Rapids and Bats at Big Shoals State Park

Big Shoals State Park near White Springs is a great stop in Florida. We are heading back from a weekend trip to Auburn, AL and are bored. We went to Becky’s alma mater to attend a football game and are on the return trip. Being over a 6 hour drive back, we want to stop somewhere and explore. And we find some unexpected rapids and bats at Big Shoals State Park!

We are headed down I-75 in Georgia toward Florida and decide to look for somewhere to stop. Once past the state line, there are many Florida state parks in this area we have not been to. One that popped up while researching was Big Shoals State Park. After reading that it contains the largest whitewater rapids in Florida, we are intrigued. Plus they have vistas above the banks of the Suwannee River overlooking these rapids. In addition, their website Big Shoals State Park | Florida State Parks mentions a bat house at the Big Shoals entrance. Since we’ve never seen any real rapids in Florida or a bat house, we decide to exit the interstate.

Little Shoals Entrance

Once in White Springs, we turn and go over the railroad tracks toward Big Shoals. We first come to the Little Shoals entrance that has a pay box at the entrance. You grab an envelope and put $4 in to enter. We pay and drive about a quarter mile to a small paved parking area. Here is the start of the WoodPecker Trail which is a 3.5 mile paved trail to the Big Shoals entrance. There is also a large porta-potty here. Past it was a picnic area where we found some paper maps. And just past it is a sign for Road 1 which goes to the Big Shoals entrance. We look at this dirt road and decide we are not taking our car down it. So, we map the Big Shoals entrance which is another couple miles down the main road.

Big Shoals Entrance

Back in the car, we exit the Little Shoals entrance and head toward the Big Shoals entrance. To be fair, the website is not very clear about the roads within the park. We find the entrance to Big Shoals and turn again onto a dirt road. However, this one is bigger and we pass a couple other cars and some ATVs on our way in. We finally get to the entrance to Big Shoals. We see the Road 1 that leads here was gated so glad we didn’t take that route.

We follow the road a little further and end at a decent sized parking lot. A couple cars are still parked here. There are also real restrooms here on the other side in a building. Past the wooden fence to the lot are picnic tables on the left and the bat house on the right. And in the middle is the start of the Big Shoals Trail that leads to the rapids. It is about 4:30 in the afternoon, so we decide to go on the trail first while we still have daylight. When we get back, we plan to stop at the bat house as the bats fly out each evening at sunset. Sunset should be in about an hour, so we hope to plan it just about right.

The Big Shoals Hiking Trail

A sign for the Big Shoals Hiking Trail is just past the picnic tables and bat house. The sign says the length of the trail is 2.5 miles round trip and is moderately strenuous. This is the first time we have actually found the length of the trail. We could not find it on their website or their maps. Though this trail is a little longer than we thought, but we think we can make it before dark. So, we head into the woods.

First thing on the trail we encounter is a little bridge over a dried up creek. We then see a sign for Old Godwin Bridge which used to go over the Suwannee River here. But all that remains now are the pilings. We can definitely see the blackwater Suwannee River, though there is little current here. The trail then has a modest climb over some roots and gets much thicker. All we see around us are palmettos. We can here birds and noises all around, but can’t see any wildlife yet. However, we go past a dead tree and hear some movement above us. We see 4-5 black vultures fly away from us.

At this point, we pick up the pace. There are a lot of roots on the trail, so we have to look down and be careful. We can see a swampy area to the right side and glimpses of the Suwannee on the left. Our daughter who was happy to run said this trail is long, and slows down. However, as we get closer to the shoals, we can hear the water. And it’s getting much louder but at the same time sounds relaxing.

The Big Shoals

We make it to a small platform overlooking the rapids right above the Big Shoals. The Big Shoals is breathtaking and we enjoy it for a few minutes. We then see the trail continues past the platform, so we go a little further. We discover another platform larger than the first.

A sign here explains that the river drops 9 feet in less than a quarter mile creating the Big Shoals. This drop creates Florida’s most extensive river rapid system rated a Class III Rapid when the water levels are high. Who knew we had Class III Rapid’s in Florida! We continue a little further and find a picnic area with a table and another great view of the rapids.

The Big Shoals Trail continues on and heads back into the woods. Once we realize this, we head back. We find out later that this continues on as part of the Florida National Scenic Trail. This trail is well-maintained but poorly marked. Just turn around after the shoals unless you want to continue through the woods for miles. At this point the sun is starting to set, so we try to hurry back to the bat house before they leave. Our daughter gets a piggyback ride on Daddy’s back as we make up time. And we get back to the beginning of the trail around 5:30.

The Bat House

When we come off the trail, there is a family at the Bat House. They point out that you can hear the bats, but have not seen any yet. That is a good sign as their website said you can hear them before they fly out. We didn’t miss it!

The bats are Mexican Free-Tailed bats and hundreds of them fly out each evening to eat insects. The bat house appears over 20 feet tall and has slits on the bottom. And the bats fly in and out of the house through these slits. Looking up at it, we can hear their tiny squeaks as they are waking up and getting ready. It is getting darker and hard to see if there are any bats near the slits. Though we patiently wait about 20 minutes, and then one bat flies out.

All of sudden more bats are dropping out of the house and whizzing over our heads. They seem to come out in spurts and fly so fast they look like a blur. This is truly an awesome sight to see in person. It’s really hard to tell how many bats are coming out as they drop out in a bunch and fly so fast once out. Not only are these bats small, but also have the fastest horizontal speed of any animal reaching over 100 mph! Though we’re not right under the house, some bats fly right over our heads. So, we watch carefully for 5 minutes or so then decide to leave as it’s almost dark. We drive around the loop back to the main road spotting a bunny on the way. We then head back to the main road which connects to I-10.

Summary

We got to see 2 things we never get to see in Florida in Big Shoals State Park. The rapids and the bats were two experiences that were amazing to see in person. And the Big Shoals Trail was a very nice trail going along the Suwannee River through the wilderness. Even though we only saw vultures, we could imagine wildlife all around us. And we were there a total of about an hour and 45 minutes. If you are ever going from I-75 to I-10, Big Shoals State Park is a nice stop in between. And Big Shoals State Park turned out to be a great pit stop to end our weekend!

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