About this property
The large floodplain areas along Dunns Creek on this 3,156-acre property provide water storage. The adjacent transitional and upland communities serve to buffer the aquatic systems from adverse impacts. The district bought this property in 1992 with Preservation 2000 funding to protect water resources and provide upland buffering of Dunns Creek, a tributary to the St. Johns River. The majority of the area is floodplain swamp and hydric hammock, which protects about five miles of shoreline on Dunns Creek. Pine flatwoods and upland mixed forests with small strand swamps and dome swamps are interspersed.
This property is adjacent to the 6,302-acre Dunns Creek State Park, which was named for John Dunn, an attorney and coffee planter who received a grant in 1765 that allowed him to farm an area between the two lakes in Putnam County, as noted on the Florida State Parks website.
One of the special highlights of this property is its trails and interior roads that allow visitors to traverse in and out of mesic flatwoods, hammocks, and one portion uses an old logging tram road that goes through the heart of Long Swamp that runs the length of Dunns Creek Conservation Area. In the swamp there are still a couple of large cypress trees the can been seen from the tram indicative of sizes that were logged in the early 1900s.
Access
South of Palatka off Tram Road. For details and to get driving directions from your location, see the Google Maps link on this page.
Wildlife viewing
Please respect Florida’s wildlife and use caution while visiting district lands. These are wild animals. For your safety, do not approach or feed any wild animal. The swamp and upland communities support a variety of animals, including numerous salamander species, toads, frogs, snakes, alligators, bobcats, raccoons, white-tailed deer and gray fox. Birds typically present include migratory and resident species such as yellow-crowned night herons, wood ducks, swallow-tailed kites, red-shouldered hawks, barred owls, woodpeckers and warblers.
Recreational activities
- Hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, fishing and wildlife viewing are available but restricted during hunt dates.
- Primitive camping is allowed only at designated sites.
- Boating and canoeing opportunities are available on Dunns Creek; however, there are no launches located on the property.
- Geocache located on property. Please visit our geocache database for more information.