The 150th anniversary of the Battle of Natural Bridge will be staged at the Natural Bridge Historic State Park Saturday March 7th and Sunday March 8th.
The Sweet Magnolia is only 11 beautiful miles from the Battle of Natural Bridge. Ask Andy about the scenic drive along Old Plank Road and the sulfur springs.
Book a room or join us after Sunday's conclusion for some smooth jazz and dinner served 3-7.

Smooth Sailin' has a wide variety of guest artists, click the link below to see some the Sunday performances preserved on YouTube.

Let one of our guests explain Sunday-From Tripadvisor

"On Sunday afternoon we were treated to a musical treat as Andy and his mate (Don) along with one or two others provided a live music session in the dining room. It was a really enjoyable few hours with dinner and drinks, at very reasonable prices. Apparently it is a must do thing in St Marks on a Sunday afternoon, and was highly recommended to us by several city residents that we met while there. It runs from 3-7pm

Enjoy the fall colors and wildlife as a group and get special rates for renting the entire inn.
Temperatures are in the mid to upper 60's and very sunny, a great time for a wedding, family reunion, nature group, or church retreat.
We can also provide turn key event planning with all meals if needed.
Call Denise to check on availability and pricing.

There is so much to do along Florida's nature coast that one could spend a lifetime here but sometimes an extra night will have to do.
Two incredible spring fed rivers, a world class forested bike trail, St. Marks Wildlife refuge, Wakulla Springs, and the quiet village of St. Marks await you.
Visit our Maps & Links page to see how centrally located the Sweet Magnolia is for exploring Florida's "forgotten coast".
Offer valid on stays occurring during February only.

The Sweet Magnolia Inn has been awarded the 2014 certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor.

Let Andy and Denise guide you to the best areas to enjoy the beauty of Florida's forgotten coast. The Sweet Magnolia Inn is located next to the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge. Enjoy a good nights rest and big breakfast to get ready for a day of hiking a pristine wildlife habitat.
Select the button below to learn more.

We have just created our new YouTube channel so we can share the beauty of St. Marks and the forgotten coast along with our joyous Sunday jazz sessions and fine dining. We have just started so you should see additional videos in the near future.
Click below to get a tour of St. Marks and the Sweet Magnolia. Please visit all our YouTube offerings featuring beautiful music performed by local artist often playing at the Sweet Magnolia Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

The original structure housed a General Store. The owner and his wife lived in the back of the house, let rooms out on the second floor and ran the general store in the front of the building facing the main road that comes into St. Marks. It is not clear what happened to the original builders and owners of the Inn house.
The building is marked as one of the strongest buildings in the whole area and was (and still is) used as a shelter during very strong storms and floods. The walls of the Inn house are made from solid lime rock and cement layered with coquina shells, and the steel in the walls is actually some of the original railroad tracks themselves that went from St. Marks to Tallahassee, now known as the “Historic St. Marks Railroad Bike Trail”.
Then a World War came along with PT boats and sailors, and the building became a brothel where sailors were brought every weekend. The PT boats would be located at Port Leon up the St. Marks River where Pt 109 was said to have visited and docked for a while (site is still there).
When the war ended and the brothel was run out of town, the building was used as a church, a City Hall, and, it is rumored that the building was used to unload bottles of whiskey back in the prohibition days. Eventually, it became a hotel called “The Shangra-La” (hence the name of Room 5), housing another brothel upstairs and a pool hall/bar downstairs. It is said that at times there was violence at this hotel and it eventually burnt out in the early ‘80’s leaving only the four original walls (see the photo in the dining room above the garden windows).
The building was rehabbed by Ken Campbell starting in late 1994 and opened for business in 1996 as St. Marks only Bed and Breakfast Inn. In the early part of the Inn’s time, there was a five star gourmet restaurant downstairs. People would come from miles around and wait in line to partake of the gourmet cuisine served at the Inn.
A lot of the trees and vegetation were taken by trucks from the property of Mr. Campbell’s father and brought to the Inn for landscaping, since most of the property was bare, swampy and muddy. Mr. Campbell also built the fishpond garden/boardwalk area behind the Inn. The ponds are in the shape of the state of Florida, trailing off downhill as the Florida Keys do in south Florida and are filled with goldfish, coy and carp.
The wood floors in the upstairs hallway and guest rooms were recycled from the Havana School auditorium. In addition, the front porch brick and, the brick in the fishpond garden behind the Inn were also recycled from the Havana School’s original walls (the school no longer exists).

One of the oldest settlements in North America, the first European to have seen this point was Panfilo de Narvaez in 1528. In 1679 the Spanish started building the first fort in St. Marks, using logs painted with lime to look like stone, but pirates weren’t fooled by the camouflage. They looted and burned the fort a few years later. Forts in St. Marks were later occupied by Spanish, British, Spanish again, then (for five weeks) by a force seeking to establish “the Nation of Muskogee,” and Spanish yet again, before being taken over for the United States by Andrew Jackson in 1818. The fort passed back into Spanish control one more time before U.S. troops occupied it in 1821. In 1861 it was reoccupied by Confederate troops and named Fort Ward, and became a permanent possession of the United States at the end of the Civil War. Now open to the public as Ft. San Marcos de Apalachee Historical State Park, it features a wonderful museum of exhibits and artifacts, and a well-marked walking trail through the ruins.
Located opposite the Fort is Florida’s first designated state trail which follows the abandoned rail bed of the historic Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad. The trail runs 16 miles south from Florida’s capital city, Tallahassee, through the Apalachicola National Forest, ending in St. Marks. Through the early 1900s this historic railroad corridor was used to transport cotton from the plantation belt to the docks at St. Marks for shipment to textile mills in England and New England. Today, as a paved trail, it provides an excellent recreational workout for bicyclists, walkers, and skaters. An adjacent unpaved trail also provides opportunities for horseback riding.
St. Marks celebrates its heritage in October with a Stone Crab Festival and reenactment at the Fort.


St Marks sits at the terminus of the historic St marks Railroad which was converted to a a bike trail which was recently renovated and widened.  Enjoy over thirty miles of smooth partially shaded trails with ample facilities conveniently located along the way.  The Sweet Magnolia has complementary cruisers for guest to tour St. marks or if you want to visit one of the many local sites by bike we have high end bikes fore rent along with suggested tours to view this areas amazing beauty.

St Marks is at the confluence of the St Marks and Wakulla rivers.  The Wakulla river is fed by Wakulla springs, classified as a first magnitude spring, and is the longest and deepest known submerged freshwater cave system in the world.
There are opportunities for kayaking and canoeing as well as snorkeling in the springs.  We can direct you to a variety of resources.

Wildlife abounds in these parts.  Manatees, alligators and dolphins share the rivers while magnificent birds fill the air, ancient cypress line the river banks.  Take one of the  inns complimentary cruisers or lets us direct you to a guided tour on the river.

Spring and fall bring the birds.  Ride a complimentary cruiser bike to the fort or take a short drive to the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge to see a wide variety of migratory and regional birds.  We can arrange a guided bike tour or rent one of the inns high performance bikes along with a travel guide and ride through the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

The big bend is the largest pristine estuary left worldwide. The abundant wetlands and tributaries leave our rivers teaming with fish.  At times the water seems to boil with life.  We can direct you to an array of ways to hook a big one!