Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park

We chose Stephen Foster Cultural State Park as our October destination because of the Suwannee River. We toured and hiked the Lower Suwannee area two years ago, and wanted to visit the upper Suwannee area.

This park, on the banks of the upper Suwannee River, celebrates the memory of Stephen Foster. A museum showcases Foster’s music with dioramas and provides vignettes of his too-short life. Foster died at age 37, three days after falling and hitting his head in his hotel room. Two of Foster’s creations are state songs: “My Old Kentucky Home” for Kentucky, and “Old Folks at Home” (aka “Suwannee River”) for Florida.
The 97-bell carillon plays Foster music throughout the day, and also chimes out the hour and quarter hour. The bottom floor houses more memorabilia from Foster and his time.

Bell Tower in setting sun

A large gift shop and craft village adds to the different experience of this state park. Unfortunately, none of the volunteer artisans appeared for the four days we stayed. The ranger said that they more frequently showed up on weekends. For a listing of the artisans, see the Friends of Stephen Foster Cultural Park website (http://www.stephenfostercso.org/index.html).

We loved the campground. The Florida State Parks system provides very nice camping facilities, and generally the sites have some green area in-between for privacy. We found the campground lightly populated and quiet, but we camped when schools were back in session and before the snow birds came back.