50 Hikes in Central Florida

by Sandra Friend

  In 1904, when author Elizabeth Robins bought the property with her brother Raymond, much work had to be put into the ruined manor and its grounds. Colonel Raymond Robins called it Chinsegut (chin-SEE-gut) after the Inuit word for “spirit of lost things.” Raymond, his sister, and his wife were activists, involved in politics and business worldwide. They lectured for peace, protested for voting rights for women, worked with the International Red Cross, and championed the causes of laborers. As a result, many prominent people visited them at Chinsegut Hill, including Thomas Edison, J. C. Penney, and Helen Keller.

  By 1932, the Robins had donated their Chinsegut Hill Sanctuary to the US Department of Agriculture. They were allowed to live in the manor for the rest of their lives. Much of the property was used as an experimental station to grow plants and trees from around the world, but wooded portions were largely left untouched. Among the Sanctuary’s treasures were 400 acres of virgin longleaf pine, broad open prairies, and hardwood forests that had never seen an ax. After the Robins’ deaths in the 1950s, Lisa von Borowsky, the Robins’ gardener since 1924, advocated for the property to become a permanent nature reserve. She’d become a leading environmentalist in Florida. She donated her own funds to open the nature center (now the Conservation Center) in the 1970s. The Big Pine Tract was transferred to the FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) in 1989. With their special focus on education and conservation, the two tracts of Chinsegut Wildlife and Environmental Area (WEA) are closed to hunting.

  GETTING THERE

  Both tracts of the Chinsegut WEA lie between Brooksville and Nobleton off US 41, south of the Withlacoochee State Forest headquarters and 6 miles north of Brooksville. The Prairie-to-Pines trailhead is the easiest one to find, at the corner of Snow Memorial Highway and US 41. For the Big Pine trailhead (28.599042, -82.377272), as you’re headed north from Brooksville on US 41, make a left onto Crystal River Road and continue along this narrow, winding road for about 2 miles until you reach the trailhead on the right. The parking area at the Chinsegut Conservation Center (28.631216, -82.353559), which is along Lake Lindsey Road (CR 476) 0.5 mile east of Snow Memorial Highway, is down a dirt road and is only open Friday to Saturday, 8 AM–2 PM.

  THE HIKES

  conservation center tract

  Starting from the May’s Prairie parking corral, stop at the kiosk and pick up a trail map. A portion of the statewide Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST) is routed through the Conservation Center Tract, so you will see orange blazes and FNST symbols along the first part of this loop. Walking past the sign, head into the pine forest along the broad path. The forest road is marked with posts with hiker markers. At a fork in the path, keep right and head up the grassy path. Passing a marker beneath the pines dedicated to A. B. Tucker, the trail continues past a series of sinkholes at 0.5 mile, shallow depressions beneath the forest canopy. When you reach the Chinsegut Nature Trail at 0.75 mile, turn left to walk clockwise along the loop. Passing a maintenance shed, you come up to the first of several scenic overlooks along May’s Prairie. At 1.1 miles, a boardwalk leads to a wildlife blind on the prairie’s rim, where you’ll find yourself spending quite a bit of time watching the flocks of sandhill cranes that gather among the tall grasses. Nicely shaded, it’s an excellent spot for photography.

  Longleaf pines rise tall through the sandhill habitat as the terrain rises gently toward the Cypress Walk. When you reach the CYPRESS WALK sign, turn right. A sinkhole sits off to the north, with a short side trail leading to it and looping around it, pointed out by a small wooden SINKHOLE sign. The Cypress Walk is much narrower than the forest road you’ve followed to this point, and winds through lush oak hammocks dense with saw palmetto and ferns. At a spot with a view across the prairie through the live oaks, an interpretive sign talks about one of the more interesting inhabitants of Chinsegut Hill, the tiger salamander. Growing 6 to 8 inches long, these “tiny tigers” live along the boggy edge of the prairie, feeding on earthworms, slugs, snails, and other invertebrates.

  As you reach a narrow boardwalk, continue into a cypress dome along the edge of May’s Prairie, zigzagging through the trees to turn right onto an overlook along the prairie’s edge. Crickets and frogs add to the chorus of songbirds along the grassy fringe. The Cypress Walk emerges at the outer loop at a set of benches. Turn left. Continue up through the pine woods to the trail junction. Turn right to walk uphill to the Conservation Center, which you reach at 2 miles. Open only on weekends, it’s an interesting spot, with a short interpretive loop around the old Bishop Homestead, and the nature center with its many native creatures.

  Looking out over May’s Prairie from the Cypress Walk

  After you visit the homestead site, head back down the hill to the loop trail. Turn left and continue past the Cypress Walk. The broad forest road continues through the pine woods down to another excellent view over May’s Prairie from the Hammock Spur Trail, looking across to the wildlife blind. Watch the edge of the prairie for wading birds. Reaching the Big Hickory Spur after 2.9 miles, take a wander down this narrow path to a view across the wet prairie covered in American lotus, with cypress trees outlined against the far shore. As you leave, turn right. Head on down the broad forest road to complete the Nature Trail Loop at 3.2 miles, backtracking along the Prairie-to-Pines Trail to the trailhead for a 4-mile hike.

  big pine tract

  A rare example of a virgin longleaf pine forest in Central Florida, the Big Pine Tract was preserved by the Robins family for future generations to visit. You’ll thank their foresight as you walk the loop through this towering pine forest. Starting at the kiosk, turn right to follow the Longleaf Loop. Although the hike is along forest roads, the trees make it worth the visit. Instead of a dark, dense forest, the Big Pine Tract is open, undergoing sandhill restoration as the understory is managed to cull out the thickets that cropped up from too many years without a prescribed burn. Walking counterclockwise, you pass a shed and enter the forest of giant trees after 0.25 mile. Since the pines are extremely tall and skinny, it almost seems like they aren’t as large as they actually are. Step back and look up. It helps to have a friend along to put it all in perspective. Many of the pines show catfaces from the turpentine industry, but these are true giants, some growing with unusual curved trunks and spreading crowns.

  Beneath ancient longleaf pines on the Big Pine Tract

  As you continue along the loop, the scent of pine fills the air, compliments of the many small longleaf pines in their grass stage, distinguishable from wiregrass only by the deep green of their needles. These seedlings germinate in the winter. Passing a sinkhole full of forest debris, you come up to an intersection with the Hammock Trail and the Tortoise Loop after 0.5 mile. Turn right and take a short jog down the Hammock Trail. It connects with the Prairie-to-Pines Trail almost immediately along a bayhead. Turn left and follow the narrow path, which follows the ecotone between sandhills and hardwood hammock. After the Hammock Trail drops you back on the main Longleaf Loop, turn right and continue down to the Burns Prairie Spur, which heads down a shady path through grand old live oaks to the edge of a large, sometimes-wet prairie. The trail becomes indistinct as you come to the overlook along the water, so turn around and retrace your steps. Returning to the Longleaf Loop, you’ve hiked a mile. Turn right, and make a sharp left at the next intersection so you don’t wander off on a perimeter trail.

  The remainder of the hike loops through the pine forest—younger pines, not the old-growth ones at the beginning of the hike—with little change in landscape along the way. The understory is dense, but here and there you see colorful aster and phlox. At the next trail junction, make a sharp left and continue down a long straightaway, partially shaded by the pines. You pass a forest road. Continue past the incoming Tortoise Loop to complete the 1.6-mile hike at the trailhead kiosk.

  Manor House at Chinsegut Hill

  OTHER HIKING OPTIONS

  1. Nature Center Loop. Chinsegut Conservation Center and its parking area are ope
n on Friday and Saturday mornings, providing a 1.8-mile loop down to May’s Prairie for small children and those who can’t walk as far. The kids will love the terrariums and aquariums filled with native wildlife inside the conservation center.

  2. Prairie-to-Pines Connector. The two major loop trail systems at this preserve—Nature Center Tract and Big Pine Tract—are joined together by a linear trail, the 1.1-mile Prairie-to-Pines Trail. It passes through the May’s Prairie trailhead at US 41 and Snow Memorial Highway, so it’s possible to make one long day hike (7.8 miles total) out of the above two loops and the connector. However, the Prairie-to-Pines Trail is a fence line trail—out in the open with a lot of cows nearby—and gets into some seriously soggy terrain as it connects with the Big Pine Tract, although it does showcase the historic FL 5 highway bridge as it nears that loop.

  3. Chinsegut Hill Retreat (28.618894, -82.365058). It’s a short drive from the Prairie-to-Pines trailhead up Snow Hill. Follow the signs that lead you up to the restored manor house and its gardens. Sitting atop the highest hill in the region, at 274 feet above sea level, the Manor House is a Florida treasure, its earliest foundation dating back to the 1840s. Surrounding it are grand old live oaks and gardens that grew out of plantings started by Lisa von Borowsky in 1925 under Margaret Robins’ direction. Lisa cultivated the grounds, planting azaleas, camellias, and roses, and planted 13 different varieties of bamboo; the thick stand behind the manor is said to have started with cuttings from Thomas Edison. Once the land was transferred to the USDA, CCC Camp A-1 undertook a beautification project throughout the manor grounds under the coordination of a landscape architect and Ms. von Borowsky’s watchful eye. Although the trails built in the 1930s have mostly been swallowed up by vegetation, a meander around the manor grounds, down to the CCC buildings, and around the retreat center cottages will net a pleasant walk of at least a mile with outstanding views from the hilltop. Museum tours are offered Monday to Friday 10–4, Saturday 10–5, and Sunday 12–6; details at chinseguthillmuseum.com. Ramble through the gardens is on your own; the cottages are available for overnight stays.

  CAMPING AND LODGING

  Chinsegut Hill Retreat, 22495 Chinsegut Hill Road, Brooksville, FL 34601 (352-799-5400, chinseguthillretreat.com)

  Hog Island Recreation Area/Withlacoochee State Forest, 9274 CR 635, Bushnell, FL 33513 (1-877-879-3859, floridastateforests.reserveamerica.com)

  Croom River Trail Loop

  Total distance: A 3.9-mile loop using the Blue Loop Trail and a portion of the Florida Trail through the southern section of the Croom Tract of Withlacoochee State Forest.

  Hiking time: 1.5–2 hours

  Difficulty: Easy to moderate

  Usage: Free. Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed pets welcome.

  Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 28.526801, -82.218817

  Contact Information: Withlacoochee State Forest, Recreation/Visitor Center, 15003 Broad Street, Brooksville, FL 34601-4201 (352-797-4140, freshfromflorida.com)

  Occupying one tiny corner of the 20,000-acre Croom Tract of Withlacoochee State Forest, the Croom River Trail Loop is only a small piece of the larger puzzle of Florida’s largest state forest, which draws a steady stream of outdoors enthusiasts to its many campgrounds, equestrian and biking trails, paddling routes, motorcycle trails, and of course plenty of hiking. Easily accessed from major highways and pleasant to hike, this trail treats you to the shade of ancient live oak trees, the haunting beauty of cypress swamps, and the lazy curves of the Withlacoochee River flowing north. It’s on those river bluffs where you walk a portion of Florida’s greatest hiking treasure, the statewide Florida Trail, first established in 1966. One of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States, it connects beauty spots like this from one end of Florida to the other. Consider this short hike an introduction, a gateway to exploring more of the Florida Trail through this region.

  GETTING THERE

  From exit 301 (Brooksville/Ridge Manor) on I-75, drive east on FL 50 for 1 mile to the traffic light at Croom-Rital Road, just before the big bicycle bridge over the highway. Turn left. The road curves around and, after 0.25 mile, comes to an entrance for the Ridge Manor trailhead on the right, with a long stretch of parking adjoining the paved Withlacoochee State Trail, a popular bicycle path.

  THE HIKE

  From the parking area, walk up to the picnic area on the opposite side of the trail, and continue through it to the fence line in the distance. A grand old live oak arches over the picnic table adjoining the kiosk at the entrance sign that says RIVER TRAIL. Sign in at the trail register and start your hike. The trail quickly transitions out of an oak hammock and into a pine plantation, where the footpath is softly carpeted in pine needles. As the landscape opens into sandhill habitat, you pass a Chickasaw plum, draped in bright white blooms in February. At a double blaze, it’s necessary to check and double-check the turn: at the time of our hike, these blazes were mirror-image of what they should be. Keep curving right.

  After 0.5 mile, in an old pasture studded with blackberry bushes, you reach the first BLUE LOOP TRAIL sign. Turn left and follow the trail as it descends down to the tree line. Slipping through an oak hammock, it reaches a junction with an old track. A swale—a marshy depression between ridges—may cradle a pond. Limestone boulders sit along its edge. This is a karst area that the Withlacoochee River meanders through, so there are few surface streams, but plenty of underground connections between the river and basins like these. Water marks on the trunks of trees bear witness to the fact that a rising river can seep up from underground and inundate this low area. The Withlacoochee rises from the Green Swamp and flows northward, with only a few minor tributaries feeding it to the south of here.

  Scenic stop on the Withlacoochee River

  Climbing out of the basin, the trail follows the blue blazes through the sandhill forest, where a haze of grasses blurs the open hilltops between stretches of oak hammocks. Live oaks dominate the canopy, their thick limbs draped in stringers of Spanish moss atop a bed of lichens and resurrection ferns. The green leaves of butterfly orchids are high overhead; they bloom in the summer months, when you’re less likely to hike. Even in winter, the tangle of oak limbs above casts a fair amount of shade. Live oaks generally do not drop their leaves until the new growth emerges, typically in early March.

  When you start seeing cedar trees in the forest, things are about to change. Rounding a curve on a slight downhill at 1.2 miles, you circle an enormous live oak that sits across from an extensive cypress swamp. There are times when this swamp will be dry. If it is not, and the water is flowing, you should turn around and return to the trailhead. You’ve reached a chain of cypress swamps that are hydrologically connected to the river and will be walking along and between their basins over the next 0.5 mile. They are hauntingly beautiful, especially when there is just enough water in them to reflect the trees. When they’re dry, the forest of cypress knees in the grass—and the terrifying heights of the watermarks on the trunks—are fascinating.

  Cypress floodplain along the Blue Loop

  Soon after the trail makes a sharp left turn, you pass a sinkhole. Just beyond it is a curious signpost that says WILD PIG WALLER, amid a stand of laurel oaks at 1.5 miles. The forest becomes denser around the next curve, with laurel oaks, water oaks, and slash pines intermingled. If the river has flooded in recent history, there will be a persistent shadow of watermarks across all of the vegetation. The unparalleled rains of Hurricane Irma in 2017 caused widespread flooding through this area, which is why there are watermarks most of the way along this hike, some well over our heads.

  After 1.7 miles, the orange blazes of the Florida Trail are just ahead as the Blue Trail comes to a T intersection on the bluffs above the river. To continue along the loop, turn right. A few minutes later you arrive at a bench with a panorama of a bend in the Withlacoochee River. For more than a mile, the Florida Trail stays atop the sandy river bluff as you walk southbound, upstream to the river’s flow. Old barbed wire fencing blocks rive
r access in some places, the legacy of the former landowner. Through the vegetation, peek at towering cypresses on the river’s far shore, and the occasional cabin. The bluff narrows for a stretch, dropping steeply off into cypress swamps, their swales receding into the distance. When the river floods, it fills these old channels. At a sandy curve on the river, it’s tempting to slip down to the water’s edge where the cypresses are particularly picturesque. Around the bend, the oxbow pond of cypresses sports some knees that rise 5 feet tall, worth a close look.

  By the time you reach the next bench, you’ve walked 2.6 miles. It doesn’t have a great view, but it’s a place to take a break. By now you have noticed the occasional wooden mile marker along this hike. We haven’t mentioned them before because we can’t figure out what they correspond to, other than to let you know you’ve walked another mile. Perhaps the countdown starts at Crooked River Campground (see Other Hiking Options). The MILE 4 sign is soon after this bench.

  Vegetation crowds out the views of the river. Fenceposts used to hold up the old barbed wire fence almost look like railroad ties, and there is a good chance they were. In addition to the main rail line that once ran where the Withlacoochee State Trail is now, there were hundreds of narrow gauge rail line spurs through the cypress swamps along the river, the better for Lacoochee-based Cummer Sons Cypress Company, operating from 1922 to 1959, to strip the old-growth trees from this region. The only survivors were those unfit to go through the sawmill because of odd shapes, galls, and hollows within.