000 visitors annually compared to the 2.7 million who visit Key West itself. The seven islands total 100 acres of land area surrounded by 100 square miles of protected waters. Fort Jefferson occupies most of Garden Key and contains over 16 million bricks making it the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere. The United States Army constructed the fort between 1846 and 1875 but never completed it and never fired its guns in combat. The fort held prisoners during and after the Civil War including four men convicted of conspiracy in the Lincoln assassination. Dr. Samuel Mudd who set John Wilkes Booth's broken leg served four years at Fort Jefferson before receiving a pardon for his work treating yellow fever among soldiers and prisoners during an 1867 outbreak. The Dry Tortugas host the only regular nesting site for sooty terns in the United States with approximately 80000 birds arriving each spring. Loggerhead and green sea turtles nest on the beaches between May and September. The ferry from Key West requires 2.25 hours each direction and operates daily except during tropical weather events.

Cedar Key sits at the end of State Road 24 on Florida's Gulf coast where the town's year-round population numbers approximately 700 residents. The island produced more than 90 percent of North America's pencils during the 1880s when the Eastern Red Cedar Company operated mills processing cedar logs floated down the Suwannee River. When local cedar supplies depleted by 1896 the pencil industry abandoned Cedar Key and the population declined from 5000 to fewer than 500. The town now generates revenue from commercial fishing for clams which provide approximately 70 percent of the nation's farm-raised clams. Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge protects 13 islands totaling 800 acres where 250 bird species have been documented. The refuge restricts human access to four islands during seabird nesting season from March through June. The Cedar Key Historical Society Museum occupies the former home of St. Clair Whitman who operated a general store and served as town mayor. State Road 24 crosses 19 miles of protected salt marsh where the Suwannee River enters the Gulf of Mexico through a delta system creating conditions where both freshwater and saltwater species occupy the same estuary.

The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park preserves 72 acres in Cross Creek where Rawlings lived from 1928 until 1947 and wrote The Yearling which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1939. The farmhouse contains original furnishings including Rawlings' typewriter and the wooden table where she worked. The property includes citrus groves Rawlings maintained for income and a tenant house she rented to the family who inspired characters in her books. Park staff conducts tours limited to 10 visitors at scheduled times because the 1930s structure cannot accommodate larger groups without accelerating deterioration. The surrounding hammock forest contains live oaks the Florida Natural Areas Inventory estimates at 200 to 250 years old. Orange Lake borders the property's western edge providing the same view of water and cypress that Rawlings described in Cross Creek published in 1942. The park prohibits photography inside the house because light exposure damages textiles and papers. Cross Creek itself remains an unincorporated community of approximately 100 residents with no commercial district.

The Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park protects 85000 acres of the largest strand swamp in the world within Big Cypress Swamp. The preserve contains 44 native orchid species including the ghost orchid which grows only in Cuba and this section of South Florida. Approximately 1500 to 2000 ghost orchids exist in Florida with the majority located in Fakahatchee Strand. The ghost orchid produces no leaves and performs photosynthesis through its roots attached to pop ash and pond apple trees. The orchid blooms between June and August with flowers that last one to two weeks and open at night releasing a fragrance resembling green apples. The plant can remain dormant for years without flowering. The preserve recorded Florida's highest concentration of royal palms with stands exceeding 3000 palms in some sections. Fakahatchee Strand provides the last habitat where all four of Florida's native bromeliad species grow in the same location. The 11-mile Big Cypress Bend boardwalk allows access without entering standing water that averages 6 to 18 inches deep during dry season and 2 to 3 feet during summer wet season. Florida panthers use the strand as a wildlife corridor with camera traps documenting 10 to 15 individual panthers annually.

The Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park in Gainesville contains a 120-foot-deep sinkhole measuring 500 feet across at its widest point. The sinkhole formed between 10000 and 14000 years ago when the limestone roof of an underground cavern collapsed. Twelve small streams flow into the sink creating a microclimate where temperatures remain 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the surrounding area. The temperature difference allows species typically found 300 miles north in the Appalachian Mountains to grow at the bottom including oak leaf hydrangea and needle palm. The 232-step staircase descending into the sink passes seven distinct vegetation zones. Fossils embedded in the limestone walls include extinct species of sharks, horses, and camels from the Oligocene and Miocene epochs spanning 5 to 30 million years ago. The park covers 67 acres with the sinkhole occupying approximately 2 acres. A wooden observation platform at the bottom provides views of the rock walls and stream sources. The name originates from the sinkhole's resemblance to a funnel or hopper device used for grinding grain with streams representing water turning a mill wheel. The staircase closes during lightning or when humidity causes excessive condensation on steps.

Washington Oaks Gardens State Park occupies 425 acres on the Atlantic coast south of St. Augustine where coquina rock formations extend along the beach for approximately one mile. Coquina consists of compressed shells and coral fragments cemented together and erodes into rounded shapes and tidal pools. The formations break the wave action creating calm areas where visitors wade at low tide. The gardens section contains 400 rose varieties planted by Louise Powis Clark between 1936 and 1964 when she and her husband owned the property as a winter estate. The gardens include live oaks estimated at 300 years old and a formal ornamental garden with reflecting pools designed in the 1930s. The park received its name from George Washington who never visited the property but for whom an earlier owner named the land grant. The Matanzas River borders the western edge of the park providing both ocean and river access. The park's location marks the transition point where tropical and temperate plant zones meet allowing species from both regions to survive in the same microclimate. The tidal pools in the coquina formations trap fish and invertebrates during low tide when water temperatures in the shallow pools exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit in summer.

The Florida Caverns State Park near Marianna contains the only cave system in Florida open to public tours with formations above the water table. Most of Florida's limestone caves remain submerged but the caverns at this location sit high enough on the slope above the Chipola River that air-filled chambers exist year-round. The guided tour covers approximately one-third of a mile through chambers containing stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones, and soda straws. The cave maintains a constant temperature of 66 degrees Fahrenheit with 100 percent humidity. The formations grow at a rate of one cubic inch per 150 to 200 years based on measurements taken since the caves opened to tours in 1942. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the entrance tunnel, walkways, and lighting system between 1938 and 1942. The park encompasses 1300 acres including Blue Hole Spring which produces 12 million gallons of water daily at a constant temperature of 70 degrees. The spring run flows 600 feet before entering the Chipola River. Archaeological evidence indicates humans occupied the cave entrance area 10000 years ago using the overhang for shelter.

The Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park covers 21000 acres south of Gainesville where a basin ecosystem creates conditions supporting both alligators and wild bison in the same grassland. The Florida Park Service introduced 10 bison in 1975 based on archaeological and historical records indicating bison inhabited the area until the 1700s. The current herd numbers approximately 50 animals. The prairie contains the largest concentration of wading birds in peninsular Florida with aerial surveys documenting over 270000 individuals during peak months from February through May. Alachua Lake historically filled and drained the basin on cycles ranging from 10 to 25 years but a sinkhole opened in 1891 draining the lake and leaving exposed prairie. The preserve includes eight distinct natural communities ranging from sandhill to basin marsh. The observation tower on the south side provides views across the entire prairie basin spanning approximately 6 miles north to south. William Bartram visited the prairie in 1774 and described Alachua Savanna in his published travels. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the Spanish mission-style visitor center in 1941 when the property operated as a state park. Archaeological sites within the preserve document human occupation spanning 12000 years with pottery fragments and projectile points recovered from multiple locations.