The beginning of the Panhandle is about 4.5 hours away from where I live in DeLand, then it’s about another 4 hours to the farthest end. I knew it was going to take time to explore all of the parks in that area and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to return within my 1-year challenge. I planned on going up for a long weekend so I had time on my side. At first, I plan was to leave Friday and follow the parks all the way up and then camp throughout the panhandle, then I decided to camp in one spot and just day trip to the other parks. It never occurred to me that other people would want to camp on a long weekend as well. All of the state parks were booked up. I ended up finding a place right on the Florida/Georgia line, in Georgia. Still not sure why I didn’t just get a hotel room instead.
On my second day in the Panhandle, I got up super early and headed to Lafayette Blue Springs. I am pretty sure it was the coldest day of the year to explore North Florida! It was 37 degrees at 9 am. I certainly wasn’t prepared for that kind of weather but cold or not, the still water with the fog just sitting on top, was a pretty amazing sight to see. Once I witnessed the beauty all around me, the cold just didn’t matter much. I feel like it actually made that experience better. I got to see this park like few people do and I had it all to myself.
Before you visit, make sure you check out the parks website for all of the up-to-date park information: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/lafayette-blue-springs-state-park
