Posted By auntie on February 14, 2018

8.55 miles; Port St. Joe, FL

I walked this urban trail in two parts, the first on January 21st (2.31 miles) and the second part on February 14th (6.24 miles).

Part 1, Port St. Joe Marina to the Cecil G. Costin Sr. Boulevard trailhead—Another adventure in urban hiking, this 4-mile trail runs through Port St. Joe, using some city sidewalks, but mostly as a paved bike/pedestrian path. I did a bit of it today, just to get some walking in before the Patriots game. Some nice views of St. Joseph Bay.

Trail Map (click for larger pdf file)

Start of the Bay Walk

The trail is divided into 8 sections, for some reason. On January 21st I walked from the Port St. Joe Marina in the lower left-hand corner of the map on the Bay Walk, then followed the Pelican Walk (which is the sidewalk beside Cecil G. Costin Sr. Boulevard) and back again.

Bay View

Cape San Blas Lighthouse

This is by far the prettiest segment of the Port City Trail, with sweeping views of St. Joseph Bay and the picturesque park surrounding the Cape San Blas Lighthouse.

Costin Blvd. Trailhead Sign

I finished this segment at the Cecil G. Costin Sr. Boulevard trailhead, which is where I picked it up on February 14th…

Part 2, Cecil G. Costin Sr. Boulevard trailhead to Gulf Coast Community College—I can at least say I finished this. It was really nice in parts and pretty boring in other parts. The part of the trail from this trailhead to Buck Griffin Lake is called the Sandpiper Run, and it’s ostensibly 3/4s of a mile long. I say ostensibly because my mileage for this whole trail was more than the 8 miles it should have been for an “out-and-back.” Whatever. 

Blue Spiderwort with Pollinator

Hikes with Bathrooms, A Continuing Series

It runs past 2 urban playgrounds/parks/sports complexes and has convenient bathrooms open 24/7/365. Sweet!

Canal

The trail crosses this canal several times on nice wooden bridges. I didn’t see any alligators, but…

Ominous Signage

Of course I did see this sign just before coming to the Cormorant Loop that goes around the lake. I’m actually beginning to feel a little cheated, what with the abundance of warning signs about bears and alligators and never getting to see any.

St. Joe Sharks Water Tower

The next little 1-mile section took me through a nicely wooded area. It was called the Osprey Loop, and was quickly followed by the Eagle Loop (I skipped Egret Lane… this time. I might go back). Eagle Loop goes by the entire Port St. Joe School system I think. There were several schools and then the High School.

Um, what?

I will say I was a bit disturbed by this sign. I mean, I get that the school mascot is a shark, but Blood Trail? Seriously?

Gelsemium rankinii, Swamp Jasmine

The final section of the trail was called Heron Run and it was basically a long straight walk. Kind of meh. But on the way back I noticed this lovely yellow flower. Turns out to be a kind of scary thing. This is from the website of the Florida Native Plant Society:

Members of this genus are HIGHLY TOXIC and a single flower may be fatal if ingested. The toxin acts much like strychnine by blocking muscle activity, and symptoms are similar to tetanus. The flower nectar is also toxic to bees and honey derived from the flowers has been implicated in human deaths. Medicinal uses are ill-advised but it has been used to treat measles, muscular rheumatism, tonsilitis, and headaches. In Asia, Gelsemium elegans has been used to commit murder and suicide.

Ack! Glad I didn’t take a nice long sniff!

Track Part 1 link, Track Part 2 link

You can find out all about the Port City Trail from the City of St. Joe website. As always, click the image above for details about this hike and to download the gps track(s).

Categories: Florida, Walks and Hikes
Tags: 7–10 miles, FL, Port St. Joe FL