50 Hikes in Central Florida

by Sandra Friend

  Giant cypress knees in an oxbow pond

  When the trail makes a final sharp right away from the river at 2.9 miles, it heads straight up a corridor that feels like a railroad grade. Sand live oaks form a tunnel effect down this straight and narrow section, which ends when the trail reaches an open grassy area in the sandhills. At this junction, which was not marked on our visit, the southbound Florida Trail turns sharply left to head for the forest’s boundary gate. You do not. Stay right to curve around the grassy area and into the pines. By 3.4 miles, you’ve completed the loop, passing by the BLUE LOOP TRAIL sign. Note the MILE 5 sign in this direction as you approach the Ridge Manor trailhead. Be sure to sign out at the trail register as you finish up.

  OTHER HIKING OPTIONS

  1. Blue Trail Yoyo. Cut 0.5 mile off the loop by taking the Blue Trail to the Withlacoochee River and returning on the same route for a 3.4-mile round-trip.

  2. Crooked River Trek. Extend your hike by taking the Blue Trail and turning left instead of right onto the Florida Trail at the Withlacoochee River to follow it northbound to the trailhead at Crooked River Campground (28.5657, -82.2075). If you arrange for a pick-up (or a drop-off at Ridge Manor trailhead), do a 4.9-mile linear hike. Or hike up to the campground, take a break there and return around the loop for a 10.3-mile hike.

  3. Withlacoochee State Trail. The Ridge Manor trailhead was originally built to provide access to this 46-mile paved bicycle path that stretches from Dade City towards Dunnellon on a former rail line. While the pavement isn’t compelling to hike when you have footpaths to choose from, it’s worth bringing your bicycle for a ride through the forest to Nobleton, an 18-mile round-trip.

  4. Cypress Lakes Preserve (28.5186, -82.2069). On the other side of the Withlacoochee River, the Florida Trail meanders around cypress-lined lakes at this scenic county-managed preserve. Turn off FL 50 eastbound after you cross the Withlacoochee River onto a piece of the old highway behind Hernando County Fire Rescue Station 8. Park near the preserve sign and walk in for up to a 3-mile round-trip to see the ancient cypresses and wildflowers.

  CAMPING AND LODGING

  Half a dozen hotels are at the nearby junction of I-75 and FL 50, including Holiday Inn Express Brooksville I-75 (30455 Cortez Boulevard, Brooksville, FL 34602; 352-796-0455, ihg.com). There are three Withlacoochee State Forest campgrounds 3.1 miles north of this trailhead off Croom-Rital Road, all along Silver Lake Road, all with access to the Withlacoochee River. A few walk-in sites are held. Reservations at 1-877-879-3859, floridastateforests.reserveamerica.com. Silver Lake is most popular for RVs. The campgrounds are: Silver Lake Campground (28.575042, -82.218751), Cypress Glen Campground (28.568133, -82.211348), and Crooked River Campground (28.565876, -82.206699).

  Withlacoochee River Park

  Total distance: 6.8 miles on a route along a network of hiking trails, forest roads, and nature trails, with shorter options available.

  Hiking time: 3–3.5 hours

  Difficulty: Easy to moderate

  Usage: Free. Open dawn to dusk. Leashed pets welcome on trails, but not at campsites or cabins.

  Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 28.3447, -82.1205 (canoe landing parking), 28.3389, -82.1211 (south parking lot)

  Contact Information: Withlacoochee River Park, 12449 Withlacoochee Boulevard, Dade City, FL 33525 (352-567-0264, pascocountyfl.net)

  Along the Withlacoochee River Trail, dip a toe into one of Florida’s largest and most important floodplains—the Green Swamp. It’s the headwaters of four of Central Florida’s largest rivers—the Hillsborough, the Ocklawaha, the Peace, and the Withlacoochee. The Green Swamp is no ordinary wetland. Instead of a vast sheet of water covering thousands of acres of floodplain forest, the Green Swamp is a patchwork of flatwoods, sandhills, and cypress domes, uplands and lowlands covering more than 860 square miles to the northeast of metropolitan Tampa. Showcasing a series of outstanding ancient oak hammocks and prairies, this hike follows both the Withlacoochee River Trail, built by the Florida Trail Association in the Green Swamp Wilderness, and a portion of the Withlacoochee River Park, a network of nature trails through an adjacent county park with camping, cabins, and plenty of activities for families.

  GETTING THERE

  Follow US 301 south from FL 50 (or I-75 exit 301, Brooksville/Ridge Manor, heading east) to the northern edge of Dade City. Turn left onto Truck Route US 301, making the immediate second left onto River Road. Follow the twisting, winding River Road 4.5 miles to its junction with Auton Road, just before the bridge. Turn right on Auton Road, then make the first left into the park. Stop at the kiosk at the park entrance for a trail map and an interpretive guide. Pull into the first parking lot on the left (28.3447, -82.1205) to start your loop hike.

  Hiking along the Withlacoochee River south of the canoe landing

  THE HIKE

  Walk down to the canoe landing to take in the view of the Withlacoochee River, where its dark waters swirl mysteriously around cypress knees. The trailhead for the Withlacoochee River Trail starts to the right of the landing. Sign in at the trail register, where a memorial plaque in the box recalls the dedication of FTA volunteer Virginia Edwards, who participated in designing and building the Withlacoochee River Trail in the 1980s. Follow the orange blazes upriver as you enjoy the river views. Greatly aged interpretive signs appear along the first mile of trail, pointing out specific trees and shrubs. Live oaks swaddled in resurrection fern and lichens arch overhead as the trail cuts a broad corridor through the saw palmetto. At 0.4 mile, you’ll cross a sand road. A prairie meadow stretches into the distance, a wide-open area sparkling with the lavender blooms of blazing star.

  The trail reaches its first important junction at 0.6 mile, with blue blazes leading through a gap in the boundary fence between the water management land and the county park to the southernmost parking lot and restrooms. Stay with the orange blazes. The trail veers left beneath an ancient live oak with limbs that reach towards the ground, and turns to follow an outstanding corridor of live oak hammock, a ribbon dividing the open sandhill habitat from the wet prairie. Brilliant red and pink splotches of red blanket lichen cover the gnarled oak limbs that shelter the trail. Watch for telltale signs of armadillo: small holes dug into the sand at your feet. These shy armored creatures will jump more than a foot in the air if you startle them!

  The trail veers left again at 0.8 mile, away from the tree line and into a low, open area of slash pine and damp ground, edging along the east side of the prairie. After crossing an area of tall grass, you emerge on a more distinct footpath, a mile into the hike. It crosses a sand road. Sweetgum trees share the forest with live oaks, laurel oaks, and dahoon holly. Ancient saw palmetto grows in clusters. Passing under a series of spreading live oaks, the trail gains a little elevation, and the habitat changes to pine flatwoods, with part of the river floodplain—a cypress swamp—to the left. Cross the sand road twice more, meandering back into an oak hammock.

  After 1.6 miles, you’ll reach the first junction of the orange-blazed loop trail. Turn right, crossing an open area and entering the forest just to the left of a large water oak into a pine hammock. For the next 0.25 mile, a wet prairie stretches to the left. Sandhill cranes pick their way through the tall grass. The trail becomes rough underfoot in places, thanks to the feeding activities of feral hogs. Like armadillos, they root up the ground—but they do it in a big way. Crossing over a forest road and through an opening in the fence, you reenter the park.

  Beneath the ancient oaks along the orange-blazed loop

  At 1.8 miles, a blue-blazed trail leads right to the primitive camping area inside the county park. Turn left and follow the orange blazes around the prairie, wandering past the knees of pond cypress, trees that permanently depend on the moisture from this low area to survive. The trail enters a grove of tall slash pine, then turns abruptly. Passing through the fence again to leave the park boundary, the trail crosses the sand road again and heads into an oak hammock. Black-eyed Susan lends a dash of color to the leaf-s
trewn forest floor. After crossing an open meadow, the trail veers left along the tree line, meandering on a narrow dry strip between cypress swamp and wet prairie.

  Crossing a forest road at 2.3 miles, you’ll catch a glimpse of a large wet prairie along the boundary of this public land. Back in the oak hammock, sword ferns cluster alongside chunks of rounded limestone. An open area with tall dog fennel can provide a challenge—watch the footpath closely. It emerges into an area of tall laurel oak, where bracken fern grows in an open understory. At 2.9 miles, you reach a short blue-blazed trail that leads to a primitive campsite for backpackers. Pause to enjoy a break at the picnic table before you turn left, following the orange blazes into the pine flatwoods, where tall goldenrod provides splashes of bright color. Crossing the forest road yet again, the trail runs along the edge of a cypress swamp, part of the Withlacoochee River floodplain. You cross the forest road twice more, spending a short stretch in a narrow corridor of laurel oak paralleling the road. After the second crossing, the trail meanders down the line of where the pine flatwoods and the cypress swamp meet. You catch a glimpse of the open river, with a Boy Scout cabin on the far shore. The trail joins up with the forest road briefly before returning to the original loop junction at 4 miles.

  Turn left to repeat a short stretch back through the pines along a prairie and through the gap in the fence. It’s time to start rambling through the trail network at Withlacoochee River Park. Unlike the orange-blazed Withlacoochee River Trail, the trail network through the county park is primarily made up of forest roads. Turn right to follow the blue blazes towards the primitive campground. The trail gains a little elevation as it approaches the camping area. Keep right at the fork where both directions are blazed blue. Set in a mature live oak hammock, this primitive campground is a destination for family camping on the weekends, since it’s a short enough distance from the south parking lot that backpacks aren’t necessary to haul in your gear, yet it still allows families to rough it in this beauty spot in the woods, with a vault toilet set far enough but not too far away for comfort. As the loop comes back together (most campsites were on the other side of the loop), you walk beneath an archway of oaks, with a view of a prairie. At the next junction, at 4.5 miles, the vault toilet is straight ahead, as is a shortcut to the tower that shaves 0.4 mile off the rambling route along the prairies. If you don’t need to hurry back, turn left to start walking along the yellow-blazed trail.

  As the yellow blazes lead you down the forest road, the trail provides views through the oaks of the open prairie. The rattle-like calls of sandhill cranes rises from where they browse through the tall grasses, answered by a flock cruising overhead. The trail turns away from the prairie, entering an open sandhill habitat with small patches of scrub forest. Keep right at the next two trail intersections to head towards the observation tower; signs point the way. The trail pops into an open prairie and leads to a boardwalk, which was boarded over with a CLOSED sign on our visit. Instead, a mowed path paralleled it. Pass the red-blazed trail leading to Boardwalk #1 on the way to the tower, which becomes obvious as you leave the shade of the oaks and climb the sandhills. At 5.1 miles, rising several stories high, the tower does not—as most visitors expect—provide a view of the Withlacoochee River. The best view of the river is at the canoe launch and along this start of this hike. Instead, the view is more of an overview of habitats in this 406-acre county park, the sandhills and prairies and oak hammocks as viewed from above.

  As a significant landmark, the tower is a good decision point on your hike. Follow the dirt road, blazed with blue-and-yellow-tipped posts, downhill towards the restrooms and south parking area, where the trail connects with the orange blazes just outside the fence line, allowing you to return to your car at the canoe launch parking area for a 5.8-mile hike.

  Alternately, continue along the network of nature trails to loop around the west side of Withlacoochee River Park back to the canoe launch parking area. To do so, return the way you came up to the tower. Follow the yellow-tipped posts, descending off the sandhill and into the live oak hammock. Keep right at the fork into the shaded hammock, turning right to follow the yellow-and-red tipped posts from the bench at the Y intersection. Keep right at the next junction. Low prairie stretches out from both sides of the hammock as the trail emerges to cross Boardwalk #1, the showiest of the three at the park. A slight rise changes the habitat back to sandhill. Cross the paved multi-use path, paralleling it for a short stretch.

  At 5.5 miles, you reach a junction with the trail coming in from the primitive camping area. Turn right and continue through the oak hammock, passing an unusually tall specimen of gopher apple. The roots of this small shrub stabilize the sandhill, and its fruits are delectable to the gopher tortoise. Rising back through sandhill, the trail veers into the forest. It circles around a low, broad sinkhole pond before it approaches the campground set beneath the canopy of oaks. As you pass a tent camping area, you find the nature trail frequently paralleled by the paved multi-use trail, which is open to cyclists. Crossing the paved road through the park, the nature trail joins the other branch of the yellow trail. Turn left. The last 0.25-mile of trail passes by picnic pavilions and restrooms. The nature trail ends at Pavilion 1. Join the multi-use trail for the last short stretch back to the canoe launch parking area, completing your 6.8-mile hike.

  Multi-use path in the center of the park

  OTHER HIKING OPTIONS

  1. Nature Trail Loop. For the younger set, the Nature Trail through Withlacoochee River Park hits the highlights of the park while providing access to popular destinations like the observation tower, boardwalks, playgrounds, and restrooms. Follow the NATURE TRAIL signs and the yellow blazes for an easy 2.5-mile loop.

  2. Multipurpose Trail. This paved trail allows families to bike through the park while enjoying the live oak canopy and views of prairies that are also seen from the hiking trails. Including a paved spur to the canoe launch, a must for views of the Withlacoochee River, it is 2 miles in length.

  3. Withlacoochee River Trail. While the orange-blazed Withlacoochee River Trail makes up most of the mileage of this hike, it is also a stunning destination in itself, thanks to being a narrow footpath through scenic places that sit outside the county park, closer to the river. Hiking out and back from the canoe launch trailhead to the primitive campsite at the far end of the loop and back nets you a respectable 5.6-mile hike.

  CAMPING AND LODGING

  Withlacoochee River Park, 12449 Withlacoochee Boulevard, Dade City, FL 33525 (352-567-0264, pascocountyfl.net)

  Hampton Inn Dade City, 13215 US 301, Dade City, FL 33525 (352-567-5277, hilton.com)

  Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park

  Total distance: 1.9 miles in two loops at two separate trailheads: the 0.6-mile habitat-focused Scenic Drive Trail, and the geologic wonders of the 1.3-mile Springs Trail.

  Hiking time: 2–2.5 hours

  Difficulty: Easy

  Usage: $3 per vehicle. Open 8 AM to sunset. Leashed pets welcome.

  Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 28.3072, -82.7057 (Scenic Trail), 28.2881, -82.7190 (Springs Trail)

  Contact Information: Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park, 8737 US 19 N, Port Richey, FL 34668 (727-816-1890, floridastateparks.org/park/werner-boyce)

  During the Ice Age, Florida was a balmy place and twice as broad as it is today. Megafauna roamed palmetto prairies and marshes. Giant armadillos as big as trucks shared the landscape with saber-toothed cats, mastodons and mammoths, and beavers the size of black bears. When the seas rose again, Florida’s coastal plains were inundated. The Gulf Coast shoreline north of Anclote Key is a special place, the southernmost reach of a terrace of Suwannee limestone underlying salt marshes and seagrass beds that nurture marine life. Encompassing 4,000 mostly submerged acres along four miles of coastline in a densely populated region, Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park protects this rich estuary, the nesting grounds of two life-list birds for birders: the black rail and the endemic Scott’s seaside
sparrow.

  You expect marshes and mudflats along Florida’s Gulf Coast, along with maritime hammocks and palm hammocks, bayheads, and pine flatwoods. All of these can be sampled along the park’s nature trails, with the Scenic Drive Trail providing a primer on forested coastal habitats. But what makes Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park special is its unusual collection of artesian salt springs. They rise up through tidal basins and marshes, pouring forth spring runs that make their way to the Gulf of Mexico. Two of the springs—Cauldron Spring and Salt Spring—are more than 300 feet deep. In all, there are eight named springs in the park. Five are along the aptly named Springs Trail, showcasing a scenic sweep of estuary north of Tampa Bay.

  GETTING THERE

  Finding the park is surprisingly easy once you’ve found your way to Port Richey, which is north of Tarpon Springs along US 19. From the east, your most direct access to this coast is via the Suncoast Parkway (toll road between Brooksville and Tampa) to exit 27. Follow FL 52 west for 9.2 miles to US 19. Alternatively, use I-75 exit 285, San Antonio, and drive west 23 miles to US 19. FL 52 dead-ends at the northernmost trailhead of the park, the Black Rail Trail (28.3313, -82.7074), but the best trails in the park are to the south. Turn south on US 19 off FL 52 and get in the right lane. For the Scenic Drive Trail (28.3072, -82.7057), drive 1.8 miles. Turn right onto Cinema Drive. After 0.25 mile cross Scenic Drive into the trailhead parking area.