A Franklin County Florida map becomes useful once the coast is divided by estuary and crossing. Apalachicola is the county seat at the western river mouth; unincorporated Eastpoint is the central junction where U.S. 98 meets SR 65 and SR 300; Carrabelle is the eastern incorporated city where the New and Crooked rivers feed a separate estuary. Those three reference points organize a county dominated by water and wetlands rather than a continuous coastal town.
Straight-line distance is especially misleading here. U.S. 98 bridges Apalachicola to Eastpoint, SR 300 provides the only highway connection from Eastpoint to St. George Island, and St. Vincent Island has no road at all. Farther east, Alligator Point occupies a narrow peninsula at the Ochlockonee–Apalachee Bay transition. Routes must be read through bridges, mainland junctions, and water bodies.
Download the Franklin County map
- Map file: County reference map
- File format: ZIP
Table of Contents
Quick Facts
- Location and identifier: Franklin County, Florida; FIPS 12037
- County seat: Apalachicola
- Incorporated municipalities: Apalachicola and Carrabelle only
- Key unincorporated places: Eastpoint, St. George Island, Lanark Village, and Alligator Point
- 2020 Census population and land: 12,451 people; 544.98 square miles
- July 2025 population estimate: 13,029
- Road skeleton: U.S. 98/U.S. 319, SR 65, SR 300, and CR 67
- Orientation waters: Apalachicola River and Bay, East Bay, New–Crooked–Carrabelle rivers, Ochlockonee Bay, St. George and St. Vincent islands
The 2020 density was only 22.8 people per square mile, but residents are not evenly dispersed. Communities cluster beside U.S. 98, river mouths, and the St. George bridge approach; broad northern areas remain forest and wetland. The 2025 number is an estimate and is kept separate from fixed 2020 area and density data. County government recognizes only two municipalities, so a prominent label such as Eastpoint does not indicate city status.
What the Map Shows
Begin in the west with the Apalachicola River mouth and the civic district around Market Street. U.S. 98 leaves the east side of Apalachicola on the John Gorrie Memorial Bridge and reaches Eastpoint across a wide water crossing. The city and the bay’s north shore can appear adjacent, but there is no parallel direct road; marking both bridgeheads is essential to reading western travel.
Eastpoint is a four-way orientation point. U.S. 98 links Apalachicola and Carrabelle, SR 65 turns north into Tate’s Hell, and SR 300 turns south to the island bridge. The county annex at 248 U.S. Highway 98 and the Apalachicola Reserve headquarters at 108 Island Drive add public-service functions. Road branching and facilities—not incorporation—explain Eastpoint’s prominence.
St. George Island is an approximately 20-mile barrier island between Apalachicola Bay and Gulf water. Every mainland vehicle arrives from Eastpoint on SR 300. From the island end of that bridge, Gulf Beach Drive extends east to Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park. The developed island corridor may stretch in both directions, but all highway return travel converges on the same bridge.
St. Vincent Island requires a different symbol. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service places it about nine miles southwest of Apalachicola and identifies it as boat-access only. Its nearest public ramp is 22 road miles west of Apalachicola at the end of CR 30-B, followed by a quarter-mile water crossing. The visible direction from downtown is therefore not the actual access route.
Carrabelle anchors the eastern river system. The New and Crooked rivers feed the Carrabelle River, and CR 67 leaves the city for the state forest. Eastbound U.S. 98/U.S. 319 reaches Lanark Village and St. James Island before separate peninsula roads lead toward Alligator Point and Bald Point, where Ochlockonee Bay meets Apalachee Bay. This coast does not face the same estuary as Apalachicola.
County Layout and Location
Franklin County lies on Florida’s northwestern Panhandle coast, roughly 80 miles southwest of Tallahassee. Gulf County is the western land neighbor, Liberty County is north, and Wakulla County is east. Internally, divide the long shape into the Apalachicola River–bay west, the East Bay–Tate’s Hell center, and the Carrabelle–St. James Island–Ochlockonee Bay east.
The Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve covers 234,715 acres, mostly in Franklin County with extensions into Gulf and Liberty counties. Its boundary includes the lower 52 miles of river and floodplain, most of Apalachicola Bay, and surrounding wetland and upland communities. About two-thirds is submerged bottomland, and many floodplain areas have no roads. Water and marsh dominate the map because they dominate the reserve itself.
Tate’s Hell State Forest accounts for much of the interior. The Florida Forest Service lists 212,645 acres across Franklin and southeastern Liberty counties, entered from U.S. 98, CR 67, SR 65, and the U.S. 319 side. Roughly 107,300 acres are hydric natural communities, and the New and Crooked rivers join many creeks in draining the landscape. Sparse inland roads reflect wet ground and conservation ownership.
Water names define separate zones. Apalachicola River freshwater enters East Bay and Apalachicola Bay, with St. George Island between the bay and open Gulf water. Carrabelle River and St. George Sound organize the middle-east coast; Ochlockonee River and Bay lead into Apalachee Bay farther east. Treating all of them as one “Gulf coast” erases the estuary and crossing that governs each route.
The road framework has one coastal spine and three decisive branches. U.S. 98/U.S. 319 carries the west–east sequence, SR 65 leaves Eastpoint for the forest, CR 67 leaves Carrabelle for the interior, and SR 300 alone turns south to St. George Island. Alligator Point requires a separate peninsula approach from the eastern mainland rather than a simple continuation along Carrabelle’s shoreline.
Local Context
Apalachicola’s county-seat functions cluster around the courthouse at 33 Market Street. The city lies west of the river mouth, and U.S. 98 exits east toward the bridge. For an administrative trip, mark both Market Street and the river side; searching the city name alone can obscure whether an address lies before or after the bay crossing.
Eastpoint is unincorporated but central to both navigation and public services. Apalachicola is west across the bridge, Carrabelle is east on U.S. 98, St. George Island is south on SR 300, and Tate’s Hell begins north on SR 65. The county annex, road department, and reserve headquarters reinforce the junction’s practical importance.
Carrabelle is the other incorporated city and the eastern public-service center. U.S. 98 crosses the Carrabelle River there, while CR 67 turns inland beside the city. Carrabelle and Apalachicola share a coastal highway and municipal status, but each is organized around a different river mouth; the land between them is not one continuous urban strip.
The eastern unincorporated sequence runs from Lanark Village and St. James Island toward the Alligator Point peninsula. Bald Point State Park sits where Ochlockonee Bay meets Apalachee Bay, a different waterfront from St. George Island’s Apalachicola Bay setting. Pair every coastal destination with its bay and peninsula entrance rather than transferring one beach route to another.
This static file does not update for bridge closures, tides, wildfire, flooding, or evacuation orders. St. George Island depends on one highway bridge; St. Vincent travel depends on wind, current, tide, and oyster-bar conditions; forest roads differ from paved highways. During hazardous conditions, consult current county, road, refuge, and park notices before using any marked route.
Ways to Use This Map
- Set the west–east order: Apalachicola, Eastpoint, Carrabelle, and Lanark Village along U.S. 98/U.S. 319
- Distinguish three bridges: John Gorrie, SR 300 island access, and the Carrabelle River crossing
- Classify island access: road-connected St. George versus boat-only St. Vincent
- Compare forest branches: SR 65 from Eastpoint and CR 67 from Carrabelle into Tate’s Hell
- Separate estuaries: Apalachicola, New–Crooked–Carrabelle, and Ochlockonee systems
- Isolate the eastern peninsula: Lanark Village on the main corridor versus Alligator Point on a separate branch
For each destination, add three short fields: approach corridor, crossing condition, and jurisdiction. Examples are “St. George Island / SR 300 from Eastpoint / unincorporated,” “county courthouse / west of U.S. 98 bridge / Apalachicola,” and “St. Vincent / CR 30-B ramp plus boat / federal refuge.” For watershed work, reverse the order: delineate river flow, bays, barrier islands, and northern wetlands before overlaying roads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a trip from Apalachicola to St. George Island require two bridges?
U.S. 98 first carries traffic over the John Gorrie Memorial Bridge to Eastpoint. Drivers then turn south on SR 300, which crosses a separate long bridge to the middle of St. George Island. No road joins Apalachicola directly to the island’s western end.
Route calculations should therefore be split into Apalachicola–Eastpoint and Eastpoint–island segments. Eastpoint is the actual turning point between the two crossings, and outbound island traffic returns over the same SR 300 bridge. A line drawn across open bay water is not a driving or evacuation route.
Why doesn’t SR 300 continue from St. George Island to St. Vincent Island?
SR 300 connects only Eastpoint and St. George Island. St. Vincent is a national wildlife refuge without a road or bridge and is reached only by boat. The islands occupy the same broad coastal chain but are not linked by a continuous highway.
FWS identifies the nearest public ramp at the end of CR 30-B, 22 miles west of Apalachicola, followed by a quarter-mile boat crossing. Wind, tide, current, oyster bars, daylight rules, and refuge closures remain outside the scope of a road map. Access must be verified as a water trip rather than inferred from island proximity.
Sources
- Franklin County official website — county location, incorporated municipalities, and facilities in Apalachicola, Eastpoint, and Carrabelle
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts — 2020 population, land area, density, and FIPS code
- Florida Department of Transportation Franklin County profile — U.S. 98, U.S. 319, State Road 65, and State Road 300
- Florida DEP: Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve — 234,715-acre reserve, lower river, floodplain, bay, and submerged-bottom coverage
- Florida Forest Service: Tate’s Hell State Forest — acreage, access routes, hydric communities, and drainage
- Florida State Parks: Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park — park location on the island’s eastern end
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge — island location and boat-only access
Related County Maps
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