Leon Sinks Geological Area

Leon Sinks Geological Area is a special section of the Apalachicola National Forest with about 5 miles of trails that loop you through several named sink hole features.  Some of these are even impressive, see my notes as follows.

1.  You get there by traveling south from Tallahassee on US 319 since it is along the road there.  You could reference the forest service information, you could already know where Wakulla Springs is since this is adjacent to it, or you could just plug 2564 Wildflower Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32305 into your mapping device.  Whatever works best for you.
2. You’ll find an iron ranger device to pay a few dollars into, so bring cash.  That will lead you to a simple parking lot with some restrooms, and a very interesting sign nearby the bathrooms that lets you know in no uncertain terms that you may specifically not drink martinis in this area.
3. From this point you’ll find the entrance to the trails, which break down into a couple of loops.  You can wander away from the sinks into the Gump Swamp Trail, but that’s not the reason to be at there, is it?  So look at the kiosk map when there and select the nice loop trail that is bluntly called the Sinkhole Trail.  I recommend hiking around this in a clockwise motion.
4. Going clockwise you will first encounter Gopher Hole Sink.  This one is special in that is part cave, part water filled sink.  You can wander just a few feet into it and then the pool of water and whatever may be lurking, probably spiders and frogs, will own the darkness from there.
5. There are a lot of sinks and I am not going to name them all, but one little sink you’ll encounter fairly early in the hike is my favorite.  Duckweed Sink!  As the name suggests, it seems to have a constant green carpet of duckweed on it.  This has stayed consistent over several years of visits there in my experience, and the other sinks don’t behave this way.  I love the contrast.
6. The last sink I’m going to bother mentioning that stands out is toward the end of the loop when going clockwise.  It is known as Big Dismal Sink.  You’ll find yourself up on a viewing platform (or precariously scrambling past it if you’re me), over a long drop of several dozen feet into a 130 foot deep pool that feeds back into the Florida Aquifer.  Opposite where you’ll see it from some seeps constantly top this thing off, and allegedly in the depths lurk cave crayfish that live in total darkness.