Holmes Creek

Holmes Creek is a tributary of the Choctawhatchee River in the Florida Panhandle. It is about 56 miles long and drains a 220-square-mile basin. The creek rises in southern Alabama, about 6 miles north of Graceville. It flows southwest, forming the line between Holmes and Jackson counties and part of the line between Holmes and Washington counties. It then crosses Washington County and joins the Choctawhatchee west of Ebro. The upper half is narrow, shallow and slow. The lower half runs over limestone and is fed by springs. The Northwest Florida Water Management District counts 57 documented springs on the creek, including Cypress Spring.

Holmes Creek is a state-designated paddling trail. The 34-mile route starts at Burnt Sock Landing and ends at Cedar Tree Landing on the Choctawhatchee River. Access points along the way include Cotton, Culpepper, Fanning Branch, Brunson, Hightower, Spurling, Live Oak, Shell and Potter Springs landings, plus the park at Vernon. Burnt Sock Landing is suitable only for hand-launched canoes, kayaks and small boats. The water management district owns and manages more than 60,000 acres along the creek and the Choctawhatchee. Cypress Spring can be crowded with boats in summer, and its shoreline is private property. Washington County commissioners have considered an ordinance limiting Cotton Landing to non-motorized vessels and barring commercial use at Culpepper Landing.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission calls the fishing on the creek outstanding. Channel catfish, flathead catfish and bream are commonly caught. A 1778 map labeled the creek Weekaywehatchee, and Holmes County, established in 1848, was named for it.