Professor Google rescued me once again.
I’ve visited so many of my nearby state parks, and so often, that I really wanted to find someplace new. Perusing the Florida National Trails website, I found just what I wanted. A local park (within an hour’s drive), and a hidden gem. If you don’t know where this park is, it’s unlikely that you’d find it on your own.
Tucked away on the far end of an Industrial Park in Panama City, Conservation Park is a treasure trove of hiking and biking trails. I was there almost two hours, walked over four miles, and didn’t begin to touch on all the trails. I’ll definitely be going back, maybe even try out more of the bike paths.
The trails were well-maintained and easy to navigate. They took me through stands of tall pines and fields of palmettos. Long boardwalks wended through spectacular marshes, and over slow ambling creeks.
Bright blue skies, and cool temps made the morning hike almost effortless. Even evidence of a recent controlled burn was a harbinger of spring, clearing way for new growth.
You can click on any image to see a larger photo, or the series as a slideshow.
(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, and/or iPhone4)
For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream
Thin spiral notebook 
That’s an amazing park! Being an avid hiker myself, it’s always lovely to see other national parks/ hiking trails! Popping over from Sundays in my city… 🙂
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You’re a master to find new gems to explore!
Spring, what a beautiful word 🙂
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Definitely worth a Google and an hour’s drive. Looks so beautiful.
🙂
Traci
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Ahhh blue skies, how I miss thee… thank you for sharing some with us today
Mollyxxx
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I can almost smell the piney woods. I definitely feel the peace of the park. Thanks.
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What a pretty place. I love that you were able to find this treasure of a park! : ) Isn’t it awesome to live somewhere and discover new places you didn’t know existed? I always love when that happens to us. It was so great to visit you again today : ). I always love coming here.
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Thank you, Becky! This truly was a wonderful find, and I can’t wait to go back and hike around some more.
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I am jealous. Wish we could get out and walk in our parks.
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How great to find something close by that you didn’t know about! Looks like it was a lovely day!
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Beautiful place. Good old natural Florida. I love what you did with color in the bottom middle photo.
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That was from the controlled burn area, it really looked like that. I didn’t change anything about the actual color. That’s why I thought the scene was so fascinating. There was a wide swatch of black, burnt undergrowth, and little splashes of color from plants that weren’t completely scorched.
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Fabulous. Makes me think of our own woods, though aimed more for walkers than bikes though recently they’ve opened up some of the upper paths for track events. After the controlled ‘devastation’ of last year, the woods are recovering. I am looking forward to my next walks which no doubt will be showing the first signs of spring.
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This park was such a wonderful surprise. I’ve driven past this industrial complex many times and never knew what was hidden in the back. I’m already planning to go back.
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