This State Park is Home to Florida's Tallest Waterfall-Plus Sinkholes and a Butterfly Garden

"Falling Waters State Park has long been a favorite destination for my family. I've taken my kids hiking and camping here countless times, roasting hot dogs and s'mores over the campfire and marveling at Florida's highest waterfall together. Towering pines and fern-covered sinkholes line the Sinkhole Trail, guiding visitors to a view that never fails to inspire awe: a 73-foot cascade disappearing into the depths of a 100-foot cylindrical pit."

""The State Park designation protects these huge sinkholes in this area," says Glenda Wilson of the Chipley Garden Club. Wilson's decades-long stewardship of the park's butterfly garden highlights the care and dedication that help this park thrive. She explains that the native plants-black-eyed Susans, purple coneflowers, Queen Anne's lace-require hands-on attention, from planting to watering, ensuring that both the flora and the local butterfly populations flourish."

"Beyond the waterfall and butterfly garden, Falling Waters offers a quiet retreat just a few miles south of I-10. Families can picnic lakeside, swim, fish, or explore interpretive programs hosted by park rangers in the amphitheater. Hiking here is a gentle immersion into North Florida's lush landscape, where trails wind past historical remnants: the state's first oil well, a 19th-century grist mill, and evidence of Native American civilizations dating back 5,000 years."

Falling Waters State Park contains a 73-foot cascade that disappears into a 100-foot cylindrical pit, forming Florida's highest waterfall. Towering pines and fern-covered sinkholes line the Sinkhole Trail and lead to scenic overlooks. A butterfly garden maintained by the Chipley Garden Club supports native plants such as black-eyed Susans, purple coneflowers, and Queen Anne's lace, requiring hands-on planting and watering to sustain local butterfly populations. The park offers picnicking, swimming, fishing, interpretive ranger programs, and gentle hiking past historical remnants including the state's first oil well, a 19th-century grist mill, and 5,000-year-old Native American sites. The park is open daily from 8 a.m. until sundown year-round.

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