Bulow Creek State Park

There are two Bulow parks, which can make getting here a little confusing. This one, home of the 2,000 year-​old Fairchild Oak is called Bulow Creek State Park, the other is Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park, home of (you guessed it) plantation ruins.
So, now that you’ve arrived at the correct state park, as soon as you park you will see the main attraction, the Fairchild Oak. The tree is located a short distance from the parking lot. So you could easily drive in and look a the tree without even leaving the car. But that would be absolutely no fun.
Of course our first stop was to see the tree, read the dedication, and snap some pictures. That took about five minutes.
After that we headed off to the hiking trails. There are several trails here, and a somewhat confusing map.
Since I failed to photograph the map (which would have been of little help to you anyway). I can tell you that from my adventures there are 3 starting points, facing the trail sign. The trail on the left takes you along a straight path through woods (with lots of geocaches along the way). The trail in the middle (just right of the sign) will take you through some more open grassy areas, and into the woods. The trail furthest to the right takes you downhill towards a small creek bed. This trail was the prettiest, but also the muddiest and least maintained. We turned around at some point due to the mud. I think the two trails to the right of the sign meet up at some point, but the mud deterred us from going too far.
Overall good hiking. And if you aren’t already into geocaching, download the app. There are lots of good ones here.

I always stop here when I drive the Ormond Scenic Loop. It’s always a pleasant place to visit.
The giant 2000-​something year old oak tree is a staggering sight.
There are some scenic trails that are nice to walk through when it’s not blistering hot out!
Public restrooms on site, too, which is always a plus.

When I heard about the 2,000 year old tree called The Fairchild Oak, I made a point to stop and see it on our very next trip down to Orlando. I can’t say my hubby or my teen daughter were nearly as thrilled as I was, but when momma wants to do something, momma does it! LOL
The tree is located inside Bulow Creek State Park in Ormond Beach and is just off of I-​10. If you are traveling, it’s very easy to get to and I highly recommend you stop and take a look-​see. You’ll also get to stretch your legs, so it’s a win-​win. Like my daughter, your kids may not be all that thrilled to see something as simple as a tree, but once they do get up next to this massive tree, they are sure to look up in awe just as my daughter did. She actually even said, «Thank you, mom for making me do this.» And she said it in a sincere way, not that sarcastically, annoyed teenage way.
I hear there are a lot of other things to do at this State Park, but I just came for the tree. We weren’t here more than about 20 minutes. Hubby and daughter wanted to go much sooner than that, but I took some time standing there with my hand on that 2,000 year old tree reflecting on life and all the things that tree has been through. It was a very humbling experience.
Make a point to stop here!

We got to see the old ruins and hike on the bike trail. I enjoyed myself a lot. We arrived at this observation deck at the end of the trail that offers a gorgeous view to the swamp. Also we caught s good close up of a grey heron, who took his time to pose for our cameras before it took off. Fun!

A
very
large
park
Bulow Creek State Park is a huge tract of land that was acquired in 1981. Over 3,000 acres of great hiking and nature.
The park has some great hiking trails with informative signs explaining the plants and critters that live in the wilderness.
Lots of great old trees in the swamps, tidal areas, and flood plains. You can hike for hours and not see all the different areas and cool things.
A wonderful park that lets you be with nature and explore and learn about the woods and wilderness of the area.