One negative COVID-19 test later and I was off to Florida for a multipurpose trip in October. Part one was a small sunset beach wedding of my dear friends. Part two was a quick visit to see my Aunt and Uncle who lived nearby. We managed to get two quick hikes in while I visited. The longer one an approximately 5 mile out and back section of the Florida National Scenic Trail, and the second at Camp Helen State Park.
Camp Helen State Park
This small Florida State Park is rich with history and home to many historic buildings. My Aunt and I made a quick pitstop for a short hike along Oak Canopy Trail and then headed down to the beach. While it was a short hour long stop for us, one could spend the whole day here enjoying the beach! When the weather is warmer that is.
The hike was really easy, I did it in sandals! The state park featured palmettos, oaks, swamp areas, beach, sand dunes, and dune lakes. Nearly all of the quintessential northern Florida habitats. Park fees were $4 and made for a great little stop. No dogs are allowed on the beach here, unfortunately.
After our short hike, we drove over to Seaside FL for a quick lunch and some retail therapy! The food and drinks were amazing and it was just a great little detour for some fun bonding! It was also interesting to see how the upper-echelon of Florida society lives.
Florida Scenic Trail
Our second hike for the weekend was along a short section of the Florida National Scenic Trail starting off of State Highway 331 between Freeport and Defuniak Springs. We started off early in the morning with the goal of hiking out about 2 hours and then turning around to head back. Again a relatively flat trail, I mean we were in Florida after all. But it did live up to its Scenic name.
The section we hiked featured pine plantations at the start and then moved into oak swamp and followed the creek. After the first 1.5 miles the trail entered open fields and was a bit harder to follow. This made me thankful for trail markers as well as our GPS. We made it to our goal, a small pond with a really cool rock and dirt wash-out on one side.
Then it was back to the house for a quick shower and headed to the airport to catch my flight back to my new home state of Utah.
Check out more of my Travel blogs and more, here! Visit the archives page to see what else Winter and I have been up to!
great that you got to see relatives on your trip to Florida, and ya’ll got outside time together..