Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park, Natural preserve near Pensacola, Florida, US

Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park covers 4,549.15 acres about 10 miles southwest of Pensacola in Escambia County, roughly 1.5 miles south of the U.S. Hwy. 98 and State Road 293 junction. The flat terrain holds coastal bayous, wet prairie and wetland, with a half-mile ADA boardwalk leading to Tarkiln Bayou. A day-hike crosses the park to the Perdido River, the boundary with Alabama.

The land was protected to preserve rare pitcher plant populations that have inhabited these wetlands for centuries. This conservation effort recognized the ecological value of the native species and their habitats.

Naturalists and researchers regularly visit the preserve to study the rare plant species and document the ecological relationships within the wetland system.

Visitors can explore the preserve using a network of trails and boardwalks that wind through the landscape. The cooler months offer more comfortable conditions for walking and observing the varied wildlife.

The white-top pitcher plant grows wild only between the Apalachicola and Mississippi rivers, and Tarkiln Bayou is one of the few places to see it. Nearly 100 other rare plants and animals depend on the wet prairie, including the alligator snapping turtle and Chapman's butterwort.