Cypress Cove Nature Park, in Chattahoochee, is easy to miss, but is a valuable spot for locals to visit while exploring their home county.
The park can be found on Jinks Crossing Road, which is located off of Highway 90 on the east side of Chattahoochee.
The park is maintained by The State of Florida and includes an old water mill, walking track, stage, pavilion for picnicking and restroom facilities; but the park’s primary feature is the large Cypress lake that is speckled with lily pads and other water-foliage.
The lake is a little-known spot for locals who are looking to kayak or fish and offers a quiet get-away without having to leave Gadsden County.
Nestled directly on the Florida/Georgia state borderline, the lake is fed by the Boykin Branch creek as well as the North Mosquito Creek, which feeds several other small ponds and lakes across Florida and Georgia.
The lake is home to several species of fish, frogs and birds and quiet nature-watchers may be able to spot a bald eagle perched on a tree branch near the edge of the lake.
Cypress Cove Nature Park is also home to several Torreya Taxifolia conifer trees, also known as the Stinking Cedar, Florida Nutmeg or Gopher Wood.
In 1984, Torreya Taxifolia was listed on the United States list of endangered plant species, making it one of the first plants in the country to be added to the list.
The species, which grows exclusively in the area of the limestone bluffs along the Apalachicola River, was believed in 2010 to be almost completely extinct. Over 90 percent of the species’ mature trees were destroyed by fungal blight, pigs and deer, as well as from the introduction of dams and heavy logging in the region.
The trees at the Cypress Cove Nature Park are the result of testing and research conducted by the Atlanta Botanical Garden in order to produce a Torreya Taxifolia that was resistant to the disease that wiped out much of its species.
The trees were planted at the park by the Chattahoochee Woman’s Club, City of Chattahoochee and the Florida State Hospital and serve as a research specimen for future study.
The park is also home to an old watermill that remains perched over the edge of the water, even though it no longer is in use.
Cypress Cove Nature Park can be found at the intersection of Main Street and Jinks Crossing Road, in Chattahoochee.
There is no fee to visit the park, making it an ideal place for families to explore, fish and enjoy being outdoors.
Ashley Hunter – editor@prioritynews.net
