We headed to Falling Waters State Park in
Chipley, Florida Monday late morning on the 30
th of March. It is not quite an hour away. It is famous for having the tallest water fall in Florida. We have been to the park 2-3 times since being married but never went camping there. A few days before I reserved a camping spot on line. Upon arriving there we were very impressed with the campground. It is small, only 24 sites plus two camp host so that made it a little more private and intimate. The spot we got was fairly nice and close to the bathrooms but our only complaint was the campfire was located next to the road instead of in the middle of the campsite. We got the chairs out for the kids and started to set up. We got there about 12:30.
Here are the kids relaxing while we set up camp. We had to set up our tent and get all the stuff out of the van. It didn't take too long and by 2 p.m. we were headed down to the waterfalls.
Here is one of the sinkholes that are all over the park. They have boardwalks around them so people can walk safely by them to see them.
The waterfall falls 73 feet into a sink hole. They have a walkway down into the sinkhole (about a third of the way down) where you can get pretty close to the waterfall. We were pretty lucky. It had rained the few days before we left so it had a good amount of water falling from it. Last time we came, 2 years ago, about the same time of year it was dried up.
Here you can see the water falling to the bottom of the sink hole. It's a mystery to where it goes from there. The park is located at one of the tallest spots in Florida at just over 300 feet above sea level.
Near the waterfalls is located a picnic area and playground area. The kids enjoyed playing in the playground. It was a nice day outside and a lot of families were also there that day.
The kids enjoyed daddy pushing them on the swings.
That first day was really nice. We woke up the next morning to very overcast skies. After breakfast we took the kids out for another hike. We went back to the waterfalls but this time we took the trail from the campground that also went by the lake. Here is Sheila crossing one of the bridges over one of the many creeks.
The lake was not in very pristine condition. Supposedly there is a beach (now covered in pine straw.) I guess they haven't cleared it out from the winter stuff going on. If it had been a nice day and clear enough maybe we would have waded in the lake. There can be alligators in it so they have a partition off for swimming.
Timmy liked digging in the sand.
Here is another view of the waterfall from a little more up on the trail.
The kids also loved the big old pine cones in the park near the waterfalls. The kids and I played in the park again while daddy went and got the van since my feet were killing me. He came just in time for it to start raining. We got back to camp and put everything out of the rain and then went in the tent. After lunch and a nap it was still cloudy and getting worse. After learning that there would be severe thunderstorms that night and the next day we decided to leave a day early since Sheila is scared of storms and would be between us all night long.
Here is one of the sinkholes that are all over the park. They have boardwalks around them so people can walk safely by them to see them.
The waterfall falls 73 feet into a sink hole. They have a walkway down into the sinkhole (about a third of the way down) where you can get pretty close to the waterfall. We were pretty lucky. It had rained the few days before we left so it had a good amount of water falling from it. Last time we came, 2 years ago, about the same time of year it was dried up.
Here you can see the water falling to the bottom of the sink hole. It's a mystery to where it goes from there. The park is located at one of the tallest spots in Florida at just over 300 feet above sea level.
The kids enjoyed daddy pushing them on the swings.
That first day was really nice. We woke up the next morning to very overcast skies. After breakfast we took the kids out for another hike. We went back to the waterfalls but this time we took the trail from the campground that also went by the lake. Here is Sheila crossing one of the bridges over one of the many creeks.
The lake was not in very pristine condition. Supposedly there is a beach (now covered in pine straw.) I guess they haven't cleared it out from the winter stuff going on. If it had been a nice day and clear enough maybe we would have waded in the lake. There can be alligators in it so they have a partition off for swimming.
Timmy liked digging in the sand.
Here is another view of the waterfall from a little more up on the trail.
The kids also loved the big old pine cones in the park near the waterfalls. The kids and I played in the park again while daddy went and got the van since my feet were killing me. He came just in time for it to start raining. We got back to camp and put everything out of the rain and then went in the tent. After lunch and a nap it was still cloudy and getting worse. After learning that there would be severe thunderstorms that night and the next day we decided to leave a day early since Sheila is scared of storms and would be between us all night long.
2 comments:
How fun! I love waterfalls!
Great pics! Sorry it ended a day early. My kids were asking today when we could go camping again, too cold here still. ;)
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