Hiking Big Shoals - Suwannee River FL

My wife and I took advantage of a sunny day after Christmas to hike some trails that we'd not been on before. We drove through White Springs, then east a mile or two to the Big Shoals entrance to the 3772-acre Big Shoals tract managed by the Suwannee River Water Management District. The upper Suwannee is a tannin-stained blackwater river in this area, gentle with the exception of the Big and Little Shoals, and for the most part flows lazily between high sandy banks. There are 28 miles of trails and trail roads on the tract, so the 4 or so miles that we hiked only scratched the surface of the hiking possibilities there.

We wanted to see the only stretch of "whitewater rapids" in the state of Florida. At Big Shoals the shallow river (during low water) steps down 5 feet or so over a series of limestone ledges that would present a challenge to folks in a kayak or canoe. These rapids are nothing like the big water rapids we have negotiated on the Green and Colorado Rivers in Utah or the Snake River in Wyoming and Idaho. The Suwannee River is a popular multi-day canoe/kayak trail. There is a 3.4 mile paved trail that connects Big and Little Shoals, so bicyclers, rollerbladers and visitors in wheelchairs can also enjoy the park. Several of the trails and trail roads are designated for equine use as well. Hunting is even allowed at some times of the year, with proper permits.

There were many lovely American holly trees growing along the trails we hiked. I was moved to paraphrase thusly one of A.E. Houseman's poems in his signature work A Shropshire Lad:

Loveliest of trees, the hollies now
Are hung with berries along the bough,
And stand upon the Suwannee-side
Wearing red for Christmastide.

We had a lovely afternoon hike, and finished it with sandwiches and water at picnic benches near the parking area. On the way back towards White Springs, we stopped to observe dozens of Lesser Scaup ducks paddling in a vast marshland.

The trail maintenance crews had been through not too many days before we were there. I found a nice freshly-cut, robust length of sparkleberry (an arborescent blueberry) that I've already begun to fashion into a walking staff. We found one individual whose single trunk was as big around as my thigh. Being a forester by profession, I'm curious to see how this small tree blueberry measures up to the state and national champions. The wood is tight-grained, quite dense and reminiscent of the light-colored wood of southern red cedar. I once fashioned a machete handle from a good-sized piece of sparkleberry that had been cut back by a colleague.