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| Highest Natural Point in Florida. |
This highest natural point in Florida is in a place called
Britton Hill, which is near the town of Lakewood in Walton County, just over
the state line from Florala in Covington County, Ala. I forget when I first
heard about this unusual location, but I added it to my bucket list a couple of
years ago because it sounded like a cool place to visit. I finally took the time to ride down there and see it for myself on
Tuesday of last week.
With a “summit” of 345 feet above sea level, Florida’s
highest natural point is the lowest state highpoint in the United States. By way of
comparison, Alabama’s highest point is at Mount Cheaha and has an elevation of
2,413 feet. While Britton Hill is no Mount Everest, it’s still a unique place
to visit.
If you travel to Britton Hill today, you’ll find a small
park called Lakewood Park, which is located off of Walton County Road 285,
about two miles southeast of Florala, Ala. The park includes a nice parking
area and once you get out on foot, you’ll notice a large stone marker on the
north side of the park, near the entrance. This marker features a map of
Florida and simply reads, “LAKEWOOD PARK, FLORIDA’S HIGHEST POINT, ELEVATION
345 FT.”
Near this marker, you’ll find a building with restrooms and
encased displays with lots of information. In the display you'll find a detailed map of the
park’s trail system, which begins with a trailhead behind the stone marker
mentioned above. The park’s trail system consists of three trails – Yellow,
Blue and Red – and is a total of 1-3/4 miles long. The Yellow Trail is .45 miles long, and
the Blue Trail is .59 miles long. The Red Trail is longest at .71 miles long.
The display also contains information about an organization
called the Highpointers Club, an organization for people dedicated to visiting
highpoints in states across the nation. According to a brochure I picked up, “Highpointing is an ideal way of seeing these United States and a
lot of America as you travel to each particular point. This is one way of fine
tuning a sport to yourself, your family and your lifestyle. After each
highpointing trip, there will be many good memories, many great stories and
many new ideas for your next trip.” Membership dues are $20 per year, and more
information about the organization is available at www.highpointers.org.
Also, if you visit Britton Hill and enjoy geocaching, be
sure to find the two geocaches that are in the park. One is a pretty straightforward
cache off one of the park’s trails, but the other is a unique type of cache
that will require some thinking on your part. I don’t want to say too much
about it because it might spoil the fun.
In the end, how many of you have been to the highest point
in Florida? Have you been to the highest points in any other states? What did
you think about them? Which would you recommend visiting? Let us know in the comments
section below.
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