Falling Waters State Park (near Chipley, Florida) is one of the best and dramatic examples of Florida's karst topography, that is also easily accessible. Here after a short but steep hike from the top of one of Florida's tallest hills (324 feet above sea level) one finds Florida's tallest waterfall (73-feet).
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A dry pinehill forest at the top of the Falling Waters Hill abruptly changes into a moist, and fern-covered hardwood forest with multiple sinkholes lining the trails and boardwalks that lead to where a creek cascades 73 feet into the mouth of a 100-foot-deep, 20-foot-wide sinkhole, before disappearing into a cave.
This topography is most similar to Slovenia or parts of Southern France and Italy in Europe. Another really good, easily accessible example is Madison Blue Spring and Falmouth Spring (both 150 miles to the east near Jasper).
Falmouth Spring can be either very eerie or kind of pretty depending on weather conditions and water levels. On this day the water was low and calm and yet still the forest was so quiet that there was an eeriness to the place. The water appears from a limestone escarpment on one end of the "spring" and disappears a few hundred feet to the west into a limestone cave, making this karst window perhaps the shortest river in the world.
There too one finds multiple sinks, sinkholes, karst windows and springs. Falmouth Spring, like Falling Waters, dramatically exposes the karst topography of Florida.
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| Falling Waters preserves an example of what Florida looked like 500 years ago when Spanish explorers first arrived. |
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| Caves and Sinkholes: Land in this area shows evidence of human habitation as early as 5,000 years ago. During the 1778 British occupation of Florida, Native Americans were still living on Falling Waters Hill and in the surrounding area. |
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| The creek cascades 73-feet into the mount of a 100-foot-deep, 20-foot-wide sinkhole, and then disappears. |
On this day in late April I have the entire park to myself and while I love to explore I keep thinking that I have a 5 hour drive home from this point.
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| An afternoon in late April 2021 and the park is completely deserted. I have miles of boardwalks and trails all to myself and can experience the cacophony of the park without human intervention. |
So, I do not linger long anywhere but I do put in a good 2-mile hike up and down the hills around the uvala (collection of smaller individual sinkholes that coalesce into a huge compound sinkhole), and a small 2-acre lake.
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| Falling Waters lake and beach. |
South of here near Panama City is the Ecofina Creek Spring System which is equally impressive. . .and perhaps where some of the water from this waterfall reemerges.
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