Mrs Ram picked Ravine Garden State Park for a change of pace last Friday. We had passed this park a few times as we went back and forth to Lady Lake for her Cowboy Mounted Shooting. Since the name had garden in it, she expected an extensive garden of flowers, trees, etc. The actual garden portion was a small area at the start of the hiking trails.
We used one of the two huge grills at the entrance to the garden to grill a couple of tasty burgers and two whole carrots. Charcoal is a wonderful thing if you want to relax. It also ensures that you are truly hungry by the time your food is cooked. Especially if, like Mr Ram, you do not use quite enough briquets.
What neither of us realized were the extent of the hiking trails here. After lunch we then hit the trails going over the suspension bridge and then taking the far side of the Spring Trail.
The near side of the trail had sections that were washed out. We were warned as we entered the trails.
We saw the springs and then backtracked to take the Azalea Trail giving us over 3 miles of hiking.
This park also has a driving route that encircles the park. We thought is was fortunate that the storm damage had closed the road so there were no cars zipping by as you walked on the trails.
We had an informative conversation with a park ranger named Cory. He told us of Ravine Garden State Parks as a depression era project and that it is in a constant state of flux. We also talked about the increasing fire danger in the area and his training fighting fires.
Would I travel for hours to visit this park? No. But if you are in the area it is worth stopping in. It’s only $2 per person or $5 for everyone in your vehicle.