Bulow Creek State Park

This site protects one of the largest remaining stands of southern live oak forest on Florida’s eastern coast. This beautiful property also includes Boardman Pond, a shorebird hotspot along the north side of Walter Boardman Ln. The Florida Park Service and local Audubon chapters installed an observation platform at the wetland’s edge. For access, park at the entrance just west of the bridge and hike north (go around the gate if locked) on the Bulow Woods Trail. Take the spur trail that leads west, then south, to the overlook. Walk quietly to avoid flushing the birds, and look for American Avocet, Dunlin, Lesser Yellowlegs, Western Sandpiper and a variety of migratory ducks. Return to the Bulow Woods Trail and walk through oak woodland to the vaulted ceilings of the Bulow Plantation Ruins’ ancient hammocks, and past Bulow Creek and its associated marshes. From the same entrance on Walter Boardman Ln., you may walk, bike or drive south through the woods towards additional marsh viewing opportunities. You can also access the Bulow Woods Trail and the short Skip Wahlin Trail (which loops around a groundwater spring) from the Fairchild Oak parking area on Old Dixie Hwy. Butterfly viewers may find large numbers of Salt Marsh Skipper, Great Southern White and Northern Cloudywing nectaring on thistles, lantanas and shepherd’s needles.