Hinson Conservation & Recreation Area — Attraction in Marianna

This is one of our family favorites for a ramble in the woods. It was, and it is again. Five stars because that's what you earn when we miss you as much as we did Hinson while it was closed.

The trails are back to normal. The river still ripples alongside a good stretch of trails. We saw turtles and tortoises, hawks and lots of songbirds. The grassy area near the parking and canoe launch still has oaks and other shade trees in their teens and twenties, a nice enough size to picnic under.

But things are different, too.

This is an Eastern woodland river area in recovery, about 2.5 years after Hurricane Michael plowed through the Florida panhandle (still carrying high category 3-low category 4 winds, even this far inland). Because it is a conservation area, the damages are still visible, and they will be for a long time. The trails are clear for walking, but 50+ year old hardwood trees are down in some places, standing in others. There are three or four times as many wild violets as in the spring before the storm, but there are spots now missing the canopy that used to control ground cover, now causing other wildflowers to be crowded out.

Come see what it's about or see it again. Please think about everything that goes into keeping this available and do the right thing at the...

This is a decent trail for anyone looking to get out and enjoy nature but not see much wildlife. As a wildlife photographer I was in search of any wildlife in general. I walked about all of the trails and saw maybe 5 birds. Disappointing but not the parks fault. The trails on the other hand are very clean and well kept. The views are nice and relaxing and it’s very quiet here. For a nice quiet hike this is the perfect place for it. I don’t think there are any public restrooms here. If that matters to anyone. And the entry donation is only 2 dollars that you put in a drop box at the entrance. I recommend this trail to anyone seeking a nice quiet, clean and well maintained...

I've lived in this area my entire life and never knew this gem was so close. This place is so beautiful. There are walking trails. There are caves. We were able to walk into the caves which was absolutely incredible. We only found one but apparently there are more somewhere. The walking trails are right beside the Chipola River. There is a railroad bridge down one trail. There are picnic tables for usage. And a smalll boat ramp for launching your boat. I'm gonna be posting some pics from our outing. Definitely gonna be...