People ask me all the time, “So, what exactly is there to do in Pensacola?” And, even though I’ve lived here for almost 15 years, I always answer with something along the lines of, “Uh well, there’s... um, yeah. No clue. I don’t get out much.”
Last weekend I decided to change that and go exploring! There really is a lot to do in Pensacola; you just gotta know what to look for.
I had a friend tell me about this nice little (ha!) walking trail called Tarkiln Bayou State Park (2401 Bauer Rd, Pensacola, FL 32506 – Google Maps). There is a $3 parking fee (I find that pretty reasonable) and picnic tables just inside the gate.
There are two trails you can take. You can take the boardwalk trail, Tarkiln Bayou Trail, which is a one-mile loop. It leads to a lookout over the beautiful Bayou.
The second trail (the one I took) is a 7.2-mile loop with unpaved paths through waist-high grass and fairly wooded areas. The path itself is pretty obvious, but there are trail markers every half mile for the first 2.5 miles, followed by blue marks painted on the trees (pretty sure they knew there would be extremely directionally challenged people like myself coming through).
The beauty there is absolutely stunning. The pine trees give off a sweet scent about halfway through the trail. There are many different types of plants and birds that are identified on park signs throughout the trail. The butterflies floating around are about the size of your hand, the dragonflies are fairly friendly (and at times, up close and personal), the lizards love to race you and the Cicadas sing to you most of the way.
After the first two miles, you start getting into the more wooded area, giving you more shade and slightly cooler temperatures. After about 3.5 miles, there is a break-away path that will lead you right to the water. The breeze coming from the bay is wonderful (I highly recommend taking your shoes off and sticking your feet in the water to cool off after that long trek).
We stopped for a few minutes and ate our snacks and drank our water (bring lots of water), cooled off some more and then continued on our walk.
Florida is rather finicky with the weather so after another half mile or so, the clouds got really dark. We made it to the end of the trail, but missed our turn to make the loop. We ended up just back tracking the way we came. By this time the sun was completely hidden and the rain started.
It was like a whole new place with the rain coming down. It went from this cute little trail splotched with golden sunshine to this almost ominous, mystical rain forest. The sound of the rain was very soothing, with the occasional rumble of thunder in the distance.
As we exited the forest-looking area and start back through the tall grassy path, the trail had become rather flooded so bringing an extra pair of shoes was a good idea on my part (good job, Andrea).
All in all, it’s a beautiful park, and well worth the trek (through rain or shine) if you’re willing to get a little sweaty (OK, a lot sweaty), a little tired and a little sandy.
If you are interested in making a visit to Tarkiln Bayou State Park, there is more info at https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Tarkiln-Bayou
Stay tuned to hear about more fun things to do in Pensacola!
