RECREATION GUIDE

Developed (and not so Developed) Outdoor Recreation Sites in Liberty County

CAMEL LAKE: An excellent camping facility located on a natural lake along the Florida Trail. Camping (10 Units), picnicking, swimming, sanitary facilities, drinking water, fishing, hiking along the Florida Trail. Ten horsepower limit on boat motors. No fee. Take State Highway 12 south from Bristol, for 12 miles, turn left (east) on Forest Service Road 105 for 2 miles.

BIG GULLY LANDING: Boat launching facilities along Big Gully Creek. Boat ramp and parking facilities. Access to excellent bass, catfish, and bream fishing on Equaloxic Creek. Also provides access to the Apalachicola River. No fee. Take State Highway 12 south from Bristol for 12.8 miles, veer right on State Highway 379 at Orange, for one mile, turn right (west) on Forest Service Road 133 for one mile.

COTTON LANDING: Choice camping along Kennedy Creek. Camping (4 Units), picnicking, sanitary facilities, drinking water, excellent fishing and canoeing along Kennedy Creek, boat launching facilities. No fee. Take State Highway 379 northwest from Sumatra for 3.2 miles, turn left (west) on forest Service road 123 for 2.8 miles, turn left on Forest Service road 123-B for 0.7 miles.

HICKORY LANDING: Picturesque camping and fishing amongst beautiful cypress stands. Camping (10 Units), picnicking, sanitary facilities, drinking water, excellent fishing and canoeing along Owl Creek, boat launching facilities, access to the Apalachicola River. No fees.Take State Highway 65 south from Sumatra for 2 miles, turn right (west) on Forest Service road 101 for 1.5 miles, turn left on Forest Service road 101-B for one mile.

MUD SWAMP/NEW RIVER WILDERNESS: 8,000 acres featuring excellent canoeing into remote areas along the New River. Take Forest Service road 181 northeast from Sumatra for 6 miles to wilderness boundary. Canoe access available on Forest Highway 13, at the bridge on Forest Service road 182, at Magnolia Landing, and off Forest Service road 114.

HITCHCOCK LAKE: Try the Ochlockonee River out for fishing and canoeing. Camping (10 Units), picnicking, sanitary facilities, no drinking water, excellent fishing and canoeing leading into the Ochlockonee River, boat launching facilities. No fees. Take State Highway 67 south from Telogia for 22.8 miles, turn left (east) on Forest Service road 184 for 1.5 miles.

WHITEHEAD LAKE: Boat launching facilities leading into the Ochlockonee River. Camping (6 Units), picnicking, sanitary facilities, drinking water, excellent fishing and canoeing leading into the Ochlockonee River, boat launching facilities. No fees. Take State Highway 67 south from Telogia for 15.1 miles, turn left (east) on Forest Highway 13 for 1.5 miles, turn right on Forest Service road 186 for 1.5 miles.

WHITE OAK LANDING: With a name like River Styx, you know it has got to be good. Dispersed camping, portable toilets, no drinking water, boat launch facilities on River Styx with access to the Apalachicola River. No fees. Take State Highway 12 south from Bristol for 12.8 miles, veer right on State Highway 379 at Orange for 9 miles, turn right (west) on Forest Service road 115 for 3 miles.

LOWER LANGSTON LANDING: Access to the Ochlockonee River, nominated for Wild and Scenic River status. Boat ramp and parking facilities. Access to excellent bass, catfish and bream fishing on the Ochlockonee River. Take State Highway 67 south from Telogia for 19.8 miles, turn left (east on Forest Service road 152 for 0.8 miles.

PORTER LAKE: Camp along the Florida Trail and the Ochlockonee River. Camping (6 Units), picnicking, sanitary facilities, drinking water, hiking on the Florida Trail, excellent fishing and canoeing off the Ochlockonee River. No fees. Take State Highway 67 south from Telogia for 16.9 miles, turn left on Forest Highway 13 for 2.9 miles.

The Apalachicola National Forest consists of a half-million acres of land, of which one-half is located in Liberty County. This forest is a land of swamps and hammocks untouched by man, as primitive still as when the Indians for whom it is named trod its many trails and canoed in its many waters. For recreational purposes ten areas have been developed. The most extensive being Camel Lake, a few miles south of the city of Bristol. At the lake there is swimming, boating and skiing and throughout the forest are Many acres for fishing and hunting for such game as deer, bear and the American gobbler. Here, too, is the Florida panther, the only state in the eastern United States where the panther is found, although hunting it is forbidden. Many dirt roads be-sect the great forest making access quite easy for the visitor.

The great river of Apalachicola, (from the Indian tribal name Apalachee), flows southward from Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico and it's waters wash the entire western border of Liberty County. It has been a fishing paradise for the Indians of old and also for modern man, and it has been a transportation route to carry agricultural goods, industrial products and military goods during the Civil War. The central crossing of the river has always been at Bristol, accomplished first by hand ferry, then powered ferry and then by a bridge span. Construction of a new bridge and renovation of the old bridge is completed to accommodate the heavy traffic flow of State Route 20.

Forming the eastern boundary of Liberty County, the Ochlockonee River, (an Indian word meaning yellow water) flows southward a distance of 62 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. The river is noted for its fine stock of fish including bass, bream and perch. Along both sides of the river large sycamore trees populate the shores and a diverse variety of native birds live in the foliage of trees and brush. Where the Ochlockonee passes the North East corner of Liberty County there is a dam that controls the flow of water. It also backs-up the water to form Lake Talquin, a recreational area, and contains the hydroelectric equipment to supply power to the city of Tallahassee.

The biblical Garden of Eden has been lost in the wilderness of time but there is a claim of discovery and it exists in Liberty County. Here, it is claimed, along the shores of the Apalachicola River, in a stretch of scrub-filled land, is the site of the true Garden of Eden. Some say that this assertion is fiction, without foundation, while others say that it is true and a book has been written to support the claim. There is scientific evidence that the adjacent river bluffs and ravines are the same today as they were a million years ago but evidence of a garden environment has not been affirmed. But if the claim is true, then here in the pleasant climate of Liberty County, Florida, the first human beings were created and here was the home of Adam and Eve.

Welcome to the Gregory House. Just walk across the porch and through the door of this Southern plantation house and you will have stepped back to the year 1860, with all of the original furniture, cooking utensils, and bedrooms. Once the home of Jason Gregory, the Gregory House served as the headquarters of a sprawling plantation and epitomizes the Old South.

The Gregory House is located in Torreya State Park in Liberty County and overlooks the Apalachicola River from its perch on the palisades, 150 feet above the water. The original site of the house was on the west bank of the river, but it was moved across the river to its present site in 1935. It was dismantled board by board and peg by peg (nails were not used in its construction), then reassembled in its original form. Visitors are welcome.

High on the palisade bluffs of the Apalachicola River, in northern Liberty County, is the site of the Torreya State Park. It is named for the rare species of plant the torreya taxifola, found in only three places in the world: Here, California, and Japan. Known commonly as the "stinking cedar", it emits an unpleasant odor when the bark is bruised.

Indian sites are scattered throughout Torreya State Park, and wild residents of the park include deer, bear, bobcat, and the unusual Barbours turtle. Part way down the high cliffs overlooking the river is Battery Point, where the Confederates guarded the river against passage by Union forces. The battlements, gun pits, and artillery trenches are part of the park heritage. Visitors are welcome to tour and to camp.