Posted By auntie on January 22, 2018

7.57 miles; St. George’s Island, FL

These trails are in St. George Island State Park, which is a lovely park on the far northern end of a very long barrier island off the Florida Panhandle. They were hard walking since the entire island basically consists of very fine sugar sand, but worth the slog. The day was misty and the views were hauntingly beautiful.

Start of the East Slough Trail

This hike put paid to my assertion that, and I quote, “I DON’T BACKTRACK.” Um, it was basically all backtracking. Each part of this trail dead-ended, requiring me to turn around and [grrr] backtrack. Hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, ammirite?

Dunes on the East Slough Trail

The East Slough Trail was the shorter of the two named trails. It was maybe a mile and a quarter, with the final quarter mile being ADA compliant, i.e., a flat boardwalk that a wheelchair could navigate. The boardwalk ended in an observation platform that looked out over the… slough? Sigh, okay Mr. Google, take it from here:

Alrighty then. Short and sweet. The observation platform looked out over the swamp.

The East Slough

It was suitably moody and swamp-like.

Gap Point

The Gap Point Trail dead-ended at Gap Point and a primitive campsite. And when I say primitive, I mean primitive. No tent platform, no shelter, no outhouse.

Basic, Very Basic

Just a picnic table, a bench, and a fire ring. But boy was it beautiful. The park ranger, who I’d met when I parked at the trail head, said there was a bald eagle’s nest here, but I never saw it.

Funny Sand Bumps

Close-up of Bump

It was low tide when I got to the Gap Point campsite, and there were thousands of these funny little bumps. They looked as though there must be some creature under there, but I didn’t find anything. And for once my Google-Fu has failed me. I have no idea what they are. I’d be happy to hear from someone who can enlighten me…

Lots of Birds

I also would have loved to be on this trail with some birders. There were tons of birds everywhere. The guy in the above photo is, I think, a mockingbird, and I saw cardinals and catbirds, but there were lots more I couldn’t identify.

Track (click for details)

You can find out more about St. George’s Island State Park at the state of Florida website. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track.

Categories: Florida, Walks and Hikes
Tags: 7–10 miles, FL, St. George's Island FL