New NE Florida State Forest: Four Creeks State Forest Opens Near Callahan, FL

First to open, the north entrance may be accessed directly from Florida A1A, 4 miles east of Callahan and 5 miles west of Interstate 95. The south entrance may be reached by turning right on Stratton Road at Callahan's Winn-Dixie, right on Hodges, left on Bismark and, finally, after travelling several miles, left again on Pacetti Road. Pacetti becomes Five Mile Road at the Four Creeks State Forest entrance.

Some of Bismark and all of Pacetti are unpaved and become very difficult for two-wheel drive vehicles in rainy weather. I had to leave my van at the south entrance and my guide and I used a 4-wheel drive truck for our tour because of the wet road conditions. We did the same on the north portion of our tour.

While some of the Forest's 24 miles of roads have been reworked by laying geo-fabric and putting lime rock on top of that, there were sections of unimproved road where even the 4-wheel drive had trouble getting through. The geo-fabric prevents the lime rock from sinking into the sand and helps make two-wheel drive possible, even under the wet conditions.

Two sections have been reworked so far at a total cost of nearly $130,000. Eventually, all the roads within the park will get this treatment. While, at first look, several homes on the left side of the road appear to be located within the Forest, none are actually on the property.

Strangely enough, some sections remain difficult even during dry weather due to sand. Hay placed on the roadway improves traction but also provides a bit of a treat for Forest animals. We saw many hog tracks but the truck probably made too much noise and we didn't see any.

There are several natural boat landings on the four creeks which transverse the Forest. These creeks: Alligator (Mills), Thomas, Boggy and Plummer, form the headwaters of the Nassau River. They connect into Nassau Sound south of Amelia Island thus the creeks have tidal activity. There may also be alligators - I saw a place where one had often been seen.

This very pretty spot on Boggy Creek has a "natural" boat ramp. Kayaks and canoes may be used on most of the creeks and there are also some areas where Jon Boats or other small powered boats will be allowed.

The Division of Forestry does not plan to build boat ramps but will take advantage of "natural" ones, making sure they remain usable. Similarly, they do not intend building new roads but will improve existing ones to make access easier. They plan to install picnic tables within the next month or so. They're already on hand.

Fishing is allowed in the Forest with no special permit but hunting, which requires both a license and a Forest permit, may only be done during established seasons.

While neither motorcycles nor ATV's are allowed, horses are. They must have proof of a negative Coggins test which relates to Equine Infectious Anemia (http://www.eqgroup.com/Library/equine_infectious_anemia.html). Horse and hiking trails, while planned, had not been set up by January 2009.

No cabins are planned but camping areas will be provided. There is an historical cabin located near the intersection of Four Creek and Cabin Roads which is currently part of Camp Consequence (http://ihelpparents.com/).

State Forests also help support themselves through logging. Fifteen percent of logging proceeds are returned to the county in which the Forest is located.