The Big Creek Nature Trail - Member Hike
| Hike Name: | The Big Creek Nature Trail |
|---|---|
| Country: | United States |
| State: | Georgia |
| Nearby Town: | Waycross |
| Rating: |  |
| Directions: | Exit I-95 at Exit 6/29. Go west on US 82 to GA 177. Go south on GA 177 for 2 miles to park. |
| Total Hike Distance: | 1.30 miles |
| Hike Difficulty: | Easy |
| Permit Required: | No |
| Hike Type: | Roundtrip, Loop Hike |
| Hike Starts/Ends: | Park parking area |
| Trails Used: | The Big Creek Nature Trail |
| Backcountry Campsites: | No |
| Backcountry Water Sources: | Streams, Springs |
| Management: | National Park Service |
| Contact Information: | Laura S. Walker State Park, 5653 Laura Walker Road, Waycross, GA 31503. Phone 287-4900. |
| Best Season: | Winter, Spring, Fall |
| Users: | Hikers |
| Road Conditions: | Primary Paved Roads, Secondary Paved Roads, Maintained Gravel or Dirt Roads |
| Hike Summary: | The Big Creek Nature Trail, located across GA 177 from the campgrounds, is a good place for early morning birding and to learn about Coastal Plain flora and fauna. The easy trail loops around to Big Creek, the dammed brook that creates Walker Lake, before heading back to the trailhead. At the beginning of the trail, the habitat is typical Coastal Plain pinelands, with longleaf pines, laurel oaks, bluejack oaks, palmetto, sparkleberry, perfoliate rattleweed, and honeysuckle vines. Mounds of white sand tip off gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrows, a sign of a sandhill area. The threatened gopher tortoise is a large reptile that is adept at digging underground chambers that are in turn used by a community of animals, including Eastern indigo snakes, gopher frogs, and diamondback rattlesnakes. It is the existence of the latter that has been the cause of suffering for gophers tortoises at the hand of man. Snake hunters, who search the Georgia woods for rattlesnakes for rattlesnake roundup events and to make snakeskin souvenirs and clothing, pour gasoline down the burrows to flush the serpents out, which kills a community of animals dependent on the protection of this sandy den. Farther along the trail, hikers approach a wetland area identified as a Carolina bay. These mysterious, round depressions are the only natural lakes in Georgia, believed to be created by meteors, according to one theory, or gale force winds, another theory. (Georgia's other lakes are created by dams on rivers.) Most Carolina Bays are large and hard to reach due to the swamp wetlands that surround their borders. They are found in the Coastal Plain and can be identified by looking at a map for teardrop-shaped lakes. This area has some of the natural components of a Carolina bay. In this swampy area, hikers will find tupelo, sweet gum, Live Oaks, and laurel oaks, with wax myrtle and titi shrubs occupying the midstory. The trail returns to cutover pinelands that are undergoing succession. |
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