Little Awesome Preserve

SUMMARY

Size: 195 acres
Location: Lower Santa Fe River

ABOUT LITTLE AWESOME

Walking through the woods surrounding Little Awesome is enchanting and comforting all at once. On this 195-acre tract, piney uplands gently slope towards the river. The pristine bottomland forest that winds along one of the wildest sections of the lower Santa Fe River evokes nostalgia for times long past and appreciation for the incredible beauty that persists.

Entering these Florida woods, your eyes are drawn to the height of the upland canopy dominated by towering longleaf pines. Below them, large, healthy flowering dogwoods buzz with pollinators. Spanish moss drapes from sparkleberries over patches of saw palmetto, and legumes and grasses stretch through the dappled sun on the sandy forest floor. You recognize this landscape as quintessential “Old Florida” as the stresses of daily life begin to quietly melt and you yield to the insistent beckoning of nature’s surprises.

As you travel a gently sloping path to the river, a landing appears under a cove of buttressed trees, inviting you to picnic, launch a kayak, or just sit quietly and watch the river flow and gurgle around the Little Awesome Swallet. As your gaze wanders away from the water, the woods open up around you. Impossibly, the trees become even larger. In the distance there are trunks so big and tall that you are pulled towards them, to get a better look. The understory is open and vast. The ground undulates, carpeted with pink and white rain lilies in a bed of spring green. A flock of turkeys moves quietly away from you.

The uneven ground supports enormous live oaks with giant spreading craggy limbs, Florida maples, and American elms on higher limestone hummocks. You walk through this quilt-work of giant cypress, locust and gum trees interspersed with upland forest rises. Your footsteps are constantly challenged by the change in landscape: the unexpected limestone bridge across a crack in the ground, and the scattered springs and swallets that suddenly appear at your feet. Your eyes are simultaneously drawn up into the vast canopy, down to the complex wonder of karst features below, and out towards the river calling you to its rippling edge. Across the river, as far as you can see in any direction, are unspoiled swaths of conservation land which protects the Santa Fe River Corridor in the Santa Fe Conservation Area. This property stirs a deep sense of awe. A paddle along its banks summons primordial memories and offers deep peace. 

PROTECTING LITTLE AWESOME

The opportunity to protect this 6,000-foot swath of undeveloped river and woods arose suddenly and Alachua Conservation Trust jumped to the task, outbidding a real estate development group from Jacksonville at a land auction. With a loan from The Conservation Fund, ACT officially closed on the property on July 22, 2021.

In 2022, The River Branch Foundation and Cofrin Family provided ACT with the funds needed to pay back the conservation loans on the property. ACT is now working towards getting Little Awesome Preserve ready for future passive public recreation.

Banner image by Kim Davidson.