During the summer of 2026 we traveled from Virginia up and down the east coast to change our state of residence and see family before heading overseas. We spent the longest portion of our time in St. Marks, Florida where we could visit with friends and be close enough to Tallahassee to take care of certifying our Advance Healthcare Directives with the Secretary of State.
Our Airbnb in St Marks was quite new, had everything we needed for a long stay including full kitchen with oven and cooktop as well as washer/dryer. The only thing a bit odd, for us, was the swaying of home as people walked around or when laundry was running. Still, it had a ton of space and was walking distance to the town proper and plenty of walking on the 16 Mile St Marks Rail Trail.
As it turns out, our time in St. Marks offered far more than anticipated for our 18 day stay.
Nearby Food Options in St. Marks
St. Marks is rather remote, at least by comparison to Northern Virginia. The only real grocery stores are 25-35 minutes away and there are limited restaurant options. That said, we found a few spots close by that worked well for us.
First, is Sabor Latino Pupusas Tacos, a small food truck permanently setup along Rt 363/Woodville Hwy, just south of Woodville. They offer fresh, home made Salvadoran style pupusas and tacos. It is reminiscent of the fonda’s found in Central America, offering outdoor seating under a tarp equipped with fans and a musical selection to match.
Next, is St. Marks Swirl, another food truck, only operational Friday – Sunday, offering creative soft-serve ice cream. I loved the cannonball option which added mini-donuts to the dish of ice cream.
Finally, though more a package store, Barn’s Liquor offers a surprisingly good selection of wine and craft beers.
Leon Sinks Geological Area
Less than 25 minutes away in the Apalachicola National Forest, in Leon County Florida, lies a landscape riddled with sinkholes. There are a number of trails in the area including Leon Sinks where you can learn about the karst (landscape full of holes), its history as an inland sea, and how the limestone is eaten away over time leaving large depressions in the land. The trails, though buggy with lots of spiders, were well kept. We enjoyed learning about the area, seeing a variety of sinks on our walk, and learning how divers had mapped out underground caverns from here all the way to Wakulla Springs, one of the largest freshwater springs in the United States and the headwaters of the Wakulla River, over 10 miles away!
Florida Caverns State Park
Our longest trip from St. Marks was to Florida Caverns State Park. Literally, inspired by Luray Caverns of Virginia, these caverns live just beneath the surface outside Marianna, Florida to the west of Tallahassee. The tour is easily booked on-line and starts with a simple staircase down about 15-20 steps. The tour is about an hour where you learn about caverns generally, this one in particular, and can see plenty of shells and other evidence that it was once part of the ocean before sea levels receded to reveal what we now know as Florida.
Stop by Cajun Corner if you are nearby for lunch. They provide a fun stop with something a bit different from all the other chain restaurants, bbq, and burger joints around.
Cathedral of Palms
Toward the western side of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is Wakulla Spring and the nearby Cathedral of Palms Trail. I must admit, we didn’t really get it when we started the trail. We weren’t sure what we would see, nor did we appreciate what a “Cathedral of Palms” would be.
The hike itself started out easy enough on old sand fire roads before slipping into single-track trail. About a third of the way in, the trail no longer followed the marked trail on AllTrails, given a fire or logging activity, and we had to navigate a series of orange painted stakes to follow the trail.
About halfway through the hike, a small overlook spur takes you to Shepherd Spring, one of many freshwater springs in this part of Florida, though nowhere near as large as Wakulla Spring.
Finally, we discovered the namesake for Cathedral of Palms, a large grove of old-growth cabbage/sabal palms (Florida State Tree) in the middle of what is otherwise a pine tree forest. These tall palms, which reminded us of date palms near Quepos Costa Rica, are so high and close together so as to resemble the canopy of a cathedral.
In the end. this turned out to be, simultaneously, one of the best experiences of our time in St. Marks and one of the worst. We loved the hike and were quite impressed the the palm forest we encountered. But we also ended up with sand fleas in our shoes leading to small bites up and down our legs that took a couple weeks to stop itching and heal…. This, despite liberal application of bug repellent.
Exploring Tallahassee
We needed to visit the Florida Secretary of State to get Apostille Certificates for our Advanced Directives. Since we were going to be there we figured we would explore a bit.
We always like to do a bit of walking, pick up coffee from a local roaster, and or try out a local brewery. I’ve begun also been using Nomad Mania to track my travels. The platform offers lists of cultural must-see attractions as well so we hit a couple of the ones highlighted in Tallahassee.
After the Secretary of State, we started off with a visit to Oology Midtown for a double whammy. Oology offers locally roasted coffee, a variety of craft beers, and several different options for craft spirits. We walked away with a couple bags of coffee and a bottle of bourbon after trying several of their beers (which were unfortunately not available in cans).
From there we headed to Midtown Caboose for lunch. A burger joint that seems inspired by Mellow Mushroom, we tried a few of their creative burger concoctions. I think if we went back I’d actually try the Smore’s Burger. We loved everything we ordered.
In need of a walk, we headed to Goodwood Museum & Gardens. This 1830’s era estate offers tours but is more an event space than anything else. We walked the grounds to see the gardens, the pool, and southern plantation estate vibe. We probably wouldn’t have gone if not for the Nomad Mania travel series for Northern Florida.
The other item on the Nomad Mania list that we hit was the Unconquered Statue. I could care less about most sports, especially football (sorry…). Thus, I never would have visited if not for Nomad Mania. Regardless, it was still good to show DJ the Florida State University campus and more of Tallahassee on the way there.
Kayaking the Wakulla River
Less than 10 minutes from St Marks is TnT Hideaway, a kayak and canoe rental business. We rented three kayaks for two hours to kayak up the Wakulla River. Starting nearby, this spring fed river is quite clear allowing views to the bottom in many places.
During our trip we were lucky enough to see a number of alligators, dozens of turtles, a yellow crowned night heron, and even two manatee’s swimming lazily underneath us as we paddled our way up river.
St. Marks Lighthouse
Part of St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, a huge swath of wetlands to the south of St. Marks itself, we visited St Marks Lighthouse and adjoining park. The drive in from the main road itself was quite enjoyable with many places to pull off for small hikes or birdwatching. We went all the way to the end of the road though, direct to the lighthouse itself, where we were able to tour the lighthouse to learn how the keepers would have lived years ago and see photos of how the landscape had changed over the decades.
We were disappointed that we couldn’t climb the lighthouse tower, though its understandable given the construction. Unlike many lighthouses, the steps to the spiral staircase get narrower and harder to climb the further you go up making it somewhat dangerous even at the time when keepers were actually working here.
Our visit to St. Marks lighthouse was capped off by a nice walk, less than a mile, around a bit of a tidal pond next to the confluence of the St. Marks River and Apalachee Bay. If we had known about this location earlier we probably would have explored other parts of the area.
Alligator Point
About 45 minutes to the southwest is Alligator Point, the closest “real” beach. I say real because it’s more than a small cove with some sand. It’s big enough for a walk of an hour or so before running out of beach or entering the supposedly private beach area.
This is a very small community with many homes close to falling into the sea, and obvious areas where roads have disappeared in the past. If you are in the market for a beach house though, there were lots on the market in June/July 20206!
The first time we went to Alligator Point the bacterial count at the beach was 600+ and the county advised not even touching the water. This after a week or so of heavy rains and thunderstorms. The second time we went the bacterial count was near zero and, while we didn’t swim, we did walk in the water and enjoy the very warm Gulf of Mexico (yes, Mexico!) waters.
A St. Marks 4th of July
As it turns out, we could not have picked a better spot for our time near Tallahassee. Our Airbnb in St Marks was, shall we say, one block from prime fireworks viewing and two blocks from San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park.
We had friends visiting from Jacksonville, and together we began the day with a visit to the old Spanish Fort at the state park. While there are lots of exhibits the, admittedly dated video, provided lots of context.
In short, this fort was built by the Spanish, turned over multiple times between the Spanish, the British, Americans, Creek Indians, and the Confederacy. Hundreds of people died at this fort on the intersection of the St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers (mainly of disease).
Later in the day we walked over to downtown St. Marks to visit the food trucks and craft tents setup for visitors. While there weren’t a ton, there were plenty of food options, and crafts for your home should one be interested in having more stuff. Since we can’t carry anything it was just a good excuse for a bit of a walk and enjoy more ice cream at St. Marks Swirl. Happiness!
Finally about 9 PM we joined the rest of the town and visitors to watch the fireworks over the St. Marks Boat Ramp next to the fort. It was probably the first time as an adult I actually enjoyed the fireworks because I wasn’t worried about fighting for parking and then traffic getting out afterwards. It was a pleasant walk over and back.
Wrapping up St. Marks
Though a bit more remote than we would normally like, St. Marks and the surrounding area offered plenty to see and do. Being remote and next to a wildlife refuge we could see a ton of wildlife from huge grasshoppers, to manatee, to osprey, and perhaps even a bobcat (we aren’t sure). With history, hiking, kayaking, sitting on a beach, good food, and easy access to all that Tallahassee offers, St. Marks was a great place to slow down and spend some time relaxing in the Florida Panhandle.