Bartram Adventure Tour

Following Bartram's Travels around Palatka, Florida

Last year, during our research for Explorer's Guide: North Florida & The Panhandle, we saw a National Trail symbol in Palatka and had to learn more. It marked the recently established Bartram National Recreation Trail, with an interpreted series of stops along and near the St. Johns River in Putnam County. So when Linda Crider with the Bartram Inn reached out to see if we'd be interested in joining the inaugural Bartram Adventure Tour to help the group with feedback on how best to showcase these gems, we jumped at the chance to hike, bike, and paddle in and around Palatka.

With the Bartram Inn in the South Historic District as our base camp, we spent four days with local naturalists and Bartram experts learning about the Bartrams in Florida. John Bartram served as Royal Botanist to King George III when he paddled upriver with his son William in 1765 and 1766, seeking specimens to send to England and to cultivate at his Philadelphia gardens. William returned in 1774 to explore the river again, finding landscapes that had already changed.

Between the two Bartrams, this stretch of the St. Johns River was well documented in the 1700s. Thanks to the local experts who took us out to a variety of sites in the region, we experienced a better connection with both natural and cultural history in this rural landscape. As we said to each other after we wrapped up this trip: "Palatka. Who knew?"

PLANNING RESOURCES
Bartram Trail in Putnam County
Artists-Naturalists in Florida: William Bartram

Articles

On a Bartram Adventure Tour

On a guided Bartram Adventure Tour, we hiked, biked, and paddled to follow the travels of William and John Bartram along the St. Johns River on the newly designated Bartram National Recreation Trail, centered in Palatka, Florida.

Trails and TravelSandra Friend

Paddling the Bartram Trail in Welaka

Learning how botanists William and John Bartram traveled along the St. Johns, I followed a guide along part of the Bartram National Recreation Trail.

Florida HikesJohn Keatley

Historic Journals

John and William Bartram Travel the St. Johns River – Florida History Online

Important Destinations

Palatka Riverfront Park

Re-imagined to showcase the beauty of the St. Johns River, Palatka Riverfront Park offers a quarter-mile riverfront walk with panoramic views, a River Center, and nature-based playground.

Florida HikesSandra Friend & John Keatley

St. Johns River Center

A destination for environmental education with a dash of regional history, the St. Johns River Center in downtown Palatka tells the story of Florida’s longest and most storied river.

Florida HikesSandra Friend

Mount Royal

One of Florida’s largest mounds, Mount Royal was first documented by William Bartram in 1765, when it was an important central feature of a large village along the St. Johns River.

Florida HikesSandra Friend

Itinerary

Palatka: Walking & Biking

St. Johns River Center
Palatka Riverfront Park
Ravine Gardens
Spaulding's Lower Store
Peniel Baptist Church
Downtown Palatka murals
Palatka Water Works
Palatka-Lake Butler Trail
SHOPPING Putnam Bicycles, River City Antiques, Elsie Bell's Antique Mall, Palatka Art League
DINING Angels Diner, Mariachiles, Uncork and Unwind

Welaka: Hiking & Paddling

Welaka State Forest
Welaka Fish Hatchery
Mount Royal
Bartram Trail paddling trip
DINING Shrimp R Us, Renegades on the River

East Palatka: Touring

Rollestown
Adams Plantation with Mike Adams as William Bartram
DINING Corky Bells