Last updated on February 2nd, 2026 at 04:37 pm
Little-known, off-the-beaten path parks are one of my favorite things, and this park is a winner.
On a trip north along I-95, I stopped for a picnic and leg-stretching break at the delightful Bulow Creek State Park in Flagler Beach. It’s just a few miles from another favorite stop — Bulow Plantation Historic State Park.
If you’re in the area or are traveling on I-95, I highly recommend these parks.
Each can be perfect for a short stop. They are 10 minutes off I-95, only lightly visited and they plunge you immediately into a leafy green world of 100-year-old live oak trees draped with Spanish moss.
Each park has picnic tables and restrooms and are good starting points for hiking through woods where you may see deer, wild hogs, barred owls, raccoons and more.
But if you have the time, these parks can give you a full day of adventure, too, including hiking, kayaking, and touring the ruins of a well-interpreted historic sugar mill.
Far from the highway, these parks are quiet, rarely crowded and evoke Old Florida in all its beauty.
Even better, Bulow Creek State Park has no entrance fee. (Bulow Plantation Park has a $4 per car admission fee.)
The Fairchild Oak and a stand of gorgeous Southern live oaks
While Bulow Plantation has historic ruins, Bulow Creek State Park has something special too — one of the most magnificent trees in Florida, the Fairchild Oak. Florida State Parks says it is one of the largest live oaks in the south and is part of one of the largest remaining stands of Southern live oak forest along Florida’s east coast
The tree is 70 feet tall and its limbs stretch out to 300 feet across. The ancient tree is estimated to be 400 to 600 years old. The botanist David Fairchild, whose name is well-known in Florida because of the botanic garden in Coral Gables, admired this tree and, in 1955, it was named after him.
The beloved tree is healthy and well cared for, although you should not climb on it. (Think of it as a fragile old person.) When workers gave it a trim in 2020, they removed 2,000 pounds of dead wood, according to the Daytona News-Journal.
If you Google Fairchild Oak, you’ll find spooky stories about how the tree is haunted because of a suicide under it centuries ago. People love that stuff, none of which seems to be verified (or probably true.) Me? I don’t need a ghostly legend to love this fabulous tree!
Hiking at Bulow Creek State Park
On a quick visit, don’t miss the Wahlin Trail, which winds down into the small ravine behind the Fairchild Oak where fresh water flows out of the ground. The trail is a short, third-of-a-mile loop.
The Fairchild Oak Hiking Trail meanders through a coastal hammock, through a salt marsh and pine plantation. It starts near Fairchild Oak where there is a sign.
The Bulow Woods Trail goes in both directions off Boardman Lane, where there are a few parkings spots along the road. The scenic trails extends one mile north, where a bridge (lost in a hurricane) used to extend the trail over a creek. Off this trail, there is a spur to the very pretty Boardman Pond, where there is a viewing platform.
South of Boardman Lane on this trail, you can hike further back toward the Fairchild Oak and the picnic area and restrooms.
Hiking in this area, you will be treading on land that has a history back to colonial times. Eleven plantations have been identified on these lands, where rice, cotton, sugar cane and indigo were raised.
Kayaking at Bulow Creek State Park
Bulow Creek State Canoe Trail can be reached at Bulow Creek State Park on Walter Boardman Lane and a few miles north at Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park.
The 13-mile-long kayak and canoe trail that flows through a grassy coastal marsh. To rent canoes, go to Bulow Plantation Historical State Park, where if you catch the ranger present (and there are no guarantees, we were told), you can rent canoes. There’s a boat ramp here where you can launch small powerboats as well as your own kayaks and canoes.
Bulow Creek State Park is oOne of a cluster of parks along a scenic route
Bulow Creek State Park has three neighboring state parks that are each unique: Tomoka State Park, Addison Blockhouse State Park and Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park.
Trail maps and other information may be obtained at the park office of Tomoka State Park, 4.5 miles south of Bulow Creek State Park on Old Dixie Highway.
The connection between all these parks is one of the most scenic roads in Florida: the Ormond Scenic Loop.
The Ormond Scenic Loop is a 34-mile route that takes you along roads where live oak trees form cathedral ceilings, past waterways and creeks full of native birds and along the Atlantic Ocean, with spectacular beach and dune views. There are historic sites, hiking trails, parks, beaches and unspoiled scenery the whole way, including the state parks referenced here.
Plan your adventure at Bulow Creek State Park and environs
Bulow Creek State Park
3351 Old Dixie Highway
Ormond Beach FL 32174
386-676-4050
Website
There is no admission fee to this park. Open 365 days a year.
