Torreya State Park in Florida Has One of the Rarest Trees in the World — and It’s a Must-visit for Hikers

On a recent fall trip, magenta beautyberries dotted the curvy road, sultry summer temperatures had cooled ever so slightly, and amber and gold tinged the towering sweetgums throughout Torreya State Park. One of the original Florida state parks, opened to the public in 1935, the 13,000-acre expanse felt more like Georgia or North Carolina with its high plateaus, steep ravines, waterfalls, and seasonal foliage.

The park, created by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression, is named after the rare, endangered torreya tree found only on the high bluffs along the Apalachicola River.

It felt like paradise standing out on the bluff overlooking the rushing river surrounded by dense foliage with Florida state park ranger Brian Brown. “When you come to Torreya State Park, the world shuts off and being in nature is the only thing that matters,” he said. “I feel lucky I get to share the rare plants and rich history of this land with visitors every day.”

Brown, one of three full-time rangers at the park, knows firsthand what makes Torreya State Park a special place, along with the ins and outs of what first-timers should know.

Planning Your Visit

Open from 8 a.m. until sunset, 365 days a year, Torreya State Park is free for all state park pass holders. If you don’t have a park pass, entry is just $3 deposited in the honor envelope box at the entrance, or you can purchase a pass and enjoy all of the 175 Florida state parks. There isn’t a ranger station on site, so you must come with a park pass or entry fee already secured.

How to Get There

About an hour from Tallahassee and 1.5 hours from my home in Panama City Beach, Torreya State Park offers a glimpse of wild Florida. The one road in — NW Torreya Park Road — dead-ends at the Gregory House. From western cities like Tallahassee, take Interstate 10 west for 40 minutes. Use the exit for Bristol to get on SR 12 south to NW Torreya Park Road, and follow it to the end. From eastern cities like Panama City, take Highway 231 to Highway 20 East. Turn on SR 12 in Bristol to NW Torreya Park Road.

Best Time to Visit

If you want to see foliage, plan your visit between late October and November — the temperatures cool and the leaves put on their show. The busiest time of year, according to Brown, is winter, when it gets cold enough to enjoy a crackling fire and some s’mores over a campfire.

Brown let me in on a special event that happens in the spring: the Candlelight Tour. The Gregory House comes alive with artisans, botanists, and historians demonstrating how to make cedar shingles, turpentine, and tallow candles, as well as discussing the rare flora and fauna at the park.

Best Things to Do

Go hiking.

Considered the “Mountains of Florida,” Torreya has 16 miles of challenging hiking trails. The shortest — the Weeping Ridge Trail — is just a mile round-trip, but it dips into a steep sloping ravine that reveals a lovely 25-foot waterfall. When my family visits, this is our go-to trail. It’s challenging enough to keep the kids interested, and the topography makes for beautiful photographs.

Established by the Florida Trail Association in the 1970s, the Torreya Hiking Trail contains two loops. The Rock Creek Loop traverses approximately seven miles of ravines, creeks, subtropical forest, and small footbridges. Evidence of Hurricane Michael’s destruction can still be seen in the fledgling sweetgum, magnolia, oak, and hickory trees sprouting with new growth. Brown recommends looking out for the tulip trees with pale green and orange flowers. The six-mile Torreya Challenge Loop, covered in Florida anise, sweetgum, magnolia, hickory, and spruce pines, steadily climbs and dips. The trail meanders over creeks, an old forest road, and blackberry brambles, following a ridge where mountain laurels bloom in the spring and visitors can find the steepest incline in the park.

Learn the history.

During the Civil War, 200 Confederate soldiers called the bluffs above the Apalachicola River home for two years. Just off the Gregory House, a trail leads to the Hammock Landing Battery, where Confederate soldiers guarded the river from attack, protecting their manufacturing hub in Columbus, Georgia. It was abandoned in 1865, when the war ended, but the cannon emplacements are still visible today, carved into the landscape.

The 3,000-square-foot Gregory House once sat on the other side of the river. It remained in the family until the 1930s, when it was donated to the CCC and moved to its current location. According to Brown, the house was dismantled brick by brick, brought across the river by barge, carried over the stone bridge, and reconstructed by hand — it took seven years. Brown and his fellow park rangers have plenty of stories to share as they lead visitors through the tours (offered 10 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. on weekends and holidays).

Must-see Wildlife and Natural Features

Most visitors to this state park come for the legendary torreya tree, discovered by botanist Hardy Bryan Croom in 1835. Only around 200 of the rare conifer are still standing today — it’s one of the rarest trees in the world. Walking the red brick path to the Gregory House, small torreya saplings can be seen protected by wire mesh. According to Brown, Hurricane Michael damaged 80 percent of the park’s namesake trees, but through a project with the Florida Park Service and Atlanta Botanical Garden, seeds obtained from living trees are being grown and planted in the ravine habitat at Torreya State Park.

Though the torreya tree is usually the draw, Brown considers the Florida yew important to the park’s landscape as well. This critically endangered evergreen shrub, native to Florida, grows between 10 and 20 feet, and can be found on the bluffs and ravines in a less than four square mile area of the Florida Panhandle. “If you like to hike, there are plenty of rare flowers like the blazing star along the trails,” Brown said.

More than 100 bird species draw visitors hoping to catch glimpses of the brown-headed nuthatch, mourning cloak, yellow-throated vireo, and more. Torreya is also one of the stops on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. Another special inhabitant of the park is the rare Barbour’s map turtle, only found in this part of the country.

Where to Stay

If you’re coming to Torreya State Park, you may be planning to hike some of the 16 miles of trails and camp under the stars at one of the highest campgrounds in Florida. For reservations, visit the Florida State Parks reservations website or call 800-326-3521. The full-facility Weeping Ridge family campground has 29 campsites equipped with electricity, water, and a picnic table. Each campsite can accommodate two tents and two vehicles, or one RV.

Two rugged yurts with fire pits and large screened windows join the campsites. Each one sleeps up to five people, and comes with air conditioning and heat, a skylight for stargazing, and a deck with Adirondack chairs for taking in the surrounding forest.

Another special stay is the Cracker cabin, a prominent style of home in rural Florida in the 19th century. With amenities like air conditioning and a screened porch, this accommodation can fit up to six people. It features a queen-size bed and four bunk beds, plus tables and chairs.

Leashed pets are allowed in the park, but not in the buildings. Remember to bring your own linens, too, as the park does not provide them for the beds in the yurts or cabin.

The campground also features two air-conditioned bathhouses with single showers in each stall, a water bottle filling station to reduce plastic consumption, and an on-site registration office that houses a visual display of information about the history of the park, its flora and fauna, the topography, and more. Parkgoers can settle into one of the rustic wooden Adirondack chairs, stoke a fire in the woodstove, and cozy up with one of the books from the Little Free Library in the corner of the building. Outside, a firewood stock is set up for purchase for overnight guests, and the entire facility is handicap accessible.

Where to Eat

No restaurants or grocery stores exist for at least 20 minutes outside the park, so come prepared. Brown advises stocking up groceries and provisions in nearby Bristol, approximately 20 minutes from the park entrance. Picnic tables and charcoal grills are available at the campsites and pavilion.