Ravine Gardens State Park

Ravine Gardens State Park - Palatka, Florida
January 19, 2006

A beautiful place to run, walk, or just smell the azaleas. Many runners from Northeast Florida are very familiar with the Ravine Gardens. There used to be a very active running club (Putnam Runners) which put on a number of popular races like the Mug Run and the Floyd Four.
Some of these events used the 1.8 mile loop through the Ravine Gardens as part of the race course.
Since the Park is only a 30 mile drive from St. Augustine, many runners go to the park for a pleasant change of scenery with a little hill-work thrown in.

It was quite chilly on the morning we drove to the park; with temperatures at 40º or below. Frieda, who likes cool weather started out with tights, gloves, head band, and a running jacket. Norm, who was walking as usual, was very surprised to see the azaleas already in bloom. He was hoping to see some owls or woodpeckers in the trees but in his search for wildlife he got skunked.

There were a few orange trees along the park road. Norm shook the tree to get an orange, but it turned out to be full of seeds and very sour. Norm learned a lesson about the fruits of thievery. This banana plant was quite large but showed signs of frost damage. The bananas were dwarfed, about the size of one's thumb, and not worth stealing.

After a couple of warm-up loops, Frieda shucked her jacket and picked up the pace, breaking 8 minutes per mile on her final loop. Much to our surprise we met up wih Joe Fournier in the park. He is making a determined come-back from inactivity and old-age.

After finishing her run, Frieda met up with some folks who had a very cute puppy. When we told them that their dog would be shown on the Internet, they were thrilled. As in many smaller towns, murals appear on many buildings around Palatka. This one is of a water wheel which we assume is part of the park's history.

Before heading home, we stopped for breakfast at Southwell's Restaurant. Norm said that this made the whole trip worthwhile.
If you are intested in more information about the Ravine Gardens State Park, Click Here.


It was quite chilly on the morning we drove to the park; with temperatures at 40º or below. Frieda, who likes cool weather started out with tights, gloves, head band, and a running jacket.	Norm, who was walking as usual, was very surprised to see the azaleas already in bloom. He was hoping to see some owls or woodpeckers in the trees but in his search for wildlife he got skunked.

There were a few orange trees along the park road. Norm shook the tree to get an orange, but it turned out to be full of seeds and very sour. Norm learned a lesson about the fruits of thievery.	This banana plant was quite large but showed signs of frost damage. The bananas were dwarfed, about the size of one's thumb, and not worth stealing.

After a couple of warm-up loops, Frieda shucked her jacket and picked up the pace, breaking 8 minutes per mile on her final loop.	Much to our surprise we met up wih Joe Fournier in the park. He is making a determined come-back from inactivity and old-age.

After finishing her run, Frieda met up with some folks who had a very cute puppy. When we told them that their dog would be shown on the Internet, they were thrilled.	As in many smaller towns, murals appear on many buildings around Palatka. This one is of a water wheel which we assume is part of the park's history.