Destinations: Wewahitchka

We're more than a beach community. Florida's Panhandle is one of the richest eco-systems in the state. Just head inland to discover "Wewa."

Wewahitchka is the site of one of Florida's largest beekeeping operations, where for more than a century, beekeepers have harvested world famous Tupelo Honey from the Apalachicola River Basin. "Ulee's Gold?" starring Peter Fonda, was filmed in Wewahitchka in 1997. The movie gained recognition for the natural beauty of the area and its third generation beekeepers, the L.L. Lanier family, when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

A short drive north, out of Port St. Joe, on Hwy 71, will take you through White City, where the Intracoastal Waterway runs under the bridge. There you'll find a small store for supplies and a public boat ramp with a park, picnic pavillions and restrooms. Head east on the waterway to Lake Wimico, the Apalachicola River, and Apalachicola Bay. West takes you to Panama City, and Destin.

Continue 16 miles north of White City, on Highway 71, and you'll arrive in Wewahitchka, (Seminole name meaning "water eyes"). No wonder, water is everywhere! The Dead Lakes, a hauntingly beautiful sight, provides some of the best bass fishing in the nation, rare birding sites, and stunning subject matter for the camera. Reportedly formed when sand bars created by the Apalachicola River's current blocked the Chipola River, the ensuing high water killed thousands of trees in the floodplain, leaving a graveyard of bottom heavy cypress skeletons, stumps and knees. Recent additions made to Dead Lakes County Park make it well worth the visit and the perfect place to get away from it all with RV and primitive campsites, restrooms, showers, laundry facilities, a playground/ picnic area, and boardwalks over the lakes.