Bluff Trail

Dogs Unknown

The Bluff Trail provides you an opportunity to hike underneath a young forest of loblolly and longleaf pines. The trail starts at the visitor center and heads north along the elevated boardwalk. At roughly 0.25 miles, you come to an intersection. If you go to the left, you follow the Longleaf Trail to the Longleaf Campground where there are toilets and picnic tables, as well as overnight camping if you have a permit.

The Bluff Trail goes to the right and meanders underneath the canopy of a second growth pine forest. You can see evidence of prescribed burns and notice that the canopy is very high. The trail is a flat, singletrack dirt trail at this point and is marked with brown tags with the number 1 on them. At roughly 0.5 miles, you cross the Caroline Sims Road, which provides access to the Sim Trail and serves as a shortcut back to the Boardwalk.

Continuing straight ahead, the trail continues underneath the pine canopy. If you have gone through other portions of the park, you'll notice that this area is considerably drier than the areas that are south of the Boardwalk Trail and is less prone to flooding. At 0.65 miles, the Bluff Campground comes into view. You can stay at one of the sites if as long as you have a reservation through Recreation.gov.

The trail winds through the pine forest until it meets up with the Boardwalk Trail. If you go to the left, you can follow the Boardwalk Trail Loop out toward Weston Lake. If you stay to the right, the Boardwalk trail works its way back to the Visitor Center where your hike started. This hike is easily hiked in reverse if you want as there is little to no elevation gain.

The Bluff Trail is known for the loblolly and longleaf pine trees that dominate the landscape. While there are some deciduous trees in the area, the pine trees definitely dominate the landscape. Oak, maple, and holly trees can be seen the closer you get to the Boardwalk trail as you approach the floodplain. Mushrooms can be seen growing along the trail on fallen trees.

The area is popular with birders, and you'll see squirrels and other small mammals scurrying through the woods.