Two Versions of Florida’s Tallest Waterfall - Falling Waters State Park

Friday April 4th and Saturday April 5th, 2015
Falling Waters State Park
Chipley, Florida

 

 

FRIDAY April 4th

 

From Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park we drive north on I-75 and then west on I-10.  We’re headed for two nights at Falling Waters State Park and after 242 miles of straight interstate driving with one stop for gas we arrive.

At only 171 acres, Falling Waters is one of Florida’s smaller state parks.  It has one of the smallest campgrounds too with only 24 electric/water sites.  It’s very nice and quiet.  Somehow I manage to book the only paved site.  I guess it’s a handicapped site but it doesn’t say that on the site.   The other sites are also nice but many of them have slight leveling problems so I would recommend site 3. It is a 40’ pull through.  35’ RVs are the largest that are permitted in this park and this is a good site for them with two exceptions.   Other sites I would take if I could not get number 3 would be 8 and 16.  The latter is also a pull through.

 

 

 

The first exception is that the dump station on this little campground road is right across from the back of site #3.  This actually causes us no trouble at all.  There aren’t that many people using it in a day and there is no odor.

 

 

 

 

The thing that is a problem is that the dump site is right off the back of the campsite.  The problem is not the dumpsite itself but that if you are in this site, you have to drive all the way to the end of the road and circle around the loop and come back to pull in the site correctly so your hook ups are on the correct side.

Therefore, when you want to dump your tanks, you will have to go out of the campground and find a place to turn around and come back into the campground, go to the end, around the circle and come back to the dump station right across from where you just left.   Not a BIG thing but since we are only here for two nights, we elect to use the bathroom just down the paved path from the site and skip the tank dumping until our next stop which isn’t very far away.

 

Falling Waters is known for two things, Florida’s highest waterfall at 73 feet and the campground  is located on one of the highest hills in Florida.  It is situated in a pine forest 324 feet above sea level.    The sizes do make you want to laugh don’t they but in Florida both of these things are TALL.

There are two named trails in the park although they come together and one is really just a spur off of the other one. 

We need some exercise after what is for us a very long drive.  We arrive early enough that we decide to take a hike knowing it is not a long one.  We want to get a look at these falls. 

Sorry about the reflections in the map. 

As you can hopefully see here, the Terrace Trail goes off from the campground to Falling Waters Lake so that’s where we start, on red.  We will then continue on to the Wiregrass trail, orange, and finally to the brown sinks trail.  We skip the arm of the orange trail with the parking areas.

 

 

 

The lake is small and has a roped off swimming section which is very popular locally.   We walked back over on Friday morning and by 9am people had moved in with their coolers and set up at the two picnic tables right by the lake.

 

 

 

 

We walk on beyond the lake over the boardwalk and come to one of the first oil wells in Florida which was drilled here in 1919. 

 

A tall, wooden derrick and steam driven rig were used to drill for oil but the drillers had little luck.  When a depth of 3,900 feet was reached a blow of gas was released from the drill site temporarily exciting area residents with a false report of a gusher. Promoters continued to drill the well to a final depth of 4,012 feet but no oil of commercial quality was ever found.  The well was capped in 1921. All that remains is the shaft protruding from the ground.

 

 

Our wildlife siting of the day was this squash bug.   He’s really good size for a true bug.  And was a standout on the boardwalk railing.

 

 

 

 I read in the park brochure that the waterfall flows best in late winter or early spring so we should be here at the perfect time to see it look like this picture on the front of the brochure.  Looks fabulous doesn’t it?

The waterfall is formed where a hilltop stream flows 73 feet down over the rim of a 100-foot deep, 20 foot wide cylindrical sink and then disappears into the Earth.  The water's final destination remains unknown

As we approach the waterfall’s wooden staircase we are very surprised at what we see.

 

 

 

It’s beautiful and the sound of the water raining down is lovely beyond words.  But it sure doesn’t look like that drapery of water on the front of the brochure.

 

 

 

I love waterfalls no matter the size.  We mostly have the viewing platform to ourselves and we stay quite a while enjoying the distinctly cooler temperatures and the music of the water.

 

As we leave there is a circular offshoot trail that goes around several sink holes.  Unfortunately they are working on this boardwalk and about half of it is closed.   We walk around the half that is open and then return the same way we went.   The sun is in our eyes by now so only one picture turns out well enough to use.

If you love the springs of Florida as I do then you will have already learned about the karst landscape that causes many of them, the Devil’s Millhopper, this cave and the sink holes.  An enormously simplified explanation is that anywhere the substrate is limestone, as in Florida and other places with caverns, when rain falls and is mixed with the carbon dioxide  in the air it forms a mild acid.  This soaks into the ground and over time eats holes in the limestone.    The holes get bigger.   

 

 

 

The hole in the bottom of the sinkhole.

 

 

On our way back to the campsite David notices this sign by the swimming lake.  He’s thinking the waterfall is “controlled”.  It’s true that all over this country we refuse to let our waters run freely.  Although I can’t imagine why they would want to limit the water to the falls here.  That’s their claim to fame. 

 

 

 

We crossed into Central time today which was helpful on such a long driving day but will be equally problematic to lose that hour going the other way in a few days when we leave Florida.   It’s been a long day and feels later than it is.

 

 

SATURDAY April 5

 

Today we had thought we might kayak the near by Chipley River but we have not investigated this at all and need to run a couple of errands, most importantly to get some of David’s prescriptions refilled.   We also need to find somewhere to watch the two Final 4 Men’s Basketball games this evening.

First thing this morning we walk the trail to the waterfall where the lighting is much better than it was yesterday afternoon.  David is interested in where the water goes.

 

 

 

100 feet down this is what my zoom lens sees.

 

 

 

I’m just interested in water period.  I love water and can’t imagine living anywhere again that doesn’t have a water place for me to be.  I’m happy on the road as long as pretty often I can be near water of one sort or another.  One of the best parts of this life is seeing all the many and varied waters in this land.

 

 

 

 

Lichens, ferns, mosses and liverworts are behind the falls and around the sides of the sink hole.   The falls may be little but they are still just beautiful.  And the sounds of the water flowing over and tumbling down are gentle like a lovely rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One last look back and we return to the board walk headed for our errands and a night of basketball.

 

On the pavement near the little lake we find that a kindred spirit has made an important mark in the concrete.  Sure hope everyone who walks by notices it.

 

 

Since we don’t get Turner TV, we can’t watch the games at home.  It seems that Washington County is a dry county here in Florida so there are no sports bars where the NCAA Final 4 might be showing.  We end up at Pizza Hut where they graciously allow us to linger over a pizza from 5:00 until nearly 10.  For all of the Duke win over Michigan State and half of the Wisconsin win over Kentucky.  Actually they would have let us stay for the entire thing but we think we know who is going to win the second game, we are tired, it’s after 11:00 “our time” and we’re old folks.  We listen to the end on the radio and decide we should have stayed to watch it.  Oh well……………  We have to move again tomorrow though it is one of our shortest moves ever so we can sleep in.