Cedar Key - Shell Mound Hike

 Saturday, January 20, 2024

Hi Blog!

After several weeks of visiting with family and friends, we find ourselves camped near Cedar Key on the West Coast of Florida. This area is surrounded by a number of state parks and preserves including the Waccassa Bay Preserve, Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve, Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge and the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge. With so many options, we were not sure what to do first. After visiting the Cedar Key Welcome Center this morning, we decided to venture into the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge and explore the Shell Mounds.

Before exploring the Shell Mound Trail, we decided to hike out to the boat launch and fishing pier. The road was closed, but we could still walk out under the shade of live oak trees, with the Spanish moss gently swaying in the breeze.

We got our first look at the many islands that surround Cedar Key.  More than 13 islands make up the Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge.

On August 30, 2023, Hurricane Idalia hit this area hard. Storm surge flooded the community and washed away the fishing pier. The first priority was getting the streets clean and mucking out the houses and businesses. Most of the town's businesses are now open, but there are still several shops, including the only grocery store, which still have not re-opened. The construction crews are now beginning to work on rebuilding the boat launch and fishing pier.

Since the boat launch is closed during construction, the local shore birds are enjoying the peace and quiet. It is hard to tell if this is a greater yellow legs or lesser yellow legs, but either way it was fun to watch.

There are over 37 difference ducks that frequent the Florida coast. Your guess is as good as ours.

With just over 1,000 residents, Cedar Key is a small coastal town with a big reputation. This charming spot is known as one of the best places in the U.S. for clams and oysters. More than 90 million clams are produced annually in Cedar Key. This accounts for more than 90% of Florida’s total clam cultivation and makes Cedar Key the largest producer of farm-raised clams in the state. Since 2012, Cedar Key has also begun producing oysters. Pictured below is an old oyster bed, which is what brought indigenous settlers to this area hundreds of years ago.

After leaving the boat ramp, we hiked over to the Shell Mound Trail. The Shell Mound is a large shell-bearing archaeological site that was once the location of special gatherings for Native American groups. The site rose to prominence as a ritual center at about A.D. 400 and continued through A.D. 650.

 

The site features mounds of marine shells, mostly oyster.  It measures about 23 feet high  and surrounds a large central plaza. It is estimated that over 1.2 billion oyster shells are piled up in a horseshoe shape around the central plaza. With all the recent storms, the central plaza was under water. Research has shown that large feasts took place here during the summer solstice.

No one knows for sure why this area was abandoned. Some speculate a decrease in oyster production or climate change.  A hurricane could have destroyed the area making it uninhabitable. 

After finishing the Shell Mound Trail, we walked over to the Dennis Creek Trail. This lollypop trail has two boardwalks which cross Dennis Creek. The boardwalk leads the trail to an island topped with slash pine and cedar.

As we finished the loop trail, we came across several roosting birds. Starting left to right, blue heron, egret, ibis and stork.

We were able to get a closer look, but the blue heron was now hidden behind the tall grass.

Off to the side, we spotted this great white heron huddled against the cold wind coming off the Gulf.

The black needlerush stretches straight to the Gulf. This salt-loving “leafless” rush can cover large areas in coastal salt and brackish tidal marshes, and is easily recognizable by its characteristic grayish-green to blackish hues. Its “stem tips” are very sharp pointed and stout. “Stems” in this species are actually leaves that are rounded so tightly that they appear to be very sharp-pointed stems.

A boardwalk stretches across the needlerush marsh to the next island in the chain, which is topped by pine flatwoods.

Other than the birds we came across, we didn't spot any other critters. It wasn't until our drive back to camp that we saw several armadillo grubbing on the side of the road. We tried to get a photo, but you would be surprised how fast an armadillo can hop across a road!

The End!