Thanks to our warm weather, Florida’s insects enjoy longer lives than in most states. Nylon hiking pants help protect your legs from bug bites. As for exposed body parts, use a long-lasting insect repellent to keep the insects off of you. Mosquitoes can be vectors for a number of tropical diseases that have snuck back into Florida. Ticks may carry Lyme disease. To keep ticks and chiggers (also known as “red bugs”) off you, spray your hiking clothing beforehand with permethrin. To minimize bug problems when you take a break on your hike, carry a plastic garbage bag to sit on.
Poisonous plants are as common here as in other states, particularly poison ivy. It grows in clumps on forest floors and also as a vine climbing up trees and over boardwalks; its large leaves mimic hickory leaves. While poison ivy can be almost anywhere, poison oak and poison sumac are mainly found in sandhill habitats. Tread softly, also known as bull nettle, has a beautiful white flower atop a tall stem; its leaves are covered with tiny stinging nettles. Avoid brushing bare skin against it.
Use common sense when leaving your vehicle at a trailhead. Don’t leave valuables in plain sight, and lock the vehicle. If a permit was required to enter the land or to hike the trail, make sure the permit is showing inside the front windshield.
PERMITS AND FEES
Access to most of Florida’s public lands are free, although camping may require a free permit. We explain those details in each hike description. The main exceptions to this rule at a federal level are National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, and National Forests, which may choose to collect a fee at some recreation areas. Some wildlife management areas and county parks also charge an entrance fee. Only 12 hikes in this book will cost you when you visit.
Most Florida State Parks have an entrance fee. We’ve found the purchase of an annual pass to Florida State Parks to be a worthwhile investment if you plan to visit a dozen or more in any given year. An individual pass costs $60, and a family pass covering up to eight people costs $120. Passes cover entrance fees only, not the costs of guided tours or camping. Obtain one at any staffed ranger station or online at floridastateparks.org/AnnualPass.
Florida State Forests often charge an entrance fee. Their Annual Day Use Entrance Pass costs $45 and covers entrance fees for up to six people. Costs of camping are extra. Their pass can be purchased at any state forest office or online at floridastateforests.org/memberships.
Entrance fees are charged at some Wildlife Management Areas overseen by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. An annual permit is available for $30. It can be purchased through any tax collector’s office or online at gooutdoorsflorida.com.
CAMPING
October through March is our season for tent camping, with January and February best for backpacking. Florida State Parks and Florida State Forests have outsourced camping reservations to Reserve America, which socks you with a non-refundable reservation fee on top of the campsite cost. Competition for these campsites is tough as Florida is flooded with RV snowbirds who spend their winter months living in state-run campgrounds. A few sites are held for walk-ins at each park and recreation area. County park campsites tend to be less busy and don’t require reservations, with sites first-come, first-served.
When backpacking, use a camp stove for cooking, as many of Florida’s habitats are quite flammable. Use privies when available, otherwise dig a hole at least 400 feet from all campsites and water sources. Follow Leave No Trace ethics: use established campsites. Leave the site as pristine as you found it, and pack out your trash. Consider bear bagging or using a bear canister to protect your food from all thieving creatures. It’s required along St. Francis Trail (Hike 18) and smart along the Citrus Trail (Hike 10), Black Bear Wilderness Area (Hike 19), Hal Scott Preserve (Hike 24), and Prairie Lakes Loop (Hike 25). Some backcountry sites require permits; you’ll find those details in the overview for the hike.
HIKING PROGRAMS
Local chapters of the Florida Trail Association offer guided hikes, beginner backpacking trips, and other outdoor activities on a regular basis. Find a chapter near you at floridatrail.org.
Florida State Forests were the first to encourage you to take a hike by getting you to log your miles. Their Trailwalker Program awards patches and certificates based on the number of different trails completed in the state forests. Learn more at freshfromflorida.com.
More than a decade ago, Friends of the Parks launched Trek Ten Trails in Polk County, which combines hiking with geocaching to encourage residents to explore their local trails. Optional hosted hikes are offered November–April. Collect ten stamps on your game card to receive a certificate of completion and a souvenir token. Game cards are available at Circle B Bar Reserve (Hike 7). Program information at friendsoftheparks.net.
Hillsborough County has launched an annual Hiking Spree to encourage hikers to explore the county’s growing network of trails across natural lands and county parks. Join a guided hike or hike on your own, completing 8 of 20 trails during hiking season to receive a medallion. Search for details at hillsboroughcounty.org.
GIVING BACK
Founded in 1966, the Florida Trail Association is the oldest and most highly regarded trail maintaining organization in Florida. While their primary focus is the care of the 1,400-mile Florida National Scenic Trail, local FTA chapters built many of the longer trails featured in this guidebook and still maintain some of them. Join a volunteer work party during hiking season, or get involved with a local chapter through floridatrail.org.
Most Florida State Parks rely on volunteers for maintenance and daily operations through Citizen Support Organizations (CSOs), typically known as “friends” groups. If you live near a state park and would like to help maintain trails, look into their local volunteer group by checking with the park or through friendsoffloridastateparks.org.
Similarly, Friends of Florida State Forests seeks volunteers for our state forests, which tend to have more mileage in their trails and more backcountry: floridastateforests.org.
WHAT’S NEW IN THE THIRD EDITION
All trails have been updated, with mileages recalculated from our new GPS tracks. We hope that the new-to-this-edition Other Hiking Options and Camping and Lodging information will enhance your trip planning. We’ve also provided previews of each of these hikes on our YouTube channel at youtube.com/floridahikes.
You’ll find 12 new hikes in this edition, plus expanded trail networks at Silver Springs State Park (Hike 3), Lake Kissimmee State Park (Hike 31), Tiger Creek Preserve (Hike 32), Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (Hike 47) and Turkey Creek Sanctuary (Hike 50). As the authors of The Florida Trail Guide, we’ve included some segments of our 1,400-mile statewide National Scenic Trail in this book: Citrus Trail (Hike 10) and Chinsegut Hill WEA (Hike 12), as well as the new Croom River Trail Loop (Hike 13) and Prairie Lakes Loop (Hike 25). More Florida Trail segments are referenced under Other Hiking Options. In addition, the Florida Trail is being routed into Split Oak Forest WEA (Hike 26) and Hal Scott Preserve (Hike 24) over the next year, so we’ve shared what we know about those routes.
Trout Lake Nature Center (Hike 4) is an endearing private preserve established by an Audubon Society chapter in Eustis in 1988. It’s a perfect place to take the kids to have fun in nature, and you’ll find yourself acting like a kid on the boardwalks and swinging bridge, too.
Lakeland Highlands Scrub (Hike 8) caught our attention because of its boardwalk across a flatwoods pond and the expansion of its trail system since our initial visit there 15 years ago. As it is dog-friendly and on the edge of suburbia, it’s become a popular destination.
Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park (Hike 15) is our newest state park added to the book. We were impressed by the updates to the park, as it now showcases its namesake springs and stunning coastal views. The trail system here will expand.
Black Bear Wilderness Area (Hike 19) and Orlando Wetlands Park (Hike 21) are personal favorites of ours along the St. Johns River basin. Each has a very different feel, but they ar
e both fabulous destinations for spotting wildlife, from box turtles to roseate spoonbills to black bears.
With the increasing challenges of traffic in the Tampa Bay area, we decided to shift focus to easier-to-reach nature preserves. Brooker Creek Preserve (Hike 36) and Weedon Island Preserve (Hike 40) are Pinellas County preserves that offer extensive hiking trail networks based around interpretive centers. Alafia Scrub Nature Preserve (Hike 41) is a pleasant loop on one of Hillsborough County’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands, right off I-75.
Revisiting a hike that was in the first edition, we found it worth adding back: the Buncombe Hill Hiking Trail. Tiger Bay State Forest (Hike 43) now also includes an interpretive trail on a fascinating piece of automobile history in Daytona Beach.
When friends pointed out just how much the trail system at Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve (Hike 45) had grown, we knew it was a must-add. We think you’ll find it as enjoyable and unique as we did while standing on the tall bluffs upriver from Ponce Inlet.
As Central Florida becomes more urban, more trails we’ve been visiting for years have been intentionally widened, especially around the Orlando metro area and in many Florida State Parks. We don’t know whether this is for ease of trail maintenance or to prevent hikers from being surprised by wildlife. While a trail the width of a road removes the wilderness feel of a walk in the woods, we also have seen more families walking together enjoying those trails.
Many natural lands no longer allow dogs, to protect the wildlife that has been squeezed more tightly into those wild spaces. Some urban parks have closed to dogs because of issues with owners ignoring leash requirements and poop-scooping. We note dog-friendly hikes in the At a Glance chart, but as we’ve learned, that access can change overnight. Even in parks where dogs are permitted at campgrounds and on trails, such as the state parks with springs, they are not allowed around swimming areas and beaches for sanitation reasons. Honeymoon Island State Park (Hike 38) offers a dog beach.
Rising access fees had us replace several hikes with nearby alternatives. When the cost of a hike rises to $8 or more, we think that’s a bit much. We definitely encourage the purchase of park passes for frequent visitors to Florida State Parks and Florida State Forests.
Land equals politics in Florida, and with every change of elected leaders, public lands become a political football. One disturbing trend in the past decade is the taking of conservation lands for highway projects. We had to drop a second edition favorite, Lower Wekiva Preserve State Park, due to toll road construction right through the trailhead. Other nearby preserves are also affected. Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area (Hike 26) is threatened with being bisected by a toll road; local residents are fighting it. Another troubling trend is political pressure to sell off public lands. Management plans for public lands now include a “surplus lands” section where land managers are asked to identify what portion of their park or preserve could be sold off. Knowing the intrinsic value of having vast wild spaces for both wildlife and recreational use, these trends are very frustrating. Our advice: get out there and enjoy your public lands now.
AUTHORS’ NOTE
While we’ve walked every step of these trails, your experience may not match what we describe. Trails change over time, as do our forest habitats. Hiking is an activity that involves personal risk. You need to be aware of your surroundings in both rural and urban settings, both at the trailhead and in the woods. Following our advice and descriptions does not guarantee your safety. Know your limits: turn back if you are tired or uncomfortable with what you find, like a flooded or burned-over trail. Always let the land manager know about problems with trail maintenance, missing signs or blazing, aggressive wildlife, and non-hikers loitering at trailheads. We list contact information for each land manager at the beginning of every chapter.
We encourage you to learn more about Florida hiking by digging into our extensive website and following us on Instagram and Facebook, where it’s our goal to both educate and inspire you to enjoy Florida’s outdoors. We also appreciate it when you inform us of any changes to the trails in this guidebook. Visit us at floridahikes.com.
Sinkhole Trail, Silver Springs State Park
I.
CENTRAL
HIGHLANDS
Rainbow Springs State Park
Total Distance: 2.7 miles in two loops
Hiking time: 1.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Usage: Entrance fee. Open 8 AM–5 PM. Leashed pets welcome.
Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 29.104404, -82.438669
Contact Information: Rainbow Springs State Park, 19158 SW 81st Place Road, Dunnellon, FL 34432 (352-465-8555, floridastateparks.org/park/Rainbow-Springs)
A panorama of timeless beauty opens as you step onto the terrace and look out at the Rainbow River flowing away in full force from the clear, chalky blue first-magnitude spring at the bottom of the hill. It’s hard to imagine a day when this was a hillside ravaged by mining, but that’s part of the legacy of Rainbow Springs State Park. In the 1930s, private reclamation efforts turned the steep hills and deep pits into a stunning public garden with waterfalls, a rarity in Florida. Never mind that they poured from pools created by water pumped uphill out of the river—it was the illusion that mattered. A popular Florida attraction when we were kids, the park once boasted several boat rides—including a boat with underwater portholes where you could look out into the crystalline waters face-to-face with fish—along with a rodeo, aviary, zoo, and a monorail.
In addition to the hike and water activities at the headspring, Rainbow Springs State Park also has a campground connected by the river but detached by road. Offering tent and trailer camping, it has full hookups, special spots set aside for fishing and swimming along the river, and a canoe rental. Just 1.4 miles south of the campground on the same side of the river is the destination for one of Dunnellon’s most popular summer activities—tubing the Rainbow River.
GETTING THERE
From I-75, take exit 352, Ocala, and follow FL 40 west for 19 miles to US 41 north of Dunnellon. Turn left and drive 0.8 mile. The park entrance is on the left. Follow the winding park road 0.8 mile back to the parking area. The campground (29.086746, -82.417124) is along SW 180th Avenue Road, 2 miles south of FL 40, on the east side of the river, and the tubing entrance is 1.4 miles south of the campground along SW 180th Avenue Road.
THE HIKE
Although the hiking trail at Rainbow Springs focuses on the natural habitats downriver, to get there you must roam through the historic gardens. From the terrace with its National Natural Landmark memorial, walk down the path to the right and take the next left. This lower path provides a better view of the spring itself. First known as Blue Spring (there are many Blue Springs in Florida), it was later dubbed Rainbow Springs to sell the attraction. In addition to the lovely springs and gardens, it offered submarine boat rides where you would stare right out the portholes at fish and turtles swimming past in the clear water.
As the lower path joins into the larger path coming downhill, take a right. Arrive in February for one of the showiest displays of azaleas and camellias in Florida. The path leads to a four-way junction. Turn right to continue downhill. A cove bubbles with dozens of tiny springs. Keep right at the fork to walk out between the cove and a glassy spring on your left. The path converges with the wide trail to bring you up to Seminole Falls, the first of the two waterfalls splashing down the steep hillside. Passing the pump house, take the next right down a long boardwalk. It ends at the mouth of a larger cove along the river. These shallows are busy—look for wading birds of all types amid the clumps of lance-leafed arrowhead.
Looking up at the terrace slopes across the Rainbow River
Returning to the main path, turn right. Another cluster of tiny bubbling springs are in the shallows. Grains of sand churn up like fountains as striped fish swim through these miniature sandstorms. Well-shaded by the live oak canopy, it’s a mesmerizing spot. As the path swings left,
you see Rainbow Falls, which looks like a scene out of Hawaii. Tropical plantings crowd the outflow from the falls, which tumble down a moss-covered limestone wall. The zigzagging path to the right leads to another waterfall.
The main path continues up the hill to enter the area that was once a small zoo. The former rodeo grounds lie just beyond it. The remains of the bleacher posts are here, and the foundation of the horse stalls. Despite the natural environment and these man-made enhancements, it wasn’t enough to keep the public interested in Rainbow Springs after I-75—and Walt Disney World—arrived on the scene, and travelers started bypassing Dunnellon. The attraction closed in 1974, and almost became a subdivision. It was through the unrelenting efforts of concerned citizens that the springs and gardens were purchased as a county park. Much volunteer cleanup was required before it opened as a state park in 1995.
After you enter the butterfly garden, turn right and walk to the old access road. There you’ll find the Nature Trail trailhead (29.100980, -82.433454) with a large kiosk and map of the trail. The broad, well-trodden Sandhills Trail leads you through the pines to the edge of a man-made ravine reclaimed by the forest. This is the first of several former mining pits along this hike. Emerging into an open meadow where cattle grazed once upon a time, the trail follows the edge of the meadow, sticking to the shade beneath the trees. At a well-marked trail intersection, three blaze colors are shown on the post: yellow, white, and blue.
To see the Rainbow River, head downhill along the blue blazes on a spur trail that reaches a spot with a bench at the river. The trail extends a little ways downriver through the cypresses for another glimpse. Returning along the blue trail, you see a white-blazed trail to the right. That’s the perimeter trail, which gives you a 2.1-mile loop. It’s a beautiful option in the fall when the sandhill wildflowers are in bloom, but it hugs closely to a fence line for a portion of the hike. Follow the yellow blazes for a more interesting route, continuing up the hill. The trail follows a forest road briefly before it enters the forest, leading past a limestone cistern at the site of a homestead. That strong tapping at the top of a longleaf pine is a pileated woodpecker, Florida’s largest, distinguished by its size and its bright red crown. Pine flatwoods are its domain, where it ranges over a wide area and announces its arrival by pounding on hollow trees.
50 Hikes in Central Florida Page 3
