Florida State Parks: Econfina River State Park
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| Econfina River State Park |
Summary:
It's not often that I have a free Sunday, so I decided to check out a new park. After my distance run along part of the St. Marks Trail (not a totally free Sunday of course), it was time to load up the truck and hit the road. The weather forecast was saying 50% thunderstorms late morning through the afternoon. If you take Florida summer forecasts to heart and decide not to go outside, you will miss out on all the summer fun. Worst case scenario, we will be on kayaks on a river in a thunderstorm. Not terrible right?
There's not much information about Econfina River State Park besides the Florida State Parks website. There are also limited resources on the Econfina River itself. It's definitely the river less traveled and worth checking out. You will need your own kayak, but that should be a required item for an adventurer in the Florida Panhandle.
There's not much information about Econfina River State Park besides the Florida State Parks website. There are also limited resources on the Econfina River itself. It's definitely the river less traveled and worth checking out. You will need your own kayak, but that should be a required item for an adventurer in the Florida Panhandle.
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| Econfina River State Park |
The Gear:
- Dagger Mamba kayak
- Werner Sherpa paddle
- Specialized Jett Sport 29
- Astral Brewers
- GoPro Hero 3
- Ascend 10-ft purple beast party barge kayak
The Story:
Shuttling and Organization --
The challenge - 2 kayaks and 2 mountain bikes in a standard bed of a Tacoma. The purple beast of a kayak went in first, with the Mamba on top of it. We had to take the front wheels off of our bikes, and then placed a bike on each side of the kayak tower. Queue ratchet straps and bungee cords securing things in place.
The plan is to meet Mike at the intersection of 27 (Apalachee Pwky for Tally folks) and 59 (the road that leads directly to Wacissa). From there, we followed Mike to our destination. Since we were just going to paddle downstream, we had to shuttle. There is a boat ramp right off US Hwy 98 on the east side of the bridge over the Econfina River. From there we dropped off all of our paddling gear and equipment and transferred bikes and gear to Mike's truck. Mike has a cover over the bed of his vehicle which allows us to more easily lock up our mountain bikes. Google Maps says it's 12 minutes from there to the ramp at Econfina River State Park.
The road to the park was empty until we got close to the coast. About a mile out, outfitter shops, RV parks, and the like started popping up. We pulled into the park where there is no manned ranger station. Basically the park is a parking lot with restroom facilities and two boat ramps. This park only has a $2 fee per vehicle. Mike pays his $2 and then we get in my truck to head back to the put-in.
This also means that I won't be getting my passport stamp today. This, along with three other parks, are all part of the San Marcos de Apalache stamp group. I still have yet to get the stamp for the St. Marks Trail too. I think my next park visits will be to San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park and St. Marks River Preserve State Park to get all my stamps for that group.
The plan is to meet Mike at the intersection of 27 (Apalachee Pwky for Tally folks) and 59 (the road that leads directly to Wacissa). From there, we followed Mike to our destination. Since we were just going to paddle downstream, we had to shuttle. There is a boat ramp right off US Hwy 98 on the east side of the bridge over the Econfina River. From there we dropped off all of our paddling gear and equipment and transferred bikes and gear to Mike's truck. Mike has a cover over the bed of his vehicle which allows us to more easily lock up our mountain bikes. Google Maps says it's 12 minutes from there to the ramp at Econfina River State Park.
The road to the park was empty until we got close to the coast. About a mile out, outfitter shops, RV parks, and the like started popping up. We pulled into the park where there is no manned ranger station. Basically the park is a parking lot with restroom facilities and two boat ramps. This park only has a $2 fee per vehicle. Mike pays his $2 and then we get in my truck to head back to the put-in.
This also means that I won't be getting my passport stamp today. This, along with three other parks, are all part of the San Marcos de Apalache stamp group. I still have yet to get the stamp for the St. Marks Trail too. I think my next park visits will be to San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park and St. Marks River Preserve State Park to get all my stamps for that group.
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| Google Maps: US-98 ramp to Econfina River State Park |
Paddling the Econfina River
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| US-98 Boat Ramp / Kayak Launch Econfina River |
Paddles - Check
PFDs - Check
Snacks - Check
Water - Check
Beer - Check
GoPro - Check
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| Boat ramp right next to US Hwy 98 Bridge Econfina River |
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| Heading downstream under the 98 Bridge Econfina River |
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| 98 Bridge Econfina River |
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| Smiles! The rain hasn't started yet. |
I attached a GoPro mount to the front of my kayak for the first time. I used two options - video and the setting where it takes photos every few seconds. I wasn't sure how everything would turn out, but the majority of the pictures are clear. I can't wait to do this in whitewater.
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| How did I fall so far behind? Econfina River |
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| Caught up! Econfina River |
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| Econfina River |
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| All together now Econfina River |
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| Check out those cypress knees and trees |
Yes - cypress knees. Gotta love em.
I'm also able to turn the direction of the GoPro so I can take some glamour (and also not so glamorous) shots of myself.
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| Overcast Econfina River |
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| Super glamorous. The sky is ominous. The rolling thunder continued. It never rained while we were on the water. Econfina River |
Sometimes you have to pick how you want to go around something, and sometimes you pick wrong.
Lessons Learned.
In other cases, there are two choices to get around.
I was picking up trash too. There were several Styrofoam bait things that I found. Also a gross beer bottle and a Bud Light can. I was super thrilled about picking it up.
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| Trash Pick-Up Econfina River |
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| My 'Ew Gross' face apparently Econfina River |
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| Cool trees "because who doesn't like cool trees" Econfina River |
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| Gotta have a gose while on the go(se) Also a view of my GoPro mount plus its life jacket |
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| Cypress Knee |
Below is a sign that reads 'Park Boundary - No Trespassing - Florida Dept of Natural Resources'. This leads to a lot of questions. First of all, are we really that close to the park boundary? Second, we have a FLDNR?
I did some digging, AKA Wikipedia research. The Department of Natural Resources, for state parks and recreation areas, was one of four environmental protection agencies in the mid-1960's. The Department of Environmental Regulation (FDER) was created in the mid-1970s where its function was to manage the state's air water quality and making major decisions about land management keeping it free from contamination. The Department of Environmental Regulation and Department of Natural Resources merged in the mid-1990's to create the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Wikipedia Source
In other words, this is an old sign from before the mid-1990's when the FLDNR was entrusted with the state parks. The park's borders must have changed too since then.
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| Old school FL DNR sign Econfina River |
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| Econfina River |
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| An old bridge |
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| Econfina River |
Civilization! At this point we are definitely close to the park's boat ramp.
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| Interesting supports |
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| There's the park! Econfina River State Park |
Boat ramp at the park
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| I started my Garmin late :( |
We got a little lost early on where we went off the river. We were used to minor obstacles then we realized something was wrong when they kept coming and the water was getting narrower. Mike and Laryn even had to get out of their boats in order to go back to where we came from. My boat is little and built for maneuvering so I only had to get out briefly to get over a log that I don't remember how I went around it originally. It was at least 30 minutes of unnecessary effort and confusion, but we eventually figured it out.
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| GPS showing how we f'd up |
We are sort of convinced that we are the first ones to ever paddle down this river with how quiet, peaceful, and untouched it is. By untouched I mean we definitely had to choose our own adventure in numerous spots. We listened to the birds and enjoyed the serene nature. No other people, no motorized boats. Just us and the constant threat of an impending thunderstorm.
Exploring the Park --
As I mentioned earlier, the park doesn't appear to be more than a parking lot and boat ramp. I'll start dissecting more details of the park from the boat ramp. There was a decent deck and 2 ramps for launching. We pulled into one and grabbed the truck to put the two big boats on the roof rack. I carried mine over to the parking area.There is a sign by the ramps about understanding manatee basics. Manatees are an endangered Florida native aquatic mammal species. They have signs posted for motorized boats to either go idle speed or slow speed in known areas of large manatee congregations.
They also have a sign about black bass fishing regulations. One of the reasons I just can't get into fishing is all of the rules. I respect the rules, but it just seems too tedious for me. Therefore I appreciate all of the work that licensed fishermen do and will happily buy the fish I would like to consume. The park is roughly 2 miles down the Econfina River to the coast.
The following pictures are from around the park:
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| Picnic Area Econfina River State Park |
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| Welcome and Park Information Econfina River State Park |
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| Important phone numbers sign next to restrooms entrance Econfina River State Park |
Eight miles of paddling works up an appetite. Snacks can only do so much, so Mike made peanut butter honey sandwiches as we were in between paddling and biking.
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| Econfina River State Park |
The Marsh Island Loop (blue trail) begins at the boat ramp. It looked to connect with the orange loop, which we planned to ride from there. Plans must also be adaptable because sometimes there are major trailblocks.
The trails are all multi-use and like the river, we believed we might be the first people to ever go on them. They were wide and rocky and had plenty of eye-level vegetation ready to slap you in your face. I also became one with a spider web.
Even if we were just joking about being the first ones to ever paddle the Econfina and ride on the trails, we are being totally serious when we say we were the first ones ever on the Marsh Island Loop. PROOF below:
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| River crossing on the trail?? |
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| Too deep to confidently cross through. If only we had the options that they have playing Oregon Trail. |
We turned around and rode up the road to find the Big Pine Loop (orange trail). There were actually park brochures in the info box at this trailhead. I grabbed one for my collection. The orange trail is different from the blue trail because there are actually bridges where there are creek crossings. I guess other people have been on these trails before us. It looked like there was some construction still in progress. Then hopefully it will move on over to blue.
The trail was similar style. It was wide and had a variety of terrain. Lots of sand patches and dirt, with plants extending into the trail. Also a variety of rocks, branches, and wood on the ground. It was very coastal with a mix of forest. How North Florida of it.
We saw 2 deer on the trail, but they ran off quickly as they noticed us approaching. We then came across an interesting wired cage looking thing. Not sure what it is, maybe a trap of some sort?
The stretches of sand on the trail got fairly brutal. It knocked Laryn over completely twice. It was easier to walk through. My mountain bike skills are not the best, and sand just makes everything harder.
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| Laryn's death trap Econfina River State Park |
We got to the point where Orange merged with Blue and got back on the Blue trail to attempt the loop. The obstacle we found on Blue was before we reached the circle. Continued until we got confused again and just turned back. It had already been a long day. I would post the Strava details, but this ride does not have anything interesting on it.
The clouds in the North looked threatening when we were packing up. Mike drove me back to my truck while Laryn stayed with our bikes/boats. He was going to move everything under a shelter in order to make sure it doesn't get rained on.
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| Leaving the park |
We drove the 12 minutes to get back to the boat launch. It started raining before we got on 98, and then it was raining cats and dogs and manatees once we turned onto 98. I put on my dry top (glad I brought it now) for the transition between trucks. I was not looking forward to loading up the 2 kayaks and 2 bikes in this heavy downpour. I drove back to the park, and the rain cleared up as I was driving. How is it that the timing has been this perfect for our entire day? I arrived at the park to observe that the storm never even bothered to visit. It was untouched. Loading up was less stressful than I thought it would be, and we got on our way back to Tallahassee. It rained pretty much the entire way.
Hurdles:
- No stamps at the park! Sadly this will be posted by the time the stamp is obtained. I will update the post once I have the picture.
- Ratchet straps. For some reason I just can't get the hang of attaching the ratchets. I have no problem tightening and loosening them, but oh my gosh for the life of me I can never figure it out. I need to dedicate time to practice it with a good YouTube tutorial.
- Gas. Again. My light goes on as we approach the US-98 boat ramp. No problem right? Well I kept forgetting until it's thunderstorming/raining a whole bunch, and I still have to go back to the park to pick up all the gear and Laryn. We start driving while trying to find the nearest gas station. Siri and Google tell us that we have at least 20 miles until we get to one. Panic hasn't set in too bad even though the gauge is sitting right at 0. Out of nowhere appears a country store tackle shop place with a gas pump. I guess Google doesn't know about this place, but it was a total lifesaver. They were old-fashioned in the sense I pumped first then paid.
- Minor river navigation problems. Yes the river had some tricky obstacles, but if the obstacles seem to be never ending, you are probably going the wrong way. Oops.. I'm just glad that I wasn't alone.
Relevant Quote:
"If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you'll never enjoy the sunshine."
- Morris West
Other:
Econfina River and Econfina Creek are NOT the same thing. I got confused in my research for about 15 minutes pulling up descriptions mostly on the creek. It wasn't until I looked at what I starred on Google maps did I realize one is west of Tally and one is east.Even after going on the River, it is still confusing. Are they connected? No.. What does Econfina River mean? Even Wikipedia specifies "Not to be confused with Econfina Creek". If you look at both pages, they were named for the same reason. I'm going to have to paddle this damn creek sometime soon.
I looked at the source for the Natural Well Branch tract. This is the upper part of the river by Hwy 19 that we did not go on. I can't find evidence on the internet about this natural bridge though. I also found the Lower Econfina River Wildlife Management Area on the Florida FWC website. The site discusses 'Econfina chert', a term I hadn't come across yet.
"Since prehistoric times, people have enjoyed the abundant resources found here, which include Econfina chert, a type of rock used to make stone tools and projectile points."
Now I have something new to Google. I came across this 2006 DEP Econfina River State Park Unit Management Plan, which adds more interesting topics to the conversation. But to clear things up, it reads:
"Chert, synonymous with flint, is a hard, dense sedimentary rock consisting of very small interlocking quartz crystals. It can be found deposited as concretions or nodules within limestone on the Econfina tract. When chert fractures, its surface remains smoothly curved. Econfina chert was worked on site by Native Americans to produce hand cutting or scraping tools and projectile points. This is evidenced by scattered chert debitage on some areas of the property, and an Archaic Period chert quarry (Master Site File 8TA0033) located just off the Econfina property." Source
The plan also discusses camping. It recommends locations along the trails as well as a paddlers' primitive campsite. It looks like the paddling campsite came to fruition and is only to be used by paddlers on the Big Bend Saltwater Paddling Trail. Source
The park's website does not advertise camping; however their trail map looks like they seriously entertained it. (No, those are not mile markers). We reached the #4 area, and it looks like it could have been cleared for a campsite. The numbers all look like potential sites, but they are not labeled on the map. According to the 2006 Unit Management Plan, they have 16 proposed Primitive campsites:
The map shows 20 potential primitive sites, but 17-20 potentially look like they were thrown in later. Especially 20 - it's hanging out with 8, 9, and 11. Hang out with kids your own age, 20.
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| Trail Map |
Here is my stampless passport page:
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