Pensacola Family Photographer – Jennifer Beal Photography
For Spring Break we took a day trip from Pensacola, FL to Bristol, FL to visit Torreya State Park. We’ve been there several times before. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive. We have enjoyed their 3 mile loop hike in the past. It’s fairly strenuous. If you’ve ever hiked on the Appalachian Trail, it has some similar terrain. It would be a great shakedown hike for a more strenuous mountain adventure. The park is named after the Torreya tree.
The Torreya State Park Experience
The Gregory House is currently closed due to Covid but you can still enjoy the trails, the porches and the view of the Apalachicola River from the bluffs. There is also a gift shop but it was closed too. But good news…the bathrooms under the gift shop were open. Yay!
The Torreya Hike Terrain
This trip was different from our previous ones because we could see the devastating effects from Hurricane Michael. There were trees down everywhere in the normally thick forest but the trails are maintained and the path was cleared. There had been some rain so it was muddy in spots. This is a natural habitat near a river so there are posted warning signs about alligator activity. We did not see any wildlife except birds and squirrels. The hawks flying high over the river were amazing to watch.
Rough Weekend
I had photographed a 10 hour wedding the previous day and realized 15 minutes down the trail that I was in no condition for a strenuous 3 mile hike. (Shooting a wedding is exhausting. And #hikeyourownhike) So I turned back and enjoyed the wildflowers on my way back to the porch. I read a book while my family hiked. That was the best decision for my mood. It probably didn’t help that we had another carload of friends on their way to hike with us that ended up with a flat tire due to debris from an accident that we passed. That was its own fiasco. They did make it back to Pensacola safely, but they missed out on the hike (and reading on the porch). Having some quiet time on the porch alone was actually just what I needed at this point of the day.
The original plan was to hike a 6-7 mile loop that we had not taken before. The hike proved more difficult than the group had remembered and they were happy to finish at 3 miles. I really wish we had something similar to the Torreya State Park hike closer to Pensacola.
Torreya was the first place I had ever heard of that had yurts. I totally had to “google” that the first time I heard it. It sounds like it would be a fun camping experience. RV and tent camping are available and they have about 14 miles of hiking trails. This would be a great place for a weekend getaway.
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