Quick answer: Putnam County, Florida, is the lake and river county between Gainesville and St. Augustine, with Palatka on the St. Johns River as its seat and Interlachen, with more than 28 lakes inside the town limits, in its western lake region. The county's attractions are water and woods: Ravine Gardens State Park and its azaleas, the Palatka-to-St. Augustine rail-trail, Etoniah Creek State Forest, Dunns Creek State Park, and two festivals a year on the Palatka riverfront. Just over the county line: Gold Head Branch State Park, the Gainesville-Hawthorne trail and Silver Glen Springs. (This is Putnam County on the St. Johns in north Florida, not the one in New York.)
Key takeaways:
- Drive times are measured from Interlachen and rounded to five minutes; Palatka is about 30 minutes east, Gainesville about 40 west.
- The rail-trails and the state forest cost $0 to $2; the state parks are $4 to $6 a vehicle, 8 a.m. to sunset.
- Ravine Gardens' azaleas peak from January to March, and Palatka's Florida Azalea Festival follows.
- Gold Head Branch's swimming area was closed for renovations as of July 2026; check before you go.
- Fees and hours are from each park's own page, checked September 2026 and linked so you can re-check.
Putnam County does not advertise much, which suits the people who come for it: anglers, paddlers, cyclists and anyone who wants a quiet lake with a state park within half an hour. Here are the county's attractions, ordered by drive time from Interlachen, followed by three worth crossing the county line for.
Inside Putnam County
1. The lakes of Interlachen (at the door)
The town has more than 28 lakes within its limits; Lake Chipco (about 4 minutes) and Lake Lagonda (about 7) are the two largest. Florida State Road 20 was built through the town in 1926, and a caboose in the middle of town recalls the tourist stop it once was. Public access varies from lake to lake, so ask at the park office which ramps and shorelines are open before you launch a kayak or a boat. Interlachen, Florida.
2. Palatka and the St. Johns River (about 30 minutes)
The county seat, about 10,400 people, in the lower St. Johns River basin, where US-17, State Road 20 and State Road 100 cross the river on the Memorial Bridge. The riverfront, the historic downtown, a designated Florida Trail Town, and two festivals a year: the Florida Azalea Festival and the Blue Crab Festival. Palatka, Florida.
3. Etoniah Creek State Forest, Florahome (about 35 minutes)
8,902 acres north-east of Florahome, with 491 feet of frontage on Georges Lake, three creeks through floodplain swamp and bottomland hardwood, and a section of the Florida National Scenic Trail. Sunrise to sunset; a day pass for any Florida state forest is $2. Forest page.
4. Ravine Gardens State Park, Palatka (about 40 minutes)
One of Florida's nine New Deal-era state parks, built around two steephead ravines up to 120 feet deep, cut by a spring-fed creek that never dries up. A 1.8-mile paved loop road circles the ravines with viewpoints, there are trails into them, and the garden's hundreds of azaleas bloom from January to March. $5 per vehicle, 8 a.m. to sundown. Park page.
5. Palatka-to-St. Augustine State Trail (about 40 minutes to the Palatka end)
A 19-mile, 12-foot-wide paved trail across Putnam and St. Johns counties through farmland, with trailheads at both ends and several between. Start in Palatka and ride east; the full out-and-back is about 35 miles. No fee, 8 a.m. to sunset. Trail page.
6. Dunns Creek State Park, Pomona Park (about an hour)
More than 6,200 acres of sandhill, scrub and river wetland south of a sharp bend in the St. Johns, in the county's south, with a 1.5-mile hiking and cycling trail to Blue Pond and marked trails through the longleaf pines. $4 to $5 per vehicle, 8 a.m. to sunset. Park page.
Just over the county line
7. Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park, Keystone Heights (about 30 minutes)
Across the line in Clay County: one of Florida's first state parks, built out by the Civilian Conservation Corps on a 600-acre site in the 1930s, on the sandhills of the north-central ridge. A cold spring-fed branch bisects the park; there are nature trails and a 5.44-mile stretch of the Florida National Scenic Trail, and fishing and canoeing on Little Lake Johnson. The lake's swimming area was closed for renovations as of July 2026. $5 per vehicle, 8 a.m. to sunset. Park page.
8. Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail (about 20 minutes to Hawthorne)
In Alachua County: a 16-mile paved rail-trail from Hawthorne to Boulware Springs Park in Gainesville, through Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and other conservation land, with a grassy equestrian trail alongside. No fee, 8 a.m. to sunset, with parking at four trailheads. Paynes Prairie itself, with its herds of wild horses and bison, nearly 23,000 acres of trails and a 50-foot observation tower, is at the Gainesville end; $6 per vehicle. Trail page · Paynes Prairie.
9. Silver Glen Springs, Ocala National Forest (about an hour)
In Marion County, on the east edge of the national forest near Lake George: a first-magnitude spring discharging 65 million gallons a day at 72°F, where saltwater and freshwater fish share the headspring pool. Swimming and snorkeling, canoe rentals, picnic tables and grills; day use only, with a fee, run by a concessioner for the Forest Service. Silver Glen Springs.
10. Gainesville and St. Augustine (40 minutes and 1 hour 15)
Gainesville, about 40 minutes west, is the nearest city for anything the county does not have. St. Augustine, about an hour and 15 minutes east by road or the length of the rail-trail by bike, is the coast.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Putnam County, Florida? Water and woods: fishing and paddling on the St. Johns and the Interlachen lakes, Ravine Gardens State Park and its azaleas, the 19-mile Palatka-to-St. Augustine rail-trail, Etoniah Creek State Forest, Dunns Creek State Park, and Palatka's Azalea and Blue Crab festivals.
What is the county seat of Putnam County, Florida? Palatka, on the St. Johns River, about 30 minutes east of Interlachen on State Road 20.
Which Putnam County attractions are free? The Palatka-to-St. Augustine State Trail charges nothing, a $2 day pass covers Etoniah Creek State Forest, and the Interlachen lakes are open where public access exists. The state parks are $4 to $6 per vehicle.
Is this the Putnam County in Florida or New York? Florida. Putnam County, Florida, sits on the St. Johns River between Gainesville and St. Augustine, about an hour south-west of Jacksonville. The county in New York is a different place.
Homebound Interlachen is a quiet full-hookup retreat in the county's lake region. Call 904-494-8390 for current rates and availability, or see the Interlachen park page.
Sources: Florida State Parks pages for Ravine Gardens, Palatka-to-St. Augustine State Trail, Dunns Creek, Mike Roess Gold Head Branch, Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail and Paynes Prairie Preserve (fees and hours as of September 2026) · Florida Forest Service, Etoniah Creek State Forest · Wikipedia entries for Interlachen, Palatka and Silver Glen Springs. Drive times measured on OpenStreetMap routing from Interlachen.