Ochlockonee River State Park

Ochlockonee River State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)

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Location	Wakulla County, Florida, United States
Nearest city	Sopchoppy
Coordinates	29°59′57″N 84°29′06″W / 29.99917°N 84.48500°W / 29.99917; -84.48500
Area	543 acres (220 ha)
Governing body	Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Ochlockonee River State Park is a Florida State Park located in Wakulla County, Florida, south of the town of Sopchoppy in the Florida Panhandle. Located off of U.S. 319 on the Ochlockonee River, just north of the Gulf of Mexico coast, it is surrounded by the Apalachicola National Forest and the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and provides important habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.

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History

Established in 1970, Ochlockonee River State Park is located on the Ochlockonee River where it joins with the Sopchoppy River and Dead River to form Ochlockonee Bay, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Sopchoppy, Florida, and is accessed from U.S. Route 319.^[1] The park covers an area of 543 acres (220 ha),^[2] while the Apalachicola National Forest and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge surround the park,^[3]^[4] producing a net contiguous area of 632,000 acres (256,000 ha) of protected lands.^[5] The park was once populated by Native American peoples of the Weeden Island culture in the 300–1000 AD period. During the 1700s, the park area was home to an active turpentine industry, with "cat-faced" pine trees, marked by the turpentine harvesting process, still visible in many locations.^[2]

Ecology

Ochlockonee River State Park's primary ecologic biome is East Gulf coastal plain near-coast pine flatwoods, with some live oak thickets also present within the park boundaries;^[4]^[2] several species of golden wiregrass can be found in abundance within the park.^[6] The park is considered to be one of the best remaining examples of a natural flatwoods environment in the state,^[7] and it contains a significant habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, which nests in longleaf pines. In addition to a large number of other birds,^[5] bobcat, American black bear, white-tailed deer, gopher tortoise and fox squirrel are also resident;^[6] a population of white-colored squirrels, a genetic mutation of the eastern gray squirrel,^[7] are often found at the park as well.^[8]

The park's location at the top of Ochlockonee Bay is within a tidal estuary, with fresh water from the Ochlockonee and Sopchoppy Rivers mixing with tidal salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to produce a brackish environment, inhabited by both fresh and saltwater fish.^[9] Largemouth bass, bream, catfish, speckled perch, and other fish are found in the brackish river waters,^[10] along with blue crabs.^[7]

Recreational activities

A number of recreational activities are accommodated at the park, including bicycling, birding, boating, canoeing, fishing, hiking, kayaking, swimming, and wildlife viewing; there are also picnicking areas, and the park has full camping facilities available,^[2] with 30 campground sites being located in the park.^[1] The Ochlockonee River Nature Trail and Pine Flatwoods Nature Trail are located in the park, the latter having a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) hiking distance.^[11]

Gallery

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b DeHaan 1996, p. 101.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cuhaj 2016, pp. 47–48.
^ O'Keefe 2009 p. 152.
^ ^a ^b Molloy 2010, p. 32.
^ ^a ^b Graves 2015.
^ ^a ^b Alderson 2016
^ ^a ^b ^c Dehart 2008
^ Molloy 2010, p. 33.
^ "Activities – Ochlockonee River State Park". Florida State Parks. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
^ "Ochlockonee River State Park". Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
^ "Ochlockonee River State Park Trails". Florida Hikes!. Cocoa, FL. Retrieved December 19, 2017.

Bibliography

Alderson, Doug (February 18, 2016). "Launch your weekend at Ochlockonee River State Park". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, FL. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
Cuhaj, Joe (2016). Hiking the Gulf Coast:A Guide to the Area's Greatest Hiking Adventures. Guilford, CT: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4930-0812-4.
DeHaan, Vici (1996). State Parks of the South: America's Historic Paradise. Boulder, CO: Johnson Books. ISBN 1-55566-167-X.
Dehart, Jason (May–June 2008). "Land of the White Squirrel". Tallahassee. Tallahassee, FL: Rowland Publishing. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
Graves, Cherie (December 31, 2015). "Fan the campfire fever at area parks". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, FL. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
Molloy, Johnny (2010). The Best in Tent Camping: Florida (4th ed.). Birmingham, AL: Menasha Ridge Press. ISBN 978-0-89732-721-3.
O'Keefe, M. Timothy (2009). Hiking North Florida and the Panhandle: A guide to 30 great walking and hiking adventures. Guilford, CT: Morris Book Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7627-4353-7.

External links

Ochlockonee River State Park at Florida State Parks
Ochlockonee River State Park at State Parks of the United States
Ochlockonee River State Park at Absolutely Florida

Protected areas of Florida

Federal level

National parks	Biscayne Dry Tortugas Everglades
National memorials	De Soto Fort Caroline
National monuments	Castillo de San Marcos Fort Matanzas
National seashores	Canaveral Gulf Islands
National forests	Apalachicola Choctawhatchee Ocala Osceola
National wildlife refuges	Archie Carr Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Caloosahatchee Cedar Keys Chassahowitzka Crocodile Lake Crystal River Egmont Key Florida Panther Great White Heron Hobe Sound Island Bay J.N. 'Ding' Darling Key West Lake Wales Ridge Lake Woodruff Lower Suwannee Matlacha Pass Merritt Island National Key Deer Okefenokee Passage Key Pelican Island Pine Island Pinellas St. Johns St. Marks St. Vincent Ten Thousand Islands
Other national protected areas	Big Cypress National Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve
National Estuarine Research Reserves and National Marine Sanctuaries	Apalachicola NERR Florida Keys NMS Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Rookery Bay NERR
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Loxahatchee River Wekiva River

State level

Parks	Amelia Island Anastasia Avalon Bahia Honda Bald Point Big Lagoon Big Shoals Big Talbot Island Bill Baggs Cape Florida Bulow Creek Caladesi Island Camp Helen Cayo Costa Collier–Seminole Colt Creek Curry Hammock Delnor-Wiggins Pass Devil's Millhopper Don Pedro Island Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson Eden Gardens Egmont Key Falling Waters Faver-Dykes Florida Caverns Fort Clinch Fort Cooper Fort George Island Fort Pierce Inlet Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou Gasparilla Island George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier Grayton Beach Henderson Beach Highlands Hammock Honeymoon Island Hontoon Island Hugh Taylor Birch John D. MacArthur Beach John Pennekamp Coral Reef Jonathan Dickinson Little Talbot Island Long Key Lovers Key Mike Roess Gold Head Branch North Peninsula O'Leno Oscar Scherer Perdido Key Sebastian Inlet Skyway Fishing Pier St. Andrews St. George Island St. Joseph Peninsula Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Stump Pass Beach Tomoka Torreya Windley Key Fossil Reef
Botanical garden parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Lignumvitae Key Ravine Gardens Washington Oaks
Lakes, rivers and springs parks	Deer Lake Lake Griffin Lake June in Winter Scrub Lake Kissimmee Lake Louisa Lake Manatee Lake Talquin Alafia River Blackwater River Dunns Creek Econfina River Hillsborough River Little Manatee River Myakka River Ochlockonee River Oleta River Suwannee River Three Rivers Blue Spring De Leon Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs Fanning Springs Homosassa Springs Wildlife Ichetucknee Springs Lafayette Blue Springs Madison Blue Spring Manatee Springs Ponce de Leon Springs Rainbow Springs Silver Springs Troy Spring Weeki Wachee Springs Wekiwa Springs Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Wes Skiles Peacock Springs
Recreation areas	Dead Lakes Gamble Rogers Memorial
Museums, historic sites, and archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum Constitution Convention Museum Forest Capital Museum John Gorrie Museum Ybor City Museum The Barnacle Bulow Plantation Ruins Dade Battlefield DeSoto Site Dudley Farm Fort Foster Fort Mose Fort Zachary Taylor Gamble Plantation Indian Key Koreshan Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead Natural Bridge Battlefield Olustee Battlefield Orman House Paynes Creek San Marcos de Apalache Yellow Bluff Fort Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River Lake Jackson Mounds Letchworth-Love Mounds Madira Bickel Mound Mound Key San Pedro Underwater
Preserves and reserves	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Anclote Key Cedar Key Scrub Charlotte Harbor Crystal River Disney Wilderness Estero Bay Green Cay Wetlands Fakahatchee Strand Hal Scott Kissimmee Prairie Lower Wekiva River Paynes Prairie Pumpkin Hill Creek River Rise Rock Springs Run San Felasco Hammock Savannas Seabranch St. Lucie Inlet St. Sebastian River Tarkiln Bayou Topsail Hill Tosohatchee Waccasassa Bay Yellow River Marsh
State trails	Blackwater Heritage Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Gainesville-Hawthorne General James A. Van Fleet Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Jacksonville-Baldwin Nature Coast Palatka-Lake Butler Palatka-to-St. Augustine Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Withlacoochee
State forests	Belmore Big Shoals Blackwater River Carl Duval Moore Cary Charles H. Bronson Cottage Hill Deep Creek Etoniah Creek Four Creeks Goethe Holopaw Indian Lake Jennings John M. Bethea Lake George Lake Talquin Lake Wales Ridge Little Big Econ Matanzas Myakka Okaloacoochee Slough Picayune Strand Pine Log Point Washington Ralph E. Simmons Memorial Ross Prairie Seminole Tate's Hell Tiger Bay Twin Rivers Wakulla Watson Island Welaka Withlacoochee

This page was last edited on 3 August 2023, at 01:24

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