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Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve protects one of the rarest of habitats: steephead streams and ravines. The Apalachicola River and Bay region is a biological hotspot, unique to Florida and home to a disproportionate number of imperiled species. The preserve is currently being restored and transformed into a classic, intact sandhill habitat.
Location
Bristol, Florida (about one hour west of Tallahassee in north Liberty County).
Hours
The preserve is open to the public from dawn to dusk, year-round.
Size
6,295 acres
Hiking Trail
A 3.75-mile, round-trip, self-guided trail takes you through an enchanting area that local legend claims is the original Garden of Eden. Beginning in longleaf pine/wiregrass uplands, the trail soon skirts the top of a dramatic steephead, descends steeply through the slope forest to cross a steephead stream and then ascends the slope forest through sandhills.The trail eventually opens to a spectacular view at Alum Bluff. At 135 feet above the Apalachicola River, Alum Bluff is the largest natural geological exposure in Florida!
How to Prepare for Your Visit
Only foot travel is allowed on the trail. To protect the preserve's rare plants, animals, and cultural and geologic features, the following are not allowed: pets, smoking, littering, camping, climbing on the bluffs, collecting, firearms, fires, hunting and radios.
Visitors should plan on a 3-hour hike, bring 1 – 2 quarts of water per person, and may wish to bring a hiking stick to assist with the steep climbs and descents. Please keep in mind that the trail is steep and the climbs are arduous.
For your safety, please observe trail signs at Alum Bluff and stay well back from the edge as you follow the orange-blazed trail along the river bluff. The bluff is an active slide area and abandoned sections of trail are badly undercut and prone to collapse.
Please leave dogs at home. Dogs are not allowed on the trail.
For more information about visiting or volunteering, or if you are a researcher and would like access to the preserve, contact Maggie McDaniel or call (850) 643-2756.
Directions
The preserve is located at 10394 NW Longleaf Drive, Bristol, FL 32321.
From Bristol:
- From State Road 20 in Bristol, take State Road 12 east (toward Greensboro) 1.6 miles to Garden of Eden Road, a dirt road to the left. There is a large "Apalachicola Bluffs — Garden of Eden Trail" sign on the left.
- Turn left on Garden of Eden Road. Go 0.4 miles to the trailhead.
From Tallahassee:
- Take I-10 west to exit 174.
- Turn left on State Road 12 and continue for 20.3 miles (turning left at the blinking light in Greensboro). As you near Bristol, look for at large "Apalachicola Bluffs — Garden of Eden Trail" sign on your right.
- Turn right on Garden of Eden Road. Go 0.4 miles to the trailhead.
What to See: Plants
The preserve protects two of the world’s rarest evergreens, the Florida torreya and Florida yew. Yews are seen along the botanical loop trail, but live torreyas are no longer visible along the trail. Other plants of interest include the large-leaved, large-flowered Ashe’s magnolia; pyramid magnolia; Florida anise; mountain laurel; oak leaf hydrangea; spring ephemerals such as trillium and wild ginger; Gholson's blazing star; numerous ferns; and an array of fall-blooming sandhill wildflowers and grasses including toothed basil and lopsided Indiangrass.
What to See: Animals
The preserve provides a home to several species of resident and migrating birds including bald eagles, red-cockaded woodpeckers, Mississippi kites, swallow-tailed kites, wild turkeys, worm-eating warblers, hooded warblers, Bachman’s sparrow, Louisiana water thrush and Swainson’s warblers.
Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Steephead streams and ravines are among the rarest of freshwater habitats. These unusual geologic features provide refuge for a number of Florida’s plants and animals—some found nowhere else on Earth. The preserve also protects longleaf pine and sandhill uplands, breathtaking river bluffs and million year-old fossils.
What the Conservancy Has Done to Restore the Site
The Nature Conservancy undertook a massive project in 1985 to restore the property. Years of management for industrial timber production left little of the once-vibrant sandhill community. Now, after 24 years of restoration effort, the sandhill community is beginning to return to its former glory. Indicator species that were displaced are starting to return; the sandhill community now boasts healthy populations of wild turkey, bobwhite quail, Bachman’s sparrow, Florida pine snake and gopher tortoise. The preserve is a model of vibrant landscapes in all stages of rebirth.
Prescribed fire has been returned to this fire-dependent landscape so that native plants and animals will thrive. Regular fire supports longleaf pine habitat, stimulates growth and flowering of critical groundcover such as wiregrass, and keeps hardwood species in check.
Staff and volunteers have hand-planted millions of longleaf pine seedlings and wiregrass plugs. All species are started in an on-site nursery from seed collected on the preserve.
Conservancy staff has developed a process that takes prepared, bare sand to an intact, fire-ready wiregrass habitat in 40 months. These and other techniques are now being shared with land managers all over the southeastern United States.
Other Innovative Projects
- Dam removal at the preserve’s Kelley Branch. The Conservancy pioneered a successful dam removal and stream restoration that is setting a standard for similar projects in the Southeast. See video.
- Restoring fish passage and river connectivity. The Conservancy is working with three states and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to modify dam operations, allowing threatened Gulf sturgeon and other species to swim upstream to historic spawning grounds.
- Reintroduction of the indigo snake. The Conservancy is working with Project Orianne, a non-profit foundation dedicated to the conservation, management and study of the eastern indigo snake, in the hope of returning this magnificent species to restored habitat where it once thrived.
- Groundcover restoration. The fine art of groundcover restoration in the southeastern United States started right here. Over the past 25 years, staff has developed techniques that are practical, economical and can be applied to a large scale.
- Providing land management at neighboring Torreya State Park. Across a shared boundary line from the preserve lie significant steephead ravines. The Conservancy proposes to assist the state park in restoring thousands of acres of critical habitat over the next decade.
- Controlling invasive, non-native species. The Conservancy is leading an effort to coordinate invasive species management and control throughout the Apalachicola River and Bay region, joining with more than 24 public and private partners. Learn more about the Apalachicola Invasive Working Group.
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © The Nature Conservancy (Alum Bluff); The Nature Conservancy (AL spiny-pod) Photo © TNC (people viewing Alum Bluff).
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