November 2024
Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit our trails hard, and we're still recovering. We got some trees cleared from Gar Pond (it's clean!), the beginning of Beavor Loop, and a couple of remaining trees on the Beast.
October 2024
Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit our trails hard, and we're recovering. We got trees cleared from Bridge to Bridge and Gar Pond.
September 2024
Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit our trails hard, and we're recovering. We got trees cleared from Gar Pond.
Gar Pond is 11 miles of singletrack in Columbia County. The trail was rebuilt in 2020 after logging that removed all the short needle pine from just 4 miles. The trail was designed to be dry longer than the other trails.
Fosters Hammock is about an 8 mile trail in Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. Currently, the first four miles is singletrack along the river, a stretch of doubletrack on Camp Road, and then a final mile that is far more challenging than you would expect in a State Park!
Suwannee Bicycle Association's oldest trail.
November 2023
Big Shoals is our longest trail. We usually access it from the Beavor Loop.
The Beast is a challenging trail across from Gar Pond on the Columbia County side of Little Shoals.
Beavor Loop is a two mile standalone loop that is a lovely ride all by itself, but it is also an excellent gateway to Big Shoals.
The Woodpecker Trail is a 3.4 mile Paved trail in Big Shoals. In 2005 the plan was to extend it in two sections to Wesson Street in White Springs to provide a pedestrian and bicycle friendly route between Big Shoals and Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park.
November 2021
Bell Springs Trailhead is accessed from Lassie Black Road, it is a lovely section of the Florida Trail on the Columbia County side of Big Shoals.
The Gar Pond Tract is Suwannee River Water Management District floodplain land with an eleven mile bike trail designed to be on dry land as long as possible as the river rises.
Big Shoals Public Lands is managed by the State Park Service, State Forestry, and River Management District. The Big Shoals is unique in Florida, the only Class III Rapids in Florida when the river is between 56' and 59' above sea level
Fosters Hammock is an 8 mile mountain bike trail in Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. Sometimes there is water on the trails.
October 2010
State Biologists came to Stephen Foster to review the plans to build a trail in the park
October 2010
Images from hiking the Bell Springs section of the Florida Trail
October 2011
It took a while, but the Fosters Hammock Trail was dedicated on October 9, 2011