Lafayette County Florida map — Mayo sits where U.S. 27 meets State Road 51, the Suwannee River traces the entire eastern boundary, and the Steinhatchee headwaters spread through the wetlands south of town. Day, Grady, Hatchbend, and other small communities provide geographic anchors across a county with no continuous urban corridor.
Download the Lafayette County map
- Map file: County reference map
- File format: ZIP
Table of Contents
Quick Facts
- State: Florida
- County: Lafayette County
- County seat: Mayo
- Communities: Mayo, Day, Hatchbend, Grady, Alton, Buckville, and Cooks Hammock
- 2020 population: 8,226
- 2020 land area: 543.35 square miles
- FIPS code: 12067
- Major routes: U.S. 27, SR 51, and SR 349
- Major waters: Suwannee River, Steinhatchee River, Lafayette Blue Spring, and Troy Spring
The Census Bureau recorded 15.1 residents per square mile in 2020. That low density explains the wide spacing between labels: farms, planted and natural forests, swamps, and river lands separate the county’s small communities.
What the Map Shows
Mayo occupies the central crossroads of U.S. 27 and SR 51. It is both the county seat and Lafayette County’s only incorporated town. U.S. 27 separates the Perry and Branford directions, while SR 51 separates the Live Oak and Steinhatchee directions, giving Mayo a stronger geographic role than population alone would suggest.
Day marks the rural area north of Mayo, and Alton helps orient the western U.S. 27 corridor. East of Mayo, Grady sits where U.S. 27 meets SR 349. Hatchbend occupies a broad bend of the Suwannee in the southeast, while Buckville and Cooks Hammock identify the forest-and-wetland landscape farther south.
Branford appears nearby across the Suwannee but is outside Lafayette County. On this county map, it should be read as a destination marker showing where U.S. 27 crosses the river into Suwannee County, not as an incorporated place inside Lafayette.
County Layout and Location
The Suwannee River forms the county’s entire eastern boundary. Suwannee and Gilchrist counties lie across the river; Madison County meets the northwest, Taylor County the west, and Dixie County the south. The river’s bends produce the irregular eastern outline, in contrast with several straighter land-survey boundaries on the other sides.
U.S. 27 crosses Lafayette County on a west-northwest to east-southeast line and passes directly through Mayo. SR 51 intersects it in town, then crosses the Suwannee north of Mayo on the Hal W. Adams Bridge toward Live Oak. Southbound SR 51 leads toward the Steinhatchee corridor. Together, these routes create the county’s main cross-shaped travel pattern.
SR 349 runs north through the southeastern river side and ends at U.S. 27 in Grady. It provides the most direct state-route reference for Hatchbend, Troy Spring, and the lower Suwannee corridor. Its junction with U.S. 27 also distinguishes the Mayo approach from the Branford approach.
Local Context
Karst terrain shapes the Suwannee side of the county. Limestone and the Floridan aquifer lie close enough to the surface to produce springs, sinks, short spring runs, and underwater cave systems. Lafayette Blue Springs State Park, about five miles northeast of Mayo, contains a first-magnitude spring and a natural limestone bridge across the spring run.
Troy Spring lies near the northeastern U.S. 27–Suwannee corridor. FDOT’s county map places Troy Spring State Park beside wildlife-management lands, linking Grady and SR 349 with a larger river conservation landscape. These areas explain why the eastern edge contains many natural-feature labels but few sizable settlements.
Southern Lafayette County drains differently. The blackwater Steinhatchee River originates in Mallory Swamp south of Mayo and travels about 35 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. The county therefore contains part of the divide between the Suwannee basin on the east and the Steinhatchee system flowing toward the Gulf.
Mallory Swamp Wildlife Management Area and the Lafayette Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area account for much of the broad green, lightly roaded southern landscape. Mayo’s farm-and-service center, the spring-lined Suwannee corridor, and the swamp-and-forest headwaters in the south are three distinct settings within the same county.
Ways to Use This Map
- Compare communities: Use Mayo as the center, then locate Day to the north, Grady to the east, and Hatchbend to the southeast.
- Read the road network: Distinguish the U.S. 27 cross-county route, the SR 51 north–south route, and SR 349 along the southeastern river side.
- Trace drainage: Follow the Suwannee along the east boundary, then compare it with the Steinhatchee headwaters in Mallory Swamp.
- Prepare for field travel: Establish regional direction here, then check current road conditions, river levels, and park notices with the responsible public agency.
The download works well for printing, classroom annotation, and county-level trip orientation. It is not a parcel survey, regulatory flood map, or live navigation product; consult county GIS and the relevant management agency for those purposes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Mayo stand out so strongly?
Mayo is the county seat, the only incorporated town, and the junction of U.S. 27 and SR 51. It combines government and local services with the crossing of the Perry–Branford and Live Oak–Steinhatchee travel axes, so it functions as the county’s strongest reference point.
Which side of the county follows the Suwannee River?
The river forms the entire eastern boundary. Major crossing references include the Hal W. Adams Bridge on SR 51 north of Mayo and the U.S. 27 crossing toward Branford. Hatchbend, Lafayette Blue Spring, and Troy Spring all belong to this eastern river corridor.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts — Lafayette County, Florida
- Lafayette County official website — Our County
- Florida Department of State — City/County List
- Florida Department of Transportation — Lafayette County General Highway Map
- Florida State Parks — Lafayette Blue Springs State Park
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection — SRWMD coastal systems report
Related County Maps
- Suwannee County Florida map
- Columbia County Florida map
- Gilchrist County Florida map
- Dixie County Florida map
- Taylor County Florida map
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