PARKS & OUTDOORS
John M. Bethea State Forest
Baker County · North Florida & First Coast
Nearly 40,000 acres on the Georgia line, with three miles of the St. Marys River and a wildlife corridor running north to the Okefenokee.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
John M. Bethea State Forest covers nearly 40,000 acres along the Florida and Georgia border, and three miles of its edge is the St. Marys River, which is the state line itself. Paddlers put in at the Maple Set Recreation Area and pass ancient cypress standing on the banks. Two trails carry most of the walking and riding: the Maple Set Trail, a 2.5-mile loop with views over the river, and the Taylor Horse Trail, a 7.5-mile equestrian loop near Ellis Bay. Camping is deliberately plain. Maple Set Campground holds four tent sites taking up to eight people each, and there are two hunt camps off Eddy Grade. Water comes from a pitcher pump and is not drinkable, and there are no bathrooms, only seasonal portable toilets. The forest is an important corridor for wildlife moving between the Okefenokee Swamp and the Osceola National Forest, and its habitats include cypress domes, basin swamps and bottomland forest. The Florida Forest Service manages it
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