50 Hikes in Central Florida

by Sandra Friend

  Reaching the junction with the light blue-blazed Springs Trail at 4.2 miles, you have a decision point. Using this trail—a round-trip connector of two miles through the sandhills and pine forest—link this 7.3-mile circuit hike with the 1.4-mile circuit described below as the Springs Hike for a total trek of 10.7 miles. The Springs Trail is an easy walk, following blue-tipped posts through the woods before emerging on little-used roads to end at the canoe launch at the springs, and then along the Fort King Waterway into the former attraction grounds.

  Assuming you’ll return to your car and drive over to the springs for the Springs Hike, keep following the yellow blazes. They lead you on a mowed path into the forest, away from the SERVICE ROAD sign. In early morning, birds flutter about, especially woodpeckers. Listen and watch for the pileated woodpecker, high up in a longleaf pine. Its large size and distinctive red crest make it hard to miss. You’ll more commonly see the red-bellied woodpecker, pecking at rotten wood. Although it is only nine inches tall, its zebra-striped wings and red-crowned head make it easy to pick out amid the greenery.

  After 5.2 miles, you return to the junction of the Sandhill and Sinkhole Trails. Take a moment to relax and hydrate, then turn right to resume the Sinkhole Trail. The trail makes a sharp right, and a red-tipped post confirms you’re on the right path. Passing through a junction of unmarked trails, you cross the park entrance road at 5.6 miles. Continue into the laurel oak forest on the other side. The trail reaches a T intersection, jogs right, and then left at the fence line. Deep shade is a welcome relief after walking through the open scrub and sandhill habitats. Florida dogwood grows along this section of the trail; look for its white blooms in spring.

  The trail follows the edge of a large, forest-filled sinkhole, noticeable because of the saw palmetto slope dropping off to the left. A vantage point before an interpretive kiosk lets you look down into the sinkhole, which is filled with red maples, sweetgum, and live oaks. Turn right at 6 miles to follow the Old Field Loop, an interpretive side trail. Yellow-tipped posts lead the way. Winding through the turkey oaks, you pass a solution hole, a sinkhole caused by gradual erosion. Sand pines and longleaf pines have reclaimed the old field. An eastern fence lizard scurries up the side of a turkey oak trunk, blending in well with the bark.

  As the trail swings into the oak hammock, it rounds a fallen live oak that continues to grow, sending up trunk-like branches from its prone trunk, thick with resurrection fern. The transition from the old field into the dark, mossy hammock isn’t as jarring as it used to be. The trail drops through a stand of loblolly pine and into a hammock of ancient live oaks along the back fence of the campground, rejoining the Sinkhole Trail after 6.9 miles. Continue along the campground fence to reach the park entrance road again, crossing it to meet the trail junction. Turn right to follow the footpath past the picnic area and restrooms and the Cracker Village to finish under the SINKHOLE TRAIL arch at the parking lot, completing a 7.3-mile walk.

  SPRINGS HIKE

  To get to the Springs Hike, either use the Springs Trail (as described along the Sandhill Trail) or drive to the main entrance (29.214635, -82.055296) off FL 40, east of the traffic light with CR 35. Once you’ve parked and walked in the grand entrance on the boardwalk through a stand of ancient cypress trees, you’ll need to show the attendant your receipt or state park pass to enter this portion of the park. Long before Walt Disney World came along, we both spent many happy childhood visits here roaming the park and gardens and riding the glass-bottomed boats.

  Turn right to find the blue-tipped posts of the Springs Trail ending at the base of a boardwalk. Originally constructed in the 1970s, the boardwalk provided access to Ross Allen Island, a zoological park with a focus on reptiles. It was a successor to the Ross Allen Reptile Institute, which once stood where you just entered the park. A noted herpetologist, Ross Allen came to Silver Springs in 1929 and started milking rattlesnakes for their venom. He assisted movie crews by providing local knowledge and live animals. By the 1960s, he was a Boy Scout leader and a founding board member of the Florida Trail Association. The Ross Allen Boardwalk honors his legacy. Crossing the Fort King Waterway, it does a 0.5-mile loop around this natural island, showing off the spring-fed waters at Fort King Landing (where the Jungle Cruise once docked) and views across the Silver River by the amphitheater used for reptile shows.

  After you complete the boardwalk loop, follow the sidewalks toward the spring basin, the headwaters of the Silver River. It’s evident this was a Florida attraction not just from the architecture of the former shops but by the glass-bottomed boats themselves. Their route takes you across a dozen or more springs in the Silver River. Continue by foot to see the biggest of them all, Mammoth Spring. Just follow the walkways around the boat docks. Depending on the angle of the sun, there are times when the bottom of this cavernous spring is visible. It pumps out more than 500 million gallons of water a day from two spring vents 30 feet deep.

  Continue from this observation deck into the gardens, where meandering pathways provide excellent panoramas across the Silver River while fencing keeps visitors separated from sunning alligators. As the attraction was established more than a century ago, the pines, cypresses, and oaks in the gardens are enormous. Make a loop through the gardens. Take a side trail off the main trail to a showy spring basin that sits next to what was once a boat dock. At what’s now a picnic pavilion, a Jeep Safari ride drove visitors into the floodplain forest, a route that is now the (optional) Creek Trail along the old roads.

  Boardwalk on Ross Allen Island

  Return to the entrance gate at your leisure, taking time to learn about the history of Silver Springs from the interpretive information sprinkled throughout the park. Opened in 1878, it was one of Florida’s first tourist attractions, and it’s always been nature—the springs, the alligators, the enormous trees—that drew visitors here. By the time you return to your car, you’ve walked at least 1.4 miles around the park.

  OTHER HIKING OPTIONS

  1. Springs Hike. Follow just the Springs Hike above for an easy 1.4-mile walk along the main basin of Silver Springs. Shorten it to less than a mile by skipping the Ross Allen Island Boardwalk and just focusing on the gardens. Or do 2.1 miles by adding on the Creek Trail, which starts at the far end of the gardens. It is noisy since it’s near FL 40. It follows the former route of the Jeep Safari Ride through what were animal pens in the floodplain forest.

  2. River Ramble. The beauty of the Silver River is the main reason most people come to this park. For a hike that highlights the best overlooks, follow only the first part of the Camping Area Hike: take the 2.1-mile River Trail, and add on a walk out and back to the boardwalk on the Swamp Trail for a comfortable 4.2-mile hike.

  3. Bike Loops. Immerse yourself in the jungle-like floodplain forest on foot or by bike for 4.5 miles by following the River Trail to the bike trails kiosk. The first loop, along the Fort King Military Trail, rambles close to the edge of Marshall Swamp. The second loop, the Ross Allen Loop, is a technical, twisty, windy singletrack that works its way towards the Silver River. Walk in the opposite direction of bike traffic.

  CAMPING AND LODGING

  Silver Springs State Park (1-800-326-3521, floridastateparks.reserveamerica.com)

  Wilderness RV Resort, 2771 NE 102nd Avenue, Silver Springs, FL 34488 (352-625-1122, wildernessrvparkestates.com), no tents.

  Sun Plaza Motel, 5461 E Silver Springs Boulevard, Silver Springs, FL 34488 (352-236-2343, bgsunplaza.com)

  Trout Lake Nature Center

  Total distance: 1.4-mile circuit

  Hiking time: 1.5–2 hours

  Difficulty: Easy

  Usage: Free. Open Tuesday to Saturday 9 AM-4 PM, Sunday 1-4 PM. Trails are not suited for bicycles. Leashed pets welcome.

  Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 28.872238, -81.681494

  Contact Information: Trout Lake Nature Center, 520 E CR 44, Eustis, FL 32736 (352-357-7536, troutlakenaturecenter.org)

  Established by the Oklawaha Valley Audubo
n Society in 1988, Trout Lake Nature Center provides a place for cormorants to gather in a grand colony among the tall cypresses along an unspoiled shoreline of Trout Lake. Encompassing 230 acres, this privately owned conservation complex offers gentle family-friendly interpretive trails through floodplain forests, pine flatwoods, and oak hammocks, with old-fashioned catwalk-style boardwalks.

  Inside the Environmental Education Center you’ll find restrooms, exhibits, and a library. Evening classes are offered here; check their calendar in advance. Take a peek in the Charles Newell Hall and Museum—the nature center on the other side of the parking area—for an overview of native flora and fauna before you wander down the trails. On weekdays, you may see busloads of children roaming the trails under supervision, as this is a popular destination for field trips.

  GETTING THERE

  From the cloverleaf at FL 19 and US 441, where Eustis and Mount Dora meet, drive north through downtown Eustis on FL 19. After 3.6 miles, you reach CR 44 (not to be confused with FL 44) at an intersection with a CVS and Walgreens on the right. Turn right and continue 0.4 mile to the entrance on the right. Follow the narrow entrance road deep into the woods to reach the parking loop in front of the Environmental Education Center.

  THE HIKE

  Start your hike next to the trailhead kiosk at the LAZY OAK TRAIL sign, but put the bug spray on before you begin. The marshy habitats around Trout Lake mean the mosquitoes can be mean at certain times of the year. Walking beneath oaks and cabbage palms, you come around a sharp turn to start the Bobcat Boardwalk. It’s a narrow catwalk. There are times of year when you’ll wonder why it’s here, but the floodplain nature of these habitats make it important to elevate this walk. Soon after the boardwalk ends you meet the Haselton Trail at a kiosk. Turn right.

  Walk past the entrance to the Armadillo Trail to join a broad boardwalk that leads you through the marshes that fringe the edges of Trout Lake. It meanders past a covered rain shelter before making another turn to a straightaway towards the open waters of the lake. After 0.4 mile, a covered observation deck provides a protected spot for wildlife observation. While the entire lake isn’t a conservation area, this portion is. To your left are the tall cypresses where the cormorants roost, swooping and diving into the lake for their meals. That bellow below might be an alligator seeking a mate.

  Returning along the boardwalk, pay attention when you step back off of it. If the Armadillo Trail is under water, which it often is, pass it by and continue up the Haselton Trail on slightly higher ground under the oaks. The Little Armadillo Trail provides a drier connector to the Armadillo Trail, which winds beneath slash pine and cabbage palms. You’ll hardly notice that it passes right behind the Environmental Education Center, meeting a T intersection with a boardwalk. A left returns you to the parking lot. Turn right.

  Narrow boardwalk along the Adventure Trail

  You’re now on the Adventure Trail, and it is true to its name. Like the Bobcat Boardwalk, it is a narrow catwalk, but it is definitely keeping your feet dry as you walk into a cypress strand. A rope provides a handhold on one side. Reaching the middle of the strand, the trail crosses a swinging bridge, where it’s hard to resist making it bounce as you step across. The boardwalk curves through this jungle-like habitat until it gets out of the floodplain. It ends at an intersection with the Grandfather Oak Trail at 0.8 mile. The Adventure Trail continues right, but we found it too much of an adventure to follow as it was still roughed up from hurricane damage. Take a left to walk to the Grandfather Oak, which you saw along the entrance road to the park. It’s a sizable live oak, with a picnic table inviting you to stop and stay a while. The swooping loop of the Adventure Trail ends here at the Grandfather Oak too.

  Cormorants roosting in the cypresses along Trout Lake

  To continue your loop, turn left and walk the entrance road towards the nature center. There is one more side loop to explore: the 0.25-mile long Gunkel Trail, which starts on the right just after you cross the culverts over the cypress strand. When you reach it, you’ve walked a mile. Turn right to tunnel beneath the tall slash pines and cabbage palms. At the Y intersection, stay right. The trail leads you through a loop past more large live oaks, crossing an easement twice. When the loop ends, follow the Gunkel Trail back to the entrance road and turn right. It doesn’t take long to get back to the Newell Hall and Museum, and the parking area between it and the Environmental Education Center, wrapping up this 1.4-mile hike.

  OTHER HIKING OPTIONS

  1. Haselton Trail. On the left-hand side of the trailhead kiosk is the Haselton Trail, which makes a beeline for the boardwalk to Trout Lake. This is the quickest route for birders and photographers to see the roosting cormorants, a 0.5-mile round-trip.

  2. Adventure Trail-Grandfather Oak Loop. Park just inside the preserve gates at the first parking area on the right. Walk over to the picnic table under the Grandfather Oak to follow the Adventure Trail towards the northeast property boundary. After less than 0.5 mile, it loops through the woods to a junction with the Grandfather Oak Trail. Return along that route or go for more adventure along the Adventure Trail boardwalk and swinging bridge, returning to the parking area via the park entrance road.

  3. Lake May Reserve (28.872458, -81.629856). At 3.4 miles east along CR 44/44A (Burlington Avenue), this Lake County Preserve provides access to a 1.6-mile loop hike around a lake and former orange grove. Pets are not permitted.

  CAMPING AND LODGING

  Lake Dorr Campground, Ocala National Forest (29.012542, -81.639965), FL 19, Altoona, FL 32702 (352-669-3153, fs.usda.gov/ocala), tent or RV.

  Southern Palms RV Resort, 1 Avocado Lane, Eustis, FL 32726 (352-357-8882, rvonthego.com/florida/southern-palms-rv-resort), no tents.

  Fox Den Country Inn, 27 S Central Avenue, Umatilla, FL 32784 (352-669-2151, foxdencountryinn.com)

  Hidden Waters Preserve

  Total distance: 1-mile loop along a network of trails

  Hiking time: 30–45 minutes

  Difficulty: Easy to moderate

  Usage: Free. Open 8 AM to sunset. No pets or bicycles permitted.

  Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 28.838570, -81.660787

  Contact Information: Hidden Waters Preserve, 2121 Country Club Road, Eustis FL 32726 (352-324-6141, lcwa.org/open-preserves)

  Tucked away inside a residential area not far from Mount Dora, Hidden Waters Preserve is one of those small but special places in Florida that inspire surprise upon discovery: this hike includes more than 105 feet of elevation change! A network of short trails form a loop in and around the park’s main feature—the Eichelberger Sink, an enormous sinkhole containing Lake Alfred. The “lake” (more properly a wetland area) can’t flow out of the sinkhole, so it slowly seeps through the bottom of the sinkhole into the Floridan Aquifer. The damp north slope of the sinkhole shelters an Appalachian-like forest, while the south slope hosts a drier sandhill environment, with abundant prickly pear cactus and the signs of a healthy gopher tortoise community. The preserve is managed by the Lake County Water Authority.

  GETTING THERE

  From the cloverleaf at FL 19 and US 441, where Eustis and Mount Dora meet, drive south for 1.7 miles on US 441. Turn left at the light onto E Crooked Lake Drive. Continue 0.4 mile to Country Club Road. Turn right. Drive 0.7 mile to the grassy parking area and trailhead on the right.

  THE HIKE

  Pick up a map at the trail kiosk and sign in. Dropping steeply downhill from a grassy hillside into the forest, you’ll come to the first intersection of the Lake Alfred Trail, the loop into and around the sinkhole. Stay left, following the blue-tipped posts beneath tall laurel oaks. Before becoming a preserve in 1996, this property was a golf course in the 1950s and a citrus grove until the killer freezes of the 1980s. As a result, the natural forest community has been severely altered from its original state—a sandhill community dense with longleaf pine. Reforestation efforts are slowly bringing this landscape back to its natural state.

  After crossing over some dike-like str
uctures, possibly from the old golf course, the trail swings around the edge of the deeply forested sinkhole, climbing the steep slope. The blue blazes of the Lake Alfred Trail go to the right. Continue straight ahead to follow the red-tipped posts marking the Ravine Trail, which provides the steepest climb out of and back into the sinkhole. Tall sweetgum and laurel oak shade the trail until it emerges at the top of the hill. At a T intersection, stay right to follow a sweeping curve towards the fence line around a stormwater drainage area. Passionflower blooms on an opportunistic trellis of wire fence. Intersecting briefly with the Longleaf Pine Trail, the Ravine Trail curves back around the drainage to an old gate and a junction with the Prickly Pear Trail. Walk past the gate to follow the red-tipped posts.

  The sound of running water reaches your ears. The trail descends steeply as water splashes nearby. As the ravine has eroded substantially since we first hiked here, there is now a fence between the trail and the ravine. A short loop leads to a view. No matter the time of year, water flows into this ravine, cutting deeper and broader channels. Normally, groundwater seeps into a sinkhole from beneath a cap of clay, below where the formation of the sinkhole cut through the earth. Most of the water flowing into this sink is stormwater drainage from above, which is why the ravine keeps growing.