Where to See Longleaf Pine Forests

This is a living, crowd-sourced guide that begs your input.

Recently, I received this message from a reader looking to visit longleaf pine.

Hi Janisse, I follow your posts and enjoy reading about your life on the land with Little Fawn and Raven.

I have family that meets every year at the beginning of June in Alligator Point, FL. I went last year and plan on going this year. These are all cousins, but my own nuclear family went there many times when I was a child living in Tallahassee. I found the beaches much improved, environmentally speaking, since the decades ago I was first there in the early 1970s.

I wonder if you could recommend an old-growth longleaf pine forest, or at least an older long-leaf pine forest, that is relatively close to there. I’ve been wanting to visit such a place since I read your Cracker Childhood book and more so now that I’ve read Wild Card Quilt. Internet info about such places seems limited.

Thanks for any help and I hope you are all well. —Eric

Eric’s question encouraged me to create a guide to accessible longleaf pine forests. This guide will be a living, crowd-sourced document. If you have personal, on-the-ground information about one of these sites that I should add, be in touch. If you would like to see a different site on this list, let me know.

Young longleaf at Moody Forest, Appling County, Georgia

Where To Experience Longleaf Pine Forests

Longleaf is an iconic landscape that once covered over 90 million acres of the uplands of the southeastern U.S. The ecosystem was 99 percent destroyed by clearcutting, development, and pine plantations. America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative is a rangewide effort to restore the ecosystem.

If you experience a mature (or near old-growth) longleaf pine ecosystem, you’ll get to see an iconic landscape that built a country. Often in these forests, conservation and fire have partnered for decades, sometimes centuries. Old-growth longleaf is now exceedingly rare, but mature stands can be found across longleaf’s historic range.

Here are some of the best places—arranged by state and chosen for ecological integrity, presence of older trees, and visitor access.

Look For

• towering, widely spaced pines

• wiregrass understories

• groundcover diversity

• an open, park-like quality

• cathedral light

• red-cockaded woodpecker cavity trees

• gopher tortoise burrows

• old “wolf trees” with broad crowns

• and so much more.

Tips for Visiting

Best time: Spring (March–May) for wildflower blooms in the wiregrass understory, or fall for cooler hiking.

Look closely at things. Stay quiet. Listen. Move slowly.

Avoid ticks at all costs. Wear long pants, light-colored if possible. Wear closed-toed shoes. Tuck pants into socks. Use powerful insect repellent to avoid ticks. Spray boots and hat.

Watch for snakes, of course.

Some sites are remote and can be out of cell range. Download maps and directions ahead of time.

Check current weather conditions before visiting.

Take water.

Safety: Do not go alone. Recent attacks on women have shown that even two women (or two men) may not be safe enough. Protect yourself by going in a group or by carrying weaponry of some kind. Know how to use bear spray, if that’s your protection. Pay attention to your surroundings, to other people in the area or to any kind of suspicious behavior. We can’t afford for you to be injured or traumatized in any way. If you suffer, we all suffer.

🌲🥾🌼FLORIDA☀️💚🌲

Eglin Air Force Base

Florida Panhandle

• one of the largest intact longleaf landscapes remaining anywhere in the world

• tens of thousands of acres

• excellent older stands

• requires recreation permit, but access is possible

🌲

Apalachicola National Forest

Sumatra, FL

• fire-maintained landscapes with beautiful structure

• vast and wild, with pockets of older longleaf

• extensive longleaf flatwoods and rare wet savannas

• incredible pitcher plant bogs

• Closer to Tallahassee, the Munson Hills trail system is particularly accessible.

🌲

Blackwater River State Forest

Milton, Florida

• well-maintained trails, campgrounds, and easy hiking along the Blackwater River corridor

• some very mature longleaf stands

• clear, sandy understories and frequent burns

• quiet (I hope)

🌲

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park

Santa Rosa Beach, FL

• stunning coastal longleaf park with old-growth trees, rare scrub communities, and tram access for those with mobility limitations

• one of the most wheelchair-accessible longleaf sites

🌲

Longleaf Pine Preserve

Volusia County

• 12,000+ acres with extensive trails

🌲

Disney Wilderness Preserve

Orlando, FL

• a major Nature Conservancy restoration site

🌲

Tall Timbers Research Station

North of Tallahassee, FL, near the Georgia/Florida line

• private research station. Watch for opportunities to visit.

Gopher tortoise at a burrow

🌲🥾🌼GEORGIA☀️💚🌲

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Folkston, GA

• upland edges of the Okefenokee feature mature longleaf

• the refuge is one of the most biodiverse places in the Southeast

• see the swamp while you’re there

🌲

Moody Forest Natural Area

Baxley, GA

• 200–300-year-old longleaf pines

• habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers

🌲

Ohoopee Dunes State Natural Area

Emanuel County, GA

• “Georgia’s Desert”

• significant sand dune-longleaf pine ecosystems

• see fabulous botany

🌲

Reed Bingham State Park

Adel/Moultrie, GA

• protected longleaf stands

• excellent for spotting gopher tortoises, the state reptile

🌲

F.D. Roosevelt State Park

Pine Mountain, GA

• montane longleaf pines along the Pine Mountain Ridge

🌲

Doe Run Pitcher Plant Bog Natural Area

Colquitt County, GA

• Pine savanna with unique bog habitats (I’ll be doing a dedicated list of places to experience pitcher plant bogs)

🌲

Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation Historic Site

Brunswick, GA

• coastal longleaf birding spot

🌲

Fort King George Historic Site

Darien, GA

• coastal longleaf forest

🌲

Crooked River State Park

St. Marys, GA

• coastal longleaf habitat

• great camping, trails, and views of Crooked River

🌲

Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area

Houston County, GA

• large, managed wildlife area

🌲

Chickasawhatchee Wildlife Management Area

Southwest GA

• known for restoration efforts

🌲

Wade Tract Preserve

Thomas County, GA, near Thomasville

• privately owned forest, not publicly accessible

• outstanding old-growth longleaf pine-wiregrass

• watch for opportunities to visit

🌲

Ichauway (Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center)

Baker County, near Newton, GA

• private research station

• watch for opportunities to visit

Part of a really fun photo shoot, Moody Forest, Appling County, Georgia.

🌲🥾🌼SOUTH CAROLINA☀️💚🌲

Francis Marion National Forest

north of Charleston, SC

• coastal longleaf system with history and resilience

• Heavily impacted by Hurricane Hugo, recovering

• some mature stands mixed with regeneration

🌲

Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge

McBee, SC

• classic sandhills longleaf ecosystem

• red-cockaded woodpecker colonies

• easy wildlife drive access

• excellent for families

🌲

Hitchcock Woods

Aiken, SC

• 2,000+ acres right in town

• easy access, sandy trails

• surprisingly wild for urban location

• good for walking quietly among old trees.

🌲

Camden Battlefield and Longleaf Pine Preserve

near Camden, SC

• trails through classic habitat

• layered with Revolutionary War history

Sandhill at the Clemson Botanical Garden, SC

🌲🥾🌼NORTH CAROLINA☀️💚🌲

Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve

Southern Pines, NC

• one of the best publicly accessible places to see older longleaf

• truly gorgeous, exceptional park

• easy trails through classic habitat

• some trees 150–200+ years old

• home to a 475+ year-old tree. Watch for the annual birthday party for this tree.

• highly recommended

🌲

Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty)

Fayetteville, NC

• one of the largest intact longleaf landscapes left.

• extensive mature stands due to use of frequent fire

• critical habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers

• access can be tricky, but scientifically significant

🌲

Sandhills Game Lands

Southern Pines and Pinehurst, NC

• as stronghold of longleaf restoration with increasingly mature stands

• habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers

• beautiful, open pine savannas

🌲

Uwharrie National Forest

Troy, NC

• contains about 2,300 acres of habitat

• includes the Pleasant Grove pine savanna

🌲

Croatan National Forest

New Bern, NC

• coastal longleaf

• exceptional carnivorous plant diversity in the savannas

• The Neusiok Trail winds through mature stands.

• known for historic “cat-faced” trees showing past resin harvesting

🌲

Green Swamp Preserve

Supply, NC

• one of the most botanically rich longleaf systems anywhere.

• not towering old-growth, but deeply mature in structure

• extraordinary wiregrass and carnivorous plant diversity

• feels ancient

• significant longleaf savanna habitat

  

  Weymouth Woods, North Carolina

🌲🥾🌼ALABAMA☀️💚🌲

Conecuh National Forest

Evergreen, AL

• crown jewel of longleaf restoration, large-scale longleaf recovery

• gorgeous mature stands

• open wire-grass understory

• a great network of hiking and biking trails

• a mix of restoration and maturing forest, increasingly impressive structure

🌲

Talladega National Forest

Oakmulgee/Shoal Creek Districts, Fort McClellan and Anniston

• prime spot for mountain longleaf pine

• Dugger Mountain Wilderness includes mature stands at higher elevation

• very unusual for the species

🌲

Splinter Hill Bog

Perdido, AL

• managed by The Nature Conservancy

• famous for carnivorous plant diversity

• pitcher plants carpet the ground beneath longleaf canopy

• open for public visits

🌲

Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center

Escambia County, AL (Auburn University)

• publicly accessible

• specifically designed for forest education

• beautiful mature longleaf stands and interpretive signage

🌲

Geneva State Forest

Kinston, AL

• large state forest with 7,200 acres

🌲

Cheaha State Park

Delta, AL

• scenic mountain longleaf views

🌲🥾☀️MISSISSIPPI🌼💚🌲

De Soto National Forest

Hattiesburg, MS

• thousands of acres of longleaf

• the Black Creek Wilderness

• Black Creek Trail is Mississippi’s only National Scenic Trail.

🌲🥾🌼LOUISIANA☀️💚🌲

Kisatchie National Forest

Central Louisiana

• patches of older trees

• restoration

• Kisatchie Hills Wilderness features beautiful mature longleaf on rolling sandstone hills

• scenery unlike anywhere in the coastal plain

🌲🥾🌼TEXAS☀️💚🌲

Big Thicket National Preserve

Near Warren, TX

• at the western fringe, where longleaf mingles with hardwoods

• remnant longleaf stands

• ecologically complex, almost primeval in feel

• important for range-wide perspective

• walk the 1-mile Longleaf Pine Trail in the Turkey Creek Unit to see a young longleaf pine

🌲

Angelina National Forest

Boykin Springs, Zavalla, TX

• East Texas longleaf pine with pitcher plant bogs

• Boykin Springs area has 5.5 miles of trails through forests and bogs

• a highlight of the Texas Longleaf Tour

🌲🥾🌼OKLAHOMA☀️💚🌲

McCurtain County Wilderness Area

SE Oklahoma

• westernmost stronghold of significant longleaf forest

• remote but accessible by trail

• a wild experience

While You Are There

1. Pick up five pieces of human-made debris and take it out with you.

2. Take off your shoes and walk around on pine needles.

3. Read aloud Rumi’s poem that includes the line “Let the beauty we love be what we do.”

My Three Favorites

1. Moody Forest (closest to my home and the longleaf I visit most often)

2. Weymouth Woods (a glorious step back in time)

3. Splinter Hill (truly incredible, very rural bog)

Other Resources

Places to See Longleaf Pine in Texas

This map shows where longleaf pine still exists in SC, NC, and VA. It was developed by NC Forest Service, SC Forestry Commission, and VA Dept. of Forestry.

Here’s a guided tour of Alabama’s Longleaf, produced by USDA and the Longleaf Alliance.

https://floridahikes.com/national-forests/

Heritage Preserves in SC

The Longleaf Alliance

---

Can You Ground-Truth Any of These Sites?

Please let me know any on-the-ground info you know about any of these sites, including particular trails or specific things to see. Thank you so much.

---

A stranger was kind enough to let me photograph her shirt’s message.

---

Two Items of Giveaway + a Request

I’ll delete these in a few days so that the Longleaf Guide stands alone.

1. I signed a paperback copy of Craft & Current: A Manual for Magical Writing to a person named Vicki. A mixup ensued, the book could not be found, and I signed a replacement copy for her. Months later, I found the first copy in a box of books. I also wrote “I’m glad to be on this journey with you.” If you are named Vicki and would like to have this book, or if you know someone named Vicki who would appreciate it, I’ll be glad to mail it out. Claim it in the comments.

2. For years, here at the farm, we subscribed to an alternative farming magazine called Acres USA (practical articles about soil health, crop-production techniques, livestock management, and farm business and marketing.) We loved the magazine so much that we kept each monthly issue. The time has come to let these magazines go. There are only so many I can slip into dentists’ waiting rooms! One idea, if you are interested in this subject and want random reading material, is for me to mail you 10-20 copies that I pull from the stack. Just let me know if you’d like a random reading assortment. I’ll cover postage.

3. I am in need of an attorney savvy about literary contracts to look over a creative collaboration contract. Can anyone recommend a good attorney for this? Does anyone know how I can find such a person? Thank you for any and all suggestions. I may be reached at wildfire1491@yahoo.com or in the comments below.

Be well, be wild, be of good service.