Suwannee River Greenway

Wanting to explore the area around White Springs, I found a bicycle trail near Branford, FL, the Suwannee River Greenway. There are several entry points but to us, the area near the Branford Shrine Club made sense.  The Suwannee River Greenway  runs along the CSX train rail bed, formerly a Henry Plant Railway.  

Branford Train Depot
Now the Shrine Club

Once the bikes were unloaded from the truck we headed down the path on the Suwannee River Greenway and spent the next two hours exploring the area on bicycle.

Bill ready to ride the trail

First we headed along the trail towards Ichetucknee Springs State Park, which is the next terminus on this trail.  It then continues to O'Leno State Park along another old rail bed.

Suwannee River  
looking west from the 
Branford Bridge

Our first stop was Ivey Memorial Park, a Branford city park.  Captain Robert Ivey was quite a character who built several steamships and even ran a hotel in Branford.  It is fitting a park commemorates his contributions to Branford.

Captain Robert Ivey of Branford was one of the most prominent steamship builders in Florida, and a park in Branford is named in his honor. Among his achievements was the construction of the famous steamship Belle of the Suwannee, built in 1889. This ship, famous for her “bridal suite” and a favorite of honeymooners, navigated the Suwannee River until sunk by a hurricane in Deadman’s Bay in 1896 that also destroyed part of the town of Branford and much of the timber in the area. Other famous ships built by Captain Ivey were the Louisa and City of Hawkinsville, the last steamboat on the Suwannee. In 1923 she was tied up down river at Old Town and allowed to sink at her berth. Thus ended the era of steamboating on the Suwannee River, once the lifeline of commerce before Florida became a state. Captain Ivey did not stop with steamship building, however, as he also operated a hotel that was a popular stop-off point for his steamboat passengers. (http://www.suwcounty.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=170&Itemid=54)

Plenty of shade on the sections we rode
However, we skipped the areas that fronted the highways

Leaving Ivey Park you pass through a gopher tortoise sanctuary where you will probably find a gopher or two.  We saw a huge one ambling along under a fence.  Continuing down the shade covered path we encountered several goats, a few horses, and the ranch.  Yes, all animals were fenced, Florida lost open-range status in 1949.

The trail passes many interesting areas
Including a ranch

Ranch house
complete with a
Palm Tree!

Returning to Branford we took a few minutes to admire the Suwannee River and comment on the width of the river here.  Upstream about 40 miles at White Springs, the river is not nearly as wide and better suited to small boats, kayaks, and canoes.  No sane boat captain would want to navigate the river shoals at Big Shoals State Park.

Banks of the Suwannee

Back on the trail heading north out of Branford we soon encountered the Branford Bend Tract managed by the Suwannee River Water Management District.  This section had been the home site for the Moses Family in the 1800s.

This is a rustic area with sandy roads but sufficiently hard packed to support my non-off road tires.  Again, it was a shady path that was delightful to explore.

Branford Tract off the Suwannee River Greenway

Abandoned house
on the Branford Tract off the Suwannee River Greenway

The road continued past the old house or shed and "T"ed into an open field.  The area promised fishing, picnic, and trails so you could probably take the right fork for more adventure.  At this point we wanted to continue on the Suwannee River Greenway and will save the trail for another day.

Tree farm along the trail

Another 5 miles of lovely shaded paved path and the trail exits the woods to parallel the road.  This section was not as interesting so we opted to ride back to Branford in search of lunch.  The Suwannee River Greenway is a trail I highly recommend.

Wild flowers carpet the road ways