Field Trips

The wet prairies of the Apalachicola National Forest are floristically rich, flat landscapes shaped by fire, water and soils. Wiregrass, sedges and many other species, including insectivorous plants such as butterworts, sundews, pitcherplants and bladderworts, are components of these fascinating landscapes. Lake Talquin State Park has ravines and beech-magnolia forests, lake views and picnic pavilion, located 10 miles west of Tallahassee on State Road 20 on Jack Vause Landing Road.

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate
Handicap access: no 

We will meet with Forest Service biologist, Chuck Hess, in Hosford and follow him to a site for a demonstration of banding red-cockaded woodpecker chicks. Then we will head into the forest to visit a pitcher plant bog. The months of April and May are the best times to see these bogs at their prime and in bloom. These bogs contain more carnivorous plant species than anywhere else in the United States. We are likely to see numerous orchid species as well as wiregrass, sedges and many other species, including insectivorous plants such as butterworts, sundews, pitcher plants and bladderworts, which are components of these fascinating landscapes. After lunch, we will visit other habitats in the National Forest before heading back to Tallahassee at 2:30 pm to arrive at 4 pm.

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate
Handicap access: no

 

The St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve is an exceptional coastal natural area that is very rich with rare plants, and has good examples of a range of beautiful coastal habitats. In the morning we will ride to three different sites within the mainland portion of the Preserve and then walk for 15 to 20 minutes at each site, allowing us to see all of the different habitats within the Preserve and many of the rare plants that flower in the spring. This part of the Preserve is composed of ancient dune/swale topography that is now covered with sandhill, pine flatwoods, wet savannas and cypress strand wetlands. We will see the results of the Preserve’s fire management program and discuss many aspects of fire ecology, fire history and also why this area is of such interest to geologists. We will return to have lunch at the Preserve Center on the shore of beautiful St. Joseph Bay. In the afternoon we will drive (carpool) 6 miles to the Deal Tract of the Buffer Preserve which is on the St. Joseph Peninsula. Here we will explore the vegetation of the ancient Native American shell midden on the shore of St. Joseph Bay, as well as the coastal scrubby flatwoods, salt marsh and seagrass habitats and plants of the peninsula.

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate
Handicap access: no 

We will drive on a graded dirt road and hike a short way to Chalky glade, one of the Gadsden Glades, a set of limestone outcrops in the vicinity of Chattahoochee, Florida that have a unique flora, including species disjunct from the western prairies, such as Carex microdonta and Aster pratense. The predominant cover in these natural openings is the black sedge (Schoenus nigricans), along with muhly grass and small annual grasses and beaksedges. Diamond flowers (Hedyotis nigricans) and moss (Weissia jamaicense) predominate on the rockiest portions. Calcium-loving shrubs and small trees that border the openings include red cedar, winged elm, redbud, and hawthorn (Crataegus spathulata). After lunch we will tour Angus Gholson Nature Park before departing for Tallahassee at 3 pm. 

The Wacissa River is a shallow, spring-fed river located in Jefferson County, Florida. The headwaters is comprised of 21 individual springs, with Blue Springs being the largest. Big Blue is about sixty feet deep and surrounded by majestic bald cypress and swamp hardwoods. The main river run is easily followed and paddled, however, the side channels are beautifully woven through strands of southern wild rice canopied by bay and tupelo trees and make for an adventurous excursion. We will explore Big Blue, returning to the main channel to explore as far as Cedar Island, before heading back to our starting point, a 6-7 mile round trip. The Wacissa River is a birder’s paradise with a almost guaranteed look at the elusive limpkin. Other interesting birds likely to be encountered are the bald eagle, nesting on Cypress Island, osprey and prothonotary warbler. Although the river is infested with the invasive exotic plant, hydrilla in places, it still has much native aquatic vegetation and is home to many hungry Suwanee bass, turtles, and other wildlife.

Degree of Difficulty: Hard
Handicap access: no 

From the picnic area in Torreya State Park, we will caravan a short distance to the Aspalaga Landing section of the park south of SR 271 and park the cars inside the gate. This is a new section of the park not yet open to the general public. This trip will take you through some unusual topography for our state. We will follow water-carved rushing limestone creeks with very steep banks. There will be steep climbs up slopes littered with large limestone boulders. You should still be able to see Hepatica americana and Thalictrum thalictroides in their last bloom, along with Croomia pauciflora. Along the trail you may see Ashe magnolia (Magnolia ashei), bay-star vine (Schisandra glabra), Godfrey’s swamp privet (Forestiera godfreyi), buckthorn (Sideroxylon lycioides), Carolina lily (Lilium michauxii), and leatherwood (Dirca palustris). Lunch will be at picnic area back at original meeting point in park.

Difficulty: hard
Handicap access: no 

Apalachee WMA consists of nearly 8,000 acres along the Chattahoochee River and Lake Seminole in Jackson County. The WMA includes 3, 700 acres of longleaf pine/wiregrass habitat, including sandhill and upland pine, interspersed with upland hardwood forest, upland mixed woodland, marshes, swamps, lakes, bottomland forest, and agricultural fields. One of the largest known populations of federally endangered gentian pinkroot (Spigelia gentianoides) occurs within upland mixed woodland at Apalachee WMA. Other rare species include state endangered incised groove-bur (Agrimonia incisa), leopard’s bane (Arnica acaulis), and trailing bindweed (Calystegia catesbeiana). We will make a restroom stop at Three Rivers Park and then head on to Apalachee Wildlife Management Area, returning to Three Rivers for lunch and a short tour of the Park.

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate
Handicap access: no 

Otter Lake sandhills and ponds.

Difficulty: moderate
Handicap access: No 

We will tour the old capitol building and its historical exhibits on our own until 2:30 pm and then gather at the entrance to walk to the new capitol building to meet a guide at 2:50 pm for a tour of the new capitol building.

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate
Handicap access: no 

Tour departs from the Civic Center parking lot as a carpool caravan.

Join the owners of Native Nurseries, Donna Legare and Jody Walthall, for a guided tour of three native or mostly native yards. The first two houses were built on forested lots and then planted extensively with more native plants over the years. We will see the
properties of Richard Cantrell and Gail Sloan and Robin and Russ Frydenborg. Rick and Russ are planning to be home to guide us through their yards.

The third site is Donna and Jody’s home in Betton Hills, an in-town location. When they
purchased this house, it had nearly 100% traditional, non-native landscaping except for the
large trees. This yard illustrates how to merge native plants with existing non-natives, gradually
increasing the percentage of native plants each year.

If time permits, we will end the tour at
Native Nurseries to look at the mature native plantings on the grounds.

Difficulty: Easy
Handicap Access:  Portions of some gardens accessible 

The Leon Sinks Geological Area is a unique section of the Apalachicola National Forest located south of the city of Tallahassee. This area is made famous by its numerous high quality sinkholes and other unique karst features. The largest sinkhole at the site is “Big Dismal”, a 75-foot deep sink with sheer limestone walls. The majority of the landscape in which the sinks occur is high quality sandhill that occurs on rolling hills with upland hardwood forest immediately bordering the karst features.

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate
Handicap access: no 

Bear Creek is a tributary of the Ochlockonee River and runs through steep-sided upland hardwood forest, dominated by Beech, Magnolia, and tree species that are in their southern range distribution and more typical of the hardwood forests from “up north”. Species that can be found there include Basswood, Sourwood, Mountain Laurel, Little Brown Jug, and Christmas Fern. Creek banks are lined with Florida Anise and there is a healthy population of Florida Flame Azalea there, too. The Living Forest Trail is a paved trail with “Talking Trees”, where taped interviews and interpretive monologues describing the natural and cultural history of trees can be heard with the push of the button. It is a favorite among children.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Handicap access: Yes 

This trip will head into the Apalachicola National Forest to visit a pitcher plant bog. The months of April and May are the best times to see these bogs at their prime and in bloom. These bogs contain more carnivorous plant species than anywhere else in the United States. We are likely to see numerous orchid species as well as wiregrass, sedges and many other species, including insectivorous plants such as butterworts, sundews, pitcher plants and bladderworts, which are components of these fascinating landscapes]. 

Enjoy a relaxing morning learning about some of the local butterflies and native plants they use on this field trip to Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park on the north side of Tallahassee. It will be an easy one to two-mile stroll on dirt trails through gently rolling terrain. Eighty butterfly species have been observed in the park, and some of these are uncommon or rare in Florida. In addition to identifying butterflies, we will look for Amphicarpa bracteata, a legume that is essential to the Golden Banded-Skipper, a rare butterfly that inhabits Phipps Park and flies during some of the spring and summer months. Phipps Park has been highlighted in a national butterfly magazine and has a designated butterfly trail with an accompanying brochure. We will eat lunch at the park after the trip.

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate
Handicap access: no 

Hickory Mound is a large wet hammock of palms and oaks with occasional higher pinelands, bordering vast tidal flats and salt marshes along the Gulf of Mexico. We will drive through these wetlands on old logging roads with stops to explore the surroundings: a woods pond in the hammock to view the mysterious Florida corkwood (Leitneria floridana)-aka “leaves-on-a-stick”- -a plant so unlike other plants that it was once put in its own order; the wide open tidal flats surrounding islands of pines and oaks and the ghostly headless stems of cabbage palms marking the place of former islands swallowed by rising sea level. Finally we’ll drive out to the Gulf  on a loop road across the vast black rush marshes with a picnic stop in a quiet pine island to contemplate the marsh life: oyster beds in the tidal channels, wading birds on the flats and eagles perched on tall pine snags.

Difficulty: Moderate
Handicap Access: No 

Birdsong is a non-profit nature preserve and education center founded in 1986. The preserve offers 565 acres of varied ecological habitats, including 12 miles of maintained trails for birding and hiking. The varied woodland, wetland, and old-field habitats support a diversity of wildlife, and the Bird Window offers an opportunity for up-close observation of a wide array of resident and migratory bird species. The annually burned Gin House Field is one of Birdsong's premier settings for a variety of seasonal wildflowers. Big Bay Swamp is home to wood ducks, wood storks, alligators, turtles, snakes, frogs, and various mammals. A small bog area is being restored. It has a several species of pitcher plants and sundews. We will start with a brief visit to our Butterfly Garden, take a walk (less than 3 miles) along various trails and finish with a visit to the Bird Window.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Handicap access: no 

The Wade Tract Preserve is one of only a handful of longleaf forests that has not been logged. Some individual trees are over 300 years old, and the forest structure exhibits a complex variation ranging from patches of young trees that have naturally seeded to towering flat-topped adults. Over 400 species of plants representing 80 families and 215 genera have been recorded on or near the preserve, including American chaffseed, wild coco, and 16 additional species that are considered to be species of special concern. The group also may attempt to net one of the charismatic bird species associated with longleaf forests: Bachman’s sparrow.

Difficulty:  Moderate
Handicap Access:  No 

Trout Pond bike trail, part of the Georgia, Florida, and Alabama Trail (GF&A), is an area of paved trails through a natural sandhill with overlooks at clear, sandy-bottomed lake. We will start with an older trail along the lake to two overlooks over the water. This short trail is paved but hilly and somewhat rough and bumpy because tree roots have buckled it in places. We will then continue on a smooth, relatively flat bike trail through open longleaf pine/ wiregrass forests that have the open airy appearance of pinewoods described by Bartram and other early travelers in Florida and the southeast. We will double back on the bike trail (total distance ca 0.6 mi) to the parking area where there is a picnic area for those who wish to eat here.

Difficulty:  Easy
Handicap Access: Yes 

This 126-acre city park and RV campground on the Apalachicola River is a jewel rich with historic and biological significance. It spans eastward to the river bluffs, including river floodplain, seepage streams and slope forests. The tri-rivers region is renowned for biological diversity and harbors a number of northern disjunct plants and also some endemics. The park is very popular for its river view and boating access. We will be hiking the nature trails. A new boardwalk through the floodplain is under construction and should be completed in time for our trip. The floodplain showcases some very large trees such as sugarberry, overcup oak, and bald cypress and also some attractive shrubs including Walter’s viburnum. Then on to a woodland trail where American beech and Southern magnolia typify the temperate hardwood forest trees. Specialties we might see are the endemic Florida torreya tree and Baldwin’s spiny pod (a rare climbing milkweed). Spring wildflowers – phlox, rain lilies, Indian pink - are always delightful. There are picnic tables at the park for lunch.

Difficulty:  Easy
Handicap Access: Partial 

Wakulla Springs State Park is one of Florida’s most mysterious and fascinating places. It is home to one of the world’s largest and deepest freshwater springs, as well as to old growth floodplain forest and upland hardwood forest. You will learn about the native (and non-native invasive) aquatic and wetland plants associated with the spring and river from the relaxing vantage point of a cruising river boat. You will also observe creatures such as anhingas, alligators, purple gallinules, and yellow-crowned night herons. Following the riverboat tour, we will take a hike on trails through floodplain and upland hardwood forest, and see the nice diversity of plants in a north Florida mixed hardwood forest. Come see where Tarzan and the Creature from the Black Lagoon once roamed! There is a picnic area in the park where we can have lunch.

Difficulty: Easy
Handicap access: no