Bulow Creek State Park protects some 5,600 acres of old-growth hammock along the creek — 'real Florida,' as one film here bills it — minutes from Ormond Beach and a world away in feel. Most visitors come for one tree. They should; but the trail system rewards staying.

Bulow Creek State Park and the Fairchild Oak (the oldest living oak tree in Florida)

Relic Rescue USA

Relic Rescue USA's Bulow Creek film (recovered English transcript — the first pull returned a foreign track) is a 'real Florida' walk through the park to the Fairchild Oak, framed by the channel as the oldest living oak in Florida. Park materials put the great oak at roughly 400–600 years old — treat any single number, plaque included, as an estimate — but by any count it ranks among Florida's largest and oldest live oaks, and the film pairs the tree with the park's trails and creek scenery.

Key takeaways
  • The Fairchild Oak: among Florida's largest and oldest live oaks
  • Age estimates vary (roughly 400–600 years) — no single figure is certain
  • Day-use park of trails, creek views and deep hammock shade

Fairchild Oak at Bulow Creek State Park - Oldest Live Oak Tree in Florida

ChadGallivanter

Chad Gallivanter's focused visit to the Fairchild Oak bills it as Florida's oldest live oak and walks the short path to the tree, taking in its immense spread and the park bulletin context around it. A tight, single-subject film — the oak itself is the attraction, and this is the clearest look at it in the set.

Key takeaways
  • Single-subject film: the Fairchild Oak up close
  • Short, easy walk from the parking area to the tree
  • The oak's canopy spread is the spectacle

Hiking the Bulow Creek State Park in Volusia County, Florida

East Florida Explorer

East Florida Explorer hikes Bulow Creek State Park's trails through old-growth hammock — the walk under and past the Fairchild Oak and along the creek-side paths that make this 5,600-acre park feel like pre-development Florida. The film is a hiker's-eye survey of the trail system rather than a history piece.

Key takeaways
  • Trail-focused film across the park's hammock paths
  • The park protects about 5,600 acres along Bulow Creek
  • Old-growth scenery minutes from Ormond Beach

The Fairchild Oak

By any count the Fairchild Oak ranks among Florida's largest and oldest live oaks: a canopy spread of more than 150 feet and a trunk better than 25 feet around, per the park-profile film. Its age is honestly uncertain — park materials suggest roughly 400 to 600 years, and this page repeats the range rather than a plaque number, because no single figure is a date. The focused visit film walks the short path from parking to the tree; the spectacle is the spread, a ceiling of limbs over the clearing.

The trails

The hiking films work the system: the short Wahlin Trail loop near the entrance, boardwalks and creek overlooks on the longer woods paths, fern-heavy understory throughout, and the long Bulow Woods Trail — about 6.8 to 7 miles point-to-point — running through to the Bulow Plantation Ruins for the full traverse. Gates run 8 a.m. to sunset as filmed; it is day-use only.

Bulow Creek State Park: Experience the "Real Florida"!

Old, Alone and Far From Home

Old, Alone and Far From Home sells Bulow Creek as the place to experience 'real Florida': a slow wander through the park's hammock, the Fairchild Oak, and the trailheads — including the long Bulow Woods Trail that runs point-to-point through to the Bulow Plantation Ruins for hikers who want the full traverse.

Key takeaways
  • 'Real Florida' framing: hammock, creek and the great oak
  • Bulow Woods Trail runs ~6.8–7 miles point-to-point to the ruins
  • Walter Boardman Lane gives scenic back-road access

Hiking Florida Trails | Bulow Creek State Park

Savanna Collins

Savanna Collins' hiking film works the Bulow Creek trail system — the short Wahlin Trail loop near the entrance and the longer woods paths — showing the boardwalks, creek overlooks and fern-heavy understory that fill a day here. Practical, boots-on-the-ground coverage for walkers.

Key takeaways
  • Covers the short Wahlin Trail loop and longer woods trails
  • Boardwalks and creek overlooks along the routes
  • Day-use only — gates run 8 a.m. to sunset, as filmed

Florida Road Trip Bulow Creek State Park

Let's Go Traveling

A road-trip stop at Bulow Creek State Park takes the headline walk to the Fairchild Oak and a turn through the picnic area under the hammock, presenting the park as an easy, shady detour on a coastal Florida drive — big tree, quiet trails, no crowds.

Key takeaways
  • Road-trip framing: an easy detour off the coastal drive
  • Picnic area sits under deep hammock shade
  • The Fairchild Oak walk is the headline stop

The easy version

The road-trip film makes the minimal case: a shady detour off the coastal drive — the oak walk, a picnic under the hammock, no crowds. Florida State Parks' own short closes the page as the official introduction. Between the ruins trailhead and the great oak, this is the Daytona area's best half-day of shade.

Sources: the 9 videos on this page, filmed at Bulow Creek State Park.

Watch: Bulow Creek State Park, guided

3 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Bulow Creek State Park

FRVTA

FRVTA's short profile measures the Fairchild Oak's spectacle: a canopy spread of more than 150 feet and a trunk better than 25 feet around, on a tree the film ages at about 500 years (park materials suggest roughly 400–600 — an estimate, not a date). The brief film also orients the park's trails and day-use layout.

Key takeaways
  • Fairchild Oak: 150+ ft spread, 25+ ft trunk circumference, per the film
  • Age given as ~500 years — estimates range roughly 400–600
  • Short orientation film for the park

Exploring the Bulow Creek State Park

The Short Distance Hiker

The Short Distance Hiker explores Bulow Creek State Park — a six-minute walk of the trails and hammock toward the Fairchild Oak. (Watch film — no usable transcript was available.)

Firsthand Florida Fun: Bulow Creek State Park

Florida State Parks

Florida State Parks' own 'Firsthand Florida Fun' short on Bulow Creek State Park — the official 108-second introduction to the park and its great oak. (Its track was thin, so it loads as a watch film.)

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