Images from a camping trip through the Florida Panhandle: Museums, parks, and beaches

The lonely beaches of St. George Island, Florida - License our images here.          

In 2012, we spent some time wandering around the Florida Panhandle. The first stop was St. George Island State Park with its miles of lonely beaches and the tallest sand dunes in Florida - of course, they are not as big as the ones we found in Colorado or Death Valley. 

The campground is in a forest of pines. One day, our neighbors left their campfire unattended and pine needles caught fire. We used fire extinguishers to put the flames out. Those folks learned a lesson. 

Two hiking trails depart from the camp, the short one goes to the interior coast, the other ends over tall dunes by the beach. We rode the bikes through the five-mile trail that reaches the eastern tip of the island - and had to dismount in some parts due to sugar-like sand. The trail ends across Dog Island. There were some homes in the other side of the canal, but that island doesn't connect to the mainland by road. The canal had strong currents.   

Sand riding to the eastern tip of St. George Island.

We also visited a place called Compass Lake in the Hills. This is a quiet community with many lots of land on sale. The nature is beautiful, and pricing was low for one acre lots. Interesting. There is another lake in this place named McCormick. Small beach with picnic tables. All for us the day we visited.  

Compass Lake and our truck camper in the campground. 

Close to Compass Lake is the small city of Marianna. Founded in 1828, the name combines the names of the founder's wife and a friend (Mary + Anna = Marianna). A battle of the Civil War happened here. The commander of the Union forces was an immigrant from Hungary - General Alexander "Sandor" Asboth. 

The visitor center, the center of the town, and the monument of the Battle of Marianna. 

Very close to this city is Florida Caverns State Park. There is a good campground there - we returned to this camp in 2021. We took the cave tour early morning and got a guide just for us. We were the only ones. The cave is beautiful with a ton of stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and draperies. Many rocks from the underwater past of Florida. 

The cave with its cathedral formation. Magnificent sculptures by nature.

Many believe that this cave is mentioned in the writings of Friar Barreda, a member of the first overland expedition to Pensacola in 1693.

Here we spent the night in the hollow of such a beautiful and unusual rock that I can state positively that more than 200 men could be lodged most comfortably in it.

(In this blog post is mentioned a description written by the Catholic missionary of the Blue Spring - also in this state park.) 

A band of Indians also hid in the caverns from the troops of Andrew Jackson in 1818. During the Civil War, civilians took refuge in the caverns during a battle. 

North of Florida Caverns State Park, we found the Bellamy Bridge. This steel bridge from 1851 over the Chipola River is surrounded by a ghost story. It's said that the spirit of Elizabeth Jane Bellamy wanders around here after the tragedy of her wedding night. We didn't see her ghost.

The "ghostly" Bellamy Bridge, the trailhead, and the Chipola River. 

Another stop was Falling Waters State Park. This small park has the highest waterfall in Florida, but the problem for us was that there was not water. The creek was dry because of the winter. We only saw a cliff and a hole in the ground. There is a campground in this park and short trails plus a lake with a small beach.  

Falling Waters State Park was mostly empty. Center: The dry waterfall and the hole created by the water. The small lake with the beach. 

Close to the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico, the Air Force Armament Museum in Eglin Air Force Base was an interesting trip - it's close to Destin. This is not a big museum, but has enough planes, bombs, and missiles to satisfy any weekend warrior. We went on a rainy day. A walk under umbrellas. 

Warplanes from different times in the Air Force Armament Museum of Eglin Air Force Base.

We couldn't miss Tallahassee, the capital of Florida. Strange to think that only two centuries ago the lovely state of Americans in retirement was "the last frontier" and, likely, a dangerous place.  

Tallahassee means "old town" in an Indian language - Creek? Hernando de Soto and Pánfilo de Narváez found Anhaica here. In 1824, Tallahassee became the capital of the Florida Territory. It was a convenient location halfway between St. Augustine and Pensacola. 

The Florida Capitol was completed in 1845 when Florida became a state of the Union.

Near Tallahassee, we camped on the shores of Lake Talquin. It was quiet and far enough from the noisy city. Spiders on the trees, chickens wandering around, and beautiful sunsets.

Sunset in Lake Talquin near the city of Tallahassee.              

Also in Tallahassee, we visited the Alfred B. Maclay Gardens. We spent a morning in the gardens. Nice spot to chill out.

The Maclays bought the property in 1923 and built the gardens on the shores of Lake Hall.

Years later, we returned to explore the western part of the Florida Panhandle. We found old forts, beaches, and museums - check some posts from that trip here.