Flatwoods
First I will say this; Flatwoods is a huge piece of property! There is the actual Flatwoods Park off of Morris Bridge Rd where you can access an 8 mile paved loop and a 15 mile un paved loop. Now the loop is what links the multiple smaller parks together. If you want to get technical, trail marker 0 starts in Trout Creek (where we start today), through Flatwoods, on to Morris Bridge, over to the Trout Creek off road area, and back across Fletcher into Trout Creek. When I ride the 15 mile loop, I start in Flatwoods as there is an air station and I like the way the varied conditions of the trail play out.
Today, we start our hike from the parking lot of Trout Creek and walk the road over to where we pick up the trail. Up the hill to the right will put us on the Levee where we are in wide open spaces however soon we drop into the oak forest. This is a great bike path so watch out if walking! Koda treed a poor Raccoon today. Felt kind of bad for the guy. Soon the trail is broken by a power line then back into the woods. Shortly after, the trail pops back out of the woods then back in. Now you are actually headed for the creek that gives the park its name. A large metal bridge spans Trout Creek and it gives a great vantage point to look down into the water. In the summer the water is the color of tea. We walk on till we get to the Panther sign. This is not a warning but a break off trail that will take us north. I have biked everything so far in the past but Panther was new to me and I set out today with Koda specifically to walk it. FYI, at this point, if you don’t take Panther, you will end up in Flatwoods Park after a short while.
Panther is a nice trail that takes you thru a variety of ecosystems. One minute you are walking past a huge swamp area then thru Palmettos onto dense pine forest. The wildlife is all over out here. Today, we saw a young buck with 2 of his ladies not 50 feet away from us! There is a lot of boar activity too. Also, down by the lake you can see many types of birds. Be aware on Panther though, oak and palmetto roots dash across the trail and it is tight and windy. Plenty of toe stumpers and rim dingers abound!
Over all, easy hike. My favorite moments were seeing the deer and taking time by the lake. Very cool!
