Parks and Recreation

The Welaka National Fish Hatchery was built in 1926 and originally operated by the State of Florida. In 1938 the hatchery was transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ponds are operated at two locations. Those ponds at headquarters, near the aquarium, are called the Welaka Unit, and a second group of ponds about three miles south of headquarters is called the Beecher Unit. The Beecher Unit is named for the spring that serves as the water supply. Beecher Spring has a flow of 4,000 gallons per minute at a constant temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Water for the Welaka Unit comes from a well 423 feet deep and also from the St. Johns River

Putnam Blueways & Trails - Putnam Blueways and Trail is a non-profit 501c3 Citizen Support Organization that Promotes and Protects the Blueways and Trails in Putnam County, Florida. We do that by holding events, supporting other events that use the trails and representing the trails to government entities. We are also an associate member of Florida SEE (Florida Society for Ethical Ecotourism).

Putnam County Parks & Recreation - Additional Parks and recreation available in Putnam County

Bartram Trail in Putnam - The Putnam County Bartram Trail was developed to assist those interested in following in the wake and footsteps of John and William Bartram by providing resources and tools that will enable them to be successful. Using the available writings of John and William as well as those of respected historians, each of the likely locations where the Bartrams touched shore either to camp or explore has been identified and mapped. These locations along the St. Johns River, identified as Bartram Trail Sites (BTS), are numbered sequentially from north to south rather than in the chronological order in which they were visited. These trails are considered a work in progress

Dunn's Creek State Park - Located south of a sharp bend in the St. Johns River, more than 6,200 acres of natural communities are represented in Dunns Creek State Park. These natural communities include sandhills, covered with longleaf pines, wiregrass and sand pine scrub. These protect several endangered and threatened species, such as the gopher tortoise and fox squirrels, and other native animals

Ravine Gardens State Park - Ravine Gardens State Park is one of the nine New Deal-era state parks in Florida. The park has two ravines up to 120 feet deep with steep banks at 45 degree angles. Unlike common gullies, trenches or sinkholes caused by temporary flooding, the steephead ravines are a permanent feature with a spring-fed creek that never dries up, called Whitewater Branch. The underground water bubbling up cuts into the bank and carries the sand and soil downstream to the St. Johns River. Over thousands of years the ravines have widened and deepened to what you see today. In 1933, the ravines were transformed into a dramatic garden by the federal Works Progress Administration.

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