HERITAGE FARM INTERPRETIVE WALK

This ½-mile walk loops around the farm pond located at the park’s award-winning Heritage Farm. The best place to begin and end your walk is at the parking lot at the Heritage Farm. Located along the walk are interpretive stations were you can read information about the habitats, plants and animals that can be found at General Coffee State Park. This walk is also a great walk for birding enthusiasts as many species of water birds and songbirds can be spotted near the pond year-round.

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EAST RIVER TRAIL

The East River Trail begins on the west side of the Seventeen Mile River near picnic shelters #5 and #6. The trail starts with a ½-mile-long boardwalk that crosses the river to the east side of the park. As you walk along the boardwalk keep an eye open for wading birds and river otters during the wet season and for deer and raccoon during the dry season.

The Seventeen Mile River is an ephemeral river fed by runoff water from rainfall and fresh water springs. Rivers such as this one are also called black water rivers for the dark tea-colored water. During dry years ephemeral rivers may completely dry up and the river bottom will be green with moss, ferns, grasses and wildflowers. During wetter years the water level at this point in the river will reach to within a few feet of the bottom of the boardwalk. There are deeper areas of the river that are referred to as “lakes.” It is in these deeper areas that the fish and other aquatic animals survive during the dry times to repopulate the river when the waters return. To judge the average water level in the river you just need to look for the point on the Cypress trees were the trunk starts to sloop outward.

As the trail leaves the river and you return to solid ground you are climbing the side of a small hill. The change from river to upland happens within just a few feet of trail as you rapidly climb the few feet in elevation needed to go from a wet river bottom to a dry sandhill. Here it is easy to see how just a few feet of elevation can make a huge difference in the types of plants and animals that live in the area. Take note of the loose white sand that is common in these areas. The dry area you are now entering provides good growing conditions for trees such as hickory and oaks. The understory of the forest is full of different species of blueberry bushes.

The trail will cross and re-cross the park road and continue back down to the edge of the river. As you approach the river you will see a change take place in the forest as you enter wetter areas. Magnolia trees dominate this section of the riverbank. There are several different types of magnolias that grow in this area, but the dominant one is the Southern Magnolia. The best time to see these trees in bloom are the months of April and May. If you look carefully in the branches of these trees you may be lucky enough to see the rare Greenfly Orchid in bloom.

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WEST RIVER TRAIL

Beginning near picnic shelter #4, the West River Trail is the oldest trail on the park. This trail travels along the western edge of the Seventeen Mile River from the picnic area to campground #2. Along the route the trail crosses several drainage areas where wet-weather creeks feed the river. The trail bed is relatively compacted and easy to walk, but the trail can be narrow in places with exposed tree roots. As you travel along this trail you will experience two different habitats. The river will be on one side and along the other side is mostly upland pine forest. This occurs because this trail is situated in what is known as the ecotone, or boundary zone between these two distinct habitats.

The upland pine forest in this area is dominated by Longleaf Pine trees and Wiregrass. This is one of the two types of longleaf habitats seen at General Coffee State Park. The other is the Longleaf-Turkey Oak forest found in the sandhill areas. These upland forests are home to many different types of songbirds and small mammals. During the spring and fall these woods are full of native wildflowers. Like the sandhill areas, the upland pine forest needs to burn periodically, every 2-5 years, in order to remain a pine forest. The park actively manages these areas by conducting controlled burns that prohibit the hardwood trees from taking over the pine forest and allow the young longleaf seedlings to germinate and grow.

Looking in the river area along this trail you will see a mixture of Cypress, Black Gum and Red Maple trees. Scattered within the river are small islands that support pond pine and other species of trees and bushes. This variety of plant life leads to a variety of wildlife. As you walk along the trail you will see and hear songbirds, owls, hawks, raccoons, whitetail deer, snakes, and many other animals. If you stroll along the trail soon after sunset on a summer evening you may be treated to a light show as the lightening bugs rise from the riverbanks for their nightly mating flight.

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GOPHER LOOP TRAIL
Gopher Loop is a 1.4-mile loop trail that takes you into the sandhill management area of the park. You may access this trail at two points, the trailhead located near the main park road (there is a small parking area here) or from the West River Trail as it joins into Gopher Loop behind campground #2. This is the driest area in the park and during the summer it can be very hot, so be sure to take water and a hat. It is along this trail that you have the best chance of seeing the protected Gopher Tortoise and the threatened Indigo Snake.

Scattered throughout the sandhill are many Gopher Tortoise colonies. Each colony usually contains 10-15 burrows and is home to 10 or more tortoises. This species of tortoise is the only tortoise in the Southeast and is an important member of the sandhill community. The Gopher Tortoise is often referred to as a keystone species since upward of 300 other species of wildlife will utilize the Gopher Tortoise burrow to stay cool in the heat of the summer and to escape the fires that are an important part of this ecosystem. These burrows can be over 30 feet in length and may be 6 or more feet below the surface of the ground. Located at the entrance to each burrow is an area of sand called the apron. This is the sand that the tortoise kicks out of the burrow as it is digging its tunnel. It is in this apron area that the female tortoise will lay her eggs. Be very careful when walking around these burrows not the step on the apron or to near the tunnel entrance, as sometimes the beginning of the tunnel will collapse under your weight.

A restoration project began in this sandhill area in 2005. Due to years of controlling fires the various species of oak trees had begun to shade out the longleaf pines, wiregrass and many of the plants the Gopher Tortoises depends on for food. In order to bring balance back to the system and to allow for controlled burns to take place in the future the oaks had to be thinned out and 25,000 Longleaf Pine seedlings were planted. To many this may look like a dry desolate area, but it is in fact teaming with life. If you look closely you may see longleaf pines in the grass stage and if you visit during the summer you will see the wiregrass and many wildflowers in bloom. These wildflowers and grasses attract many types of insects that in turn attract animals that eat insects. Due to the arid conditions the best time to see wildlife in the sandhill is early in the morning and late in the evening.

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