If you want to spend a few hours in nature, Suwannee River State Park is a good choice. It’s a 1,800 acre park with a handful of trails located on the shore of the Suwannee River just west of Live Oak, FL off of US 90.

We spent a few hours hiking all the trails and enjoying a picnic lunch overlooking the river. Next to the parking area are picnic tables, grills, a playground, and restrooms as well as picnic pavilions you can rent. Basically all the trails start from this area, though 2 of the trails are off another one from the parking lot. Of the 5 trails, only one is over a mile - Balanced Rock trail is 3 miles. We made a loop by combining parts of Lime Sink Run Trail, Balanced Rock Trail, and Suwannee River trail and then did both the remaining trails, Earthworks Trail and Sandhill Trail, ending the afternoon with a total of 5 miles.

Being out on the trails there is an opportunity for you to see wildlife, and we did spot some. We saw a pileated woodpecker, some butterflies, turtles, grasshoppers, and of course squirrels. It was winter, so we only saw a few wildflowers. Unfortunately we did not get to see the one natural feature the Balanced Rock Trail is named for. During high waters in 2015, the 20 ft monolith fell into the Suwannee River. If you are there when the water levels are low, you can see it lying on its side.

In addition to nature, the park has some history to offer. The town of Columbus was where the park is now located, and the Columbus Cemetery can still be visited on the Sandhill Trail. Earthworks Trail leads to earth mounds built by hand with shovels during the Civil War. They were constructed for use by confederate soldiers to defend and protect the nearby railroad bridge.

The park offers a few other amenities including a boat ramp, camping for RV’s and tents, and cabins to rent. The park is open 8am to sunset. There is an entrance fee of $5 per vehicle (2-8 people), and the charge is $2 for bicycles and pedestrians.

Across the river is another area of the park that is not accessible from this entrance. There are more trails here and we did hike there on a different day. This area can be access by dirt roads off of County Road 141. We used driving directions on All Trails for Big Oak Trail. You will be convinced you are lost driving the back roads but if you follow the coordinates and have faith you will come to a parking area. By hiking part of the Big Oak Trail and the Florida Trail to complete a 6-7 mile loop.

Suwannee River State Park

Jennings KOA

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge