Location: Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve
Address: 505 Guana River Rd #6527, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
Telephone: (904) 380-8600
Lat/Long: 30.022299, -81.332612
Website: https://gtmnerr.org/visit/
Date: September 20th 2025
Media: *Located within and at the bottom of each post
Hardware used for media: Galaxy S21
As many times as I’ve come here I’m always amazed at finding new things. This is one of my go-to local day hikes. I arrived extremely early, 6:30am. I was surprised to see there were already 8 cars parked near the boat ramps and people already fishing off the dam, in pitch black!
I’m keeping this short because this is one of my regular hikes, so it’s mostly pictures. But I did come across several deer on the path. It’s so hard to catch a picture of them, they get frightened easily. The morning mist pictures are a first for me on this trail. Loved how the fog just hung out in the open areas.
Also, can anyone tell me what the hell this plant is, because those look like edamame, buuuuuuuuuut they’re not!
The one drawback to this trail is the banana spiders!! As early as I get on-trail, there’s no one that’s walked it yet for the day, sooooo you kinda have to keep swinging your trek pole in front of you in case there’s spider webs you can’t see. Other than that, it’s a great place for a nice 3 hour, 7 mile hike!
*And sometimes it’s good to turn around once in a while and see whose watching you! : )
The sun peeking through the forest was stunning!
Happy Camping!
See you on the trail!
~T.B. Pug