Okaloosa County High Point Trip Report
Date: November 11-14, 1999
Author: Fred Lobdell
Both candidates for the Okaloosa Co. HP, at elevations of 320+ feet, are on the
Laurel Hill quad. One is a short distance northwest of the village of Laurel Hill
and the other is about two miles to the northeast,
just south of the Alabama state line.
From the intersection of Florida rte. 2 and 85 southwest of Laurel Hill,
go northeast on 85 for about 3.4 miles to county 85A on the left.
Turn left (west) on 85A and go west, then northwest for about 0.7 miles.
Just before the road makes a sharp bend back to the west there will be a dirt road
on your right (northeast). Pull off and park.
The high area, according to the topographic map, lies in an open, brushy field a couple
of hundred feet from the paved road. This field is not posted, although we were told
that it belongs to a party named Stokes. Walk around to cover the high area.
For the second area, drive back into Laurel Hill on 85A and turn left (northeast) on FL 85.
After a quarter mile, make your first left and go north on a dirt road toward Alabama.
Go about 2.8 miles (this will put you 1 mile north of the state line) and turn right (east)
on another dirt road. Go one more mile and turn right (south) on a poorer
(but still passable by a passenger car) dirt track.
Take this for about a mile until it peters out in a field. Park here.
At this point the state line is only one or two hundred feet south of you.
Walk south, then east into the plowed field that contains the HP. As I've
noticed in a number of other areas, the highest spot seems to be along the boundary between
two fields where it hasn't been plowed. I suspect that wind erosion has, over the years,
lowered the plowed fields by a foot or two and that the unplowed area represents the
original land surface.