A Walk In The Park

Location: Ravine Gardens State Park

BY FABRIZIO GOWDY

Must See

Ravine Gardens is known as much for its man-made elements as its natural features. The sets of stone steps and the wooden suspension bridges spanning the ravine are popular picture spots. Much of the original landscaping, terraces, and waterworks still stand today, as does the “Court of States,” where bubbling fountains and two rows of stone columns bearing flags of all 50 states lead to a 64-foot obelisk dedicated to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The park was one of nine in Florida constructed by the Works Progress Administration, the New Deal-era program that put millions of unemployed men to work building new infrastructure.

Swaying suspension bridges, clear and sandy-bottomed creeks, and winding stone steps climbing up and down a steep gorge—these are just some of what visitors encounter in Ravine Gardens State Park (1600 Twigg St.), something of a Northeast Florida geologic anomaly found in Palatka.

When You Visit

V Park amenities include several hiking trails, a short but scenic drive, numerous picnic tables and pavilions, and a small playground. Comfortable closed-toed shoes are a must if you plan on hitting the trails, and water and bug spray are a good idea if you visit during the warmer months. The park is open every day 8 AM to sunset, $5 per vehicle admission fee. Leashed pets are welcome.

V Ravine Gardens has four walking trails ranging from 0.6 to 2.5 miles. The Azalea Trail is the park’s most strenuous, traversing exposed roots, narrow paths, steep elevation changes and stone stairs, but it rewards you with two suspension bridges and unbeatable views of the ravines. The Whitewater Path is an easy hike for all ages and abilities, following the spring-fed Whitewa- ter Branch Creek 0.7 miles along the bottom of the ravine. Dipping your feet in the cool, clear water is a refreshing all-natural way to beat the heat if you visit during the summer.

V If you have limited mobility or are short on time, you can still view the ravines from the scenic drive encircling the top of the

In Bloom

park. The paved, 1.8-mile loop is open to cyclists and cars and provides access to half a dozen picnic tables and observation points offering vistas of slopes as high as 120 feet and as steep as 45 degrees. As you make your way around the loop, be sure to notice the original roadside brickwork left over from the 1930s.

When the park first opened on July 4th, 1933, visitors were drawn not to its trails but to its five acres of formal gardens. Today, the gardens continue to attract visitors. January to March is azalea season, the park’s peak flowering season, with as much as 60 percent of the bushes blooming simultaneously. u