Last summer, a 95-degree day introduced me to the beauty of Wakulla Springs. After having heard about the springs through friends and those oh-so-lucky people with their cars at school, I decided that I had to go outside and see the springs for myself, and I wasn’t disappointed.
My friends and I jumped from diving platforms together and stood united in knee-deep water, willing ourselves to swim out into the ice-cold spring (and it truly was ice-cold). That summer day quickly became one of my favorite memories.
This state park is one of many popular Tallahassee nature destinations, and while I’m a big proponent of a campus hot girl walk, there’s something exciting about exploring the Tallahassee area and immersing yourself in all the natural beauty that lies just in our backyard.
This is a plea from a Tampa girl who’s never lived amongst rolling hills, much less a sinkhole or a spring: add a day trip to these three places to your Tally bucket list and experience all the natural beauty that North Florida has to offer.
Wakulla Springs State Park
Of course, Wakulla Springs ranks high on my list of outdoor spots in Tallahassee. About 25 to 30 minutes south of FSU lies one of the world’s largest and deepest freshwater springs and a host of associated activities, from hiking to boating to swimming and even birdwatching.
As you may see on many Instagram stories, the park’s “beach” or recreational swimming area is one of its most popular attractions among college students. You can work on your tan, since we’ve reached the point during the fall semester where summer tan lines are slowly fading into oblivion, and cool off with a dip or a jump into the refreshing spring.
In my next trip to Wakulla, I hope to explore the springs via boat with one of the boat tours offered at the park. For $8 a person, you can take a ranger-led, 50-minute trip on a glass-bottom boat, exploring cypress trees, birds, alligators, and an occasional manatee. Pro tip: check out the springs during the chillier months of November through March for your best chance at spotting manatees, who trek to these freshwater springs when oceans reach cooler temperatures.
Cherokee Sink
If you’re looking for a more secluded spot to swim and sunbathe, Cherokee Sink is nestled behind a mile of forest and trails. Following a short hike through Wakulla Springs State Park (it’s truly the gift that keeps on giving), you reach this 80-foot-deep sinkhole lake.
While I have yet to visit Cherokee Sink, I plan to take a day trip off the beaten path this semester to this spot and live out my H2O: Just Add Water mermaid dreams. As previously mentioned, you have to walk about a mile from the Cherokee Sink trailhead to reach the sinkhole itself. You can find the trail’s entry on Highway 61, two miles south of Highway 267, located on the west side of the road opposite the main entrance to Wakulla Springs State Park.
If you’re looking to check out the sinkhole, pack light and be prepared for your short hike, but just when you’re getting hot, you’ll reach the perfect spot to cool off, relax, and spend an idyllic day in nature.
Bear creek Educational Forest
Bear Creek Trail is a sentimental addition to this list for me, as it offered me one of my most unique FSU memories to date last semester. Following the great FSU “snow week” of January 2025, a Sunday morning trip out to Bear Creek with the FSU Hiking Club turned into a three-mile hike through the snow, a scene straight out of my Hallmark dreams. While the snow may have been more aptly deemed sleet at that point, that made no difference to a Florida girl who had never before seen snow, much less hiked through it.
While this may not be the norm for a typical Bear Creek hike, this trail was nevertheless picturesque, relaxing, and a definite return spot for an elevated hot girl walk. Bear Creek can be found 20 minutes west of College Town at Lake Talquin State Forest, and it consists of five different trails suitable for a wide range of hikers.
If you’re a nature lover or someone simply looking to escape the college simulation for a day, these three spots are perfect places to unplug and enjoy the natural beauty that Tallahassee has to offer because, believe it or not, there’s lots of it!
Whether you prefer swimming, hiking, sunbathing, or observing wildlife (cough cough, seeing manatees), there’s something for you to enjoy just a few miles away from campus.
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