Ravine Gardens State Park — Attraction in Palatka

Wonderful nature area with historic stone staircases down into a deep ravine with lush Florida flora and fauna. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. The safest trails are well marked. Children should be supervised on the trails. This is a very natural environment including dense wooded areas on steep slopes of the ravine. Fortunately there are flat walkable areas traversing the lowest trail which border scenic streams. There is a narrow one way road that is a perimeter loop overlooking the ravine. The road is well maintained but includes steeper inclines as well as some flat areas. Anyone with a stroller, a wheelchair user, or someone with mobility issues should call the park or ask the Ranger at the entrance to recommend accessible areas. All of the overlook platforms I saw had short ramps that would accommodate a wheelchair or stroller. Getting to those platforms generally requires negotiating the road, hills and all. There are ample restrooms throughout the park. It is a great place for photographers and artists who enjoy nature. There are plenty of caution signs to advise people of the rustic natural stone staircases leading into the ravine interior. Assess your capability to balance and walk up or down a staircase that has no railing. A hiker’s walking stick would be advisable. Cell coverage was 1-bar but I consulted an image of the park map and my iphone compass several times when I walked a...

Unique geography for Florida. We don’t have much elevation here, so it was an interesting feeling being down inside the ravine. It’s nice and cool down there in the fall, probably very buggy in the summer. I’d love to see it in the spring with all of the azaleas blooming. The freshwater spring fed creek at the bottom is delightful. The water is so...

Unfortunately, they currently have part of the park closed down for renovations but the parts that are open are definitely worth seeing. We've been here in the past and have to say that it's one of Northeast Florida's best kept secrets. Can't wait until the renovations...