WATER & COAST
St. Johns River Center
Putnam County · North Florida & First Coast
A free interpretive center on the Palatka riverfront explaining the St. Johns, and the welcome station for the Bartram Trail in this region.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
The center stands at 102 North First Street in downtown Palatka, just off US 17 near the river bridge, with parking beside the door. Putnam County runs it and there is no admission charge. The subject is the St. Johns River itself, the longest river in Florida and one of the few in North America that runs north, and the exhibits are hands-on rather than behind glass: displays on the habitats along it, the fish and animals in it, and the history that happened on it. A substantial part of the building is given to William Bartram, the naturalist who traveled this river in 1773 and 1774 and wrote it down, with panels drawn from his journals and sketches. The center is the regional welcome station for the Bartram Trail and hands out maps for it. It opens Tuesday through Saturday from eleven to four, and Sunday from one to four. School groups fill it on weekday mornings
Keep comparing