Maritime Tourism Trail

Overview

Travel through coastal marshes accented with long-leaf pine forests to visit an historic lighthouse, Spanish fort, quaint towns and fishing communities, an historic railroad trail, mineral springs, an aquarium, and maritime center.

Route: Coastal Highway (US Highway 98), which travels in an east to west direction, is also designated a Florida Scenic Highway, now named the Big Bend Scenic Byway.

Minimum Time: Allow one day for this trip, including lunch at a seafood restaurant or a picnic at a lake or riverfront site.

Distance: 36 miles including side trips.

Accommodations: Camping is available at Newport, Panacea, and Ochlockonee Bay. Lodging is available in St. Marks, along US 98, and in Panacea.

Restaurants: Restaurants cooking the freshest local seafood as well as other fare are located in St. Marks, Spring Creek, and Panacea.

Reservations: Go to www.mywakulla.com

Stop # 1: St. Marks Lighthouse

Facilities: Located inside the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, with a nature center, book/gift store, bathrooms, drinking water, picnic areas, boat ramps.

Minimum time: One-and-a half hours.

Fee: Yes. Golden Eagle passport accepted.

Hours: Sunrise to sunset. Arrive early or late for best wildlife viewing.

Contact: 850/925-6121; www.fws.gov/saintmarks

St. Marks Lighthouse

Directions: From US 98 in Newport, follow signs on CR 59 for 10.2 miles through the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge to the historic St. Marks Lighthouse on Apalachee Bay.

Description: Covering more than 68,000 acres of land and 31,000 acres of bay, the Refuge is internationally recognized as a haven for migratory birds and butterflies. The Refuge also has strong ties to a rich cultural past and is home to the St. Marks Lighthouse. Constructed from 1829-30, and rebuilt in 1842 at its current site, the picturesque tower is 88 feet high and constructed of brick and iron. The grounds are open to the public. Transfer of jurisdiction from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Refuge is currently pending.

Stop # 2. Newport County Park, St. Marks River, and Town of Newport.

Facilities: Camping, picnic facilities, bathrooms, boat launch and rentals, boardwalk, restaurant.

Minimum time: Fifteen minutes.

Newport County Park and Town Marker

Directions: The county park is located on the north side of US 98 almost directly opposite CR 59 ( Lighthouse Road) leading into the National Wildlife Refuge.

Description: The Historic Marker at the park entrance notes that the old Town of Magnolia was established about two miles from the park. The St. Marks River is accessed via a boat ramp and boardwalk. In the 1800s the St. Marks River provided the basis for a lucrative cotton transport business, which in turn supported the establishment of five towns along the river bank. Newport (originally called New Port when it was founded to replace Port Leon following a disastrous hurricane) became an economic center with as many as 1,500 inhabitants and a dozen large stores, warehouses, wharves, and stills. Newport was designated the county seat in 1844. In 1846 the Wakulla Hotel was built next to a sulfur spring (at a site on Plank Road one mile north from the intersection with US 98) and was marketed as a health resort for the allegedly medicinal quality of the mineral water. The town was seriously damaged during the Civil War. Once Florida’s second largest city, Newport had fewer than 30 residents by 1872. Newport revived for a few years during World War II when PT boats were built near there on the St. Marks River.

Stop # 3. City of St. Marks, Fort San Marcos de Apalache Historical State Park, and Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Trail State Park .

Facilities: Restaurants, lodging, Post Office, m arina, picnic facilities, boat rentals, gas, fishing and guide services, bike trail, interpretive walking trail, boat and canoe launch.

Minimum time: One-two hours.

City of St. Marks

Direction: From the St. Marks River continue west on the Coastal Highway ( US 98) for 2.4 miles to the intersection with Port Leon Drive (SR 363). Turn left (south) to visit the city of St. Marks.

Description: Located at the juncture of the St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers, St. Marks, now designated as a Waterfronts Florida Community, has one of the longest histories of any place in Florida. In fact, the city may be third oldest European settlement in North America.

Fort San Marcos de Apalache Historical State Park

Direction: In St. Marks, f ollow signs to the historic fort.

Description: The first European known to have seen this point was Panfilo de Narvaez in 1528. In 1679 the Spanish started building the first fort on this site, using logs painted with lime to look like stone, but pirates weren’t fooled by the camouflage. They looted and burned the fort a few years later. Forts at this site in St. Marks were later occupied by Spanish, British, Spanish again, then (for five weeks) by a force seeking to establish “the Nation of Muskogee,” and Spanish yet again, before being taken over for the United States by Andrew Jackson in 1818. The fort passed back into Spanish control one more time before U.S. troops occupied it in 1821. In 1861 it was reoccupied by Confederate troops and named Fort Ward. The site became a permanent possession of the United States at the end of the Civil War. A well-marked trail with an informative brochure leads visitors on a journey through the historic fortification ruins. A Visitor Center containing exhibits and artifacts covering the area's history is built on the foundation of an old marine hospital.

Fee: A contribution is encouraged.

Hours: 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Thursday through Monday. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.

Contact: 850/925–6216; www.floridastateparks.org/sanmarcos

Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Trail State Park .

Direction: Adjoining the Fort is the city’s attractive waterfront park, which serves as the southern trailhead for the historic railroad trail.

Description: Florida's first designated state trail follows the abandoned railbed of the historic Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad. The trail runs 16 miles south from Florida’s capital city, Tallahassee, through the Apalachicola National Forest, ending in St. Marks. Through the early 1900s this historic railroad corridor was used to transport cotton from the plantation belt to the coast for shipment to textile mills in England and New England. Today, as a paved trail, it provides an excellent recreational workout for bicyclists, walkers, and skaters. An adjacent unpaved trail also provides opportunities for horseback riding.

Stop # 4. Old Florida Fishing Community of Spring Creek.

Facilities: Boat launch and restaurant.

Minimum time: Thirty minutes (or longer to enjoy the restaurant).

Spring Creek

Directions: Continue west from St. Marks on US 98 for 11.3 miles, crossing the Wakulla River and passing the Inn at Wildwood and Wildwood Golf Course, Best Western Hotel, Medart Recreation Park, and Wakulla High School, to the intersection of US 98 and US 319. Turn left immediately past this intersection on US 98 (there is a sign for Spring Creek Restaurant).

Description: Spring Creek is a small rural fishing village on the banks of Dickerson Bay, which is little changed even today. The name comes from a first magnitude spring that upwells just off shore.

Stop # 5. Town of Panacea, Welcome Center, Mineral Springs, Big Bend Maritime Center, Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, and Rock Landing.

Facilities: Welcome Center, shops, grocery store, gas stations, Post Office, lodging, seafood restaurants, marina, marine supplies, fishing guides, RV camping, and several retail seafood houses offering fresh grouper, shrimp, oysters, clams, and other delicacies.

Minimum time: Three hours.

Town of Panacea

Directions: Continue west from the intersection with US 319 through Medart, passing a sugar cane field and several houses dating from the early 1900s. At the fork in the road to Sopchoppy on US 319, continue on US 98 past the Wakulla Middle School and the Panacea Unit of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge to the town of Panacea.

Description: A long-time commercial fishing village and a designated Waterfronts Florida Community. Panacea is steeped in maritime history, from the early days of catching huge runs of mullet by hand-drawn seine nets to later oystering, shrimping, and crabbing. The town is home to several fresh seafood houses and restaurants.

Wakulla County Welcome Center and Panacea Mineral Springs

Directions: The Wakulla County Welcome Center is on your left, just past Posey’s Up-The-Creek Restaurant.

Description: Perched on pilings overlooking Dickerson Bay, the Center offers sweeping views of the surrounding marshland and coastline. Stop in to look at old photographs, artifacts, artwork, and educational displays; pick up information about area attractions; and talk with the knowledgeable and friendly volunteer staff. You can walk directly across the road to visit the old Mineral Springs, which are planned to be restored to their original glory. Founded in 1895, Panacea was named for the healing properties of its many mineral springs. Visitors arrived from far away by buggy and plank road trams drawn by mules to bathe in the springs’ curative waters.

Hours: Weekly from 10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Big Bend Maritime Center

Directions: Located in the Bayside Shopping Center on US Highway 98.

Description: Pending acquisition of waterfront property for a permanent site on Dickerson Bay, the Center operates a small “Mini-Museum” in the shopping center with exhibits, photographs, artifacts, interpretive displays, merchandise, and general information on the Maritime Heritage of the Big Bend region. The Center also sponsors an annual Maritime Festival in November, a fall lecture series, and heritage boat trips on the water.

Fee: Contributions are gratefully accepted.

Hours: The Center anticipates moving to a new location in 2009. For hours and directions contact Bill Lowrie at 962-4138.

Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory and Aquarium

Directions: 225 Clark Drive, in Panacea. Directional signs are located on US 98 and elsewhere in Panacea.

Description: 25,000-gallon marine aquarium. A fun experience for the whole family with open touch tanks providing visitors a close look at the enormous diversity of Big Bend sea life including marine species large and small, such as sand shark, grouper, horseshoe crab, and seahorse. The aquarium also has displays, dioramas, and a gift and book shop.

Fee: Yes.

Hours: 9:00-5:00 Monday-Friday, 10:00-4:00 Saturday, 12:00-4:00 Sunday.

Contact: 850/984-5297; www.gulfspecimen.org

Rock Landing

Directions: On Dickerson Bay at the end of Rock Landing Road.

Description: Panacea’s scenic working waterfront, with marina, charter fishing boats, waterfront restaurant, and docks. Note: The public pier and dock are currently under reconstruction, and scheduled for completion in 2009.

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