My camping equipment

My camping equipment
Campsite setup

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Summer Trip 2021, Torreya State Park, Bristol, FL

 Torreya State Park




Located on high bluffs overlooking the Apalachicola River make Torreya one of Florida's most scenic places. 

The Apalachicola River 

Torreya was built by the CCC in the 1930's. The campground has some of the original structures that stood the test of time. 

The bath houses at the campground and the main office building are all CCC structures

Our campsite

Enjoying the shade of our easy up at our campsite. 
Shade is at a premium in the campground after Hurricane Michael winds
 altered the forest canopy back in October of 2018.

Torreya has several hiking trails and is home to the historic Gregory House, a beautiful southern mansion built in 1849. The park staff gives visitors tours of the house. The grounds have a great view of the Apalachicola River. You can see the rare Torreya tree in the park is unique to this area and a few other areas world wide making for an interesting botanical feature. The park is named after this rare tree that grows only here on the bluffs surrounding the river valley.

The Torreya Tree with the Gregory House in the background

Interpretive sign explaining the rare Torreya Tree found in the park 

The back of the historic Gregory mansion

The front entrance to the historic Gregory mansion

The mansion was relocated by the CCC piece by piece from the west side of the Apalachicola River to the east side years ago in the 1930's.

The park was hit by hurricane Michael on October 18, 2018. Although the park had extensive tree damage the old Gregory mansion stood up to the vicious winds. The dedicated park staff has since restored the parks trails and forests bringing new life to the park.

Interpretive park sign of the aftermath of Hurricane Michael
 
 


1 comment:

  1. It's nice to see leaves on the trees that did survive Hurricane Michael. When we visited in late January this year there were very few. Great photos, keep them coming!

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